Do you hear that? It's the sound of hand drawn animation aficionados around the world weeping for the end of one of the most renowned and well respected auteurs, Hayao Miyazaki. His retirement announcement came at the Venice Film Festival shortly after screening The Wind Rises, the latest film from the celebrated studio co-founded by Miyazaki himself, Studio Ghibli. It's worth noting however that Miyazaki was not in attendance for the bombshell but rather trusted head of Studio Ghibli, Koji Hoshino with delivering the message. Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are critically acclaimed worldwide for their imaginative and gorgeous hand drawn animation that is often complimented with engaging and mature coming of age stories centered on the wonders of childhood. Princess Mononoke is arguably the studio's magnum opus, taking home the Japanese equivalent award of Best Picture. The studio has created a strong portfolio of titles including Spirited Away, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and more that beg to be seen by anyone with a passion for adventurous animated tales. It'll be interesting to see where the studio and quality of future projects go from here but there is one absolute certainty; hand drawn animation has just received another nail in the coffin as we close the book on one of the greatest animation artists and storytellers of all time. Are you sad that Hayao Miyazaki is retiring? Do comment below...