The news hit the Venice FilmFestival unexpectedly: Hayao Miyazaki, the world’s most honored creator of animated features, was ending his movie career.

Koji Hoshino, who is the president of Mr.Miyazaki’s production company, made the announcement at the film festival, where Mr.Miyazaki’s latest work, The Wind Rises,was shown. “Miyazaki has decided that The Wind Rises will be his last film, and he will now retire,” said Mr.Hoshino. The language of the announcement is believed to have left the door open for Mr.Miyazaki to work on shorter projects.

Mr.Miyazaki’s latest work has been met with some controversy in Japan and in Republic of Korea.The Wind Rises is a fictional account on the life of JiroHorikoshi,the engineer who designed the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a fighter plane used in the attack on Pearl Harbor in1941. Some Japanese conservativeshave criticized Mr.Miyazaki for the film’s antiwar stance, while some Internet users in Republic of Korea have accused him of romanticizing the inventor of a plane that became a symbol for the Japanese military during World War II.

The controversy, however, doesn’t change the fact that Mr.Miyazaki is one of the most celebrated figures in animated filmmaking.

The72-year-old has directed11animated features over 34 years, including the international hits My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Awayand Howl’s Moving Castle.

In the age of digital animation(and live action ), Mr.Miyazaki has remained faithful to the hand-drawn technique. His movies,known for their entertaining plots, compellingcharacters and breathtaking animation, won him critical acclaimas well as public recognition. In2003,Mr.Miyazaki won an Oscar for best animated feature for Spirited Away, and he was awarded a Golden Lionfor lifetime achievement at the Venice FilmFestivalin2005.

It’s doubtless a shame if animation buffs will really see no more new works from the legend. May his announced retirement be a brief, dark whim. May he go on enchanting moviegoers for years to come.

威尼斯电影节上传来了令人惊讶的消息：全球享誉盛名的动画片创作者宫崎骏宣布给自己的电影职业生涯划上句号。

宫崎骏工作室的现任社长星野康二先生在电影节上宣布了这一消息。宫崎骏的封山之作《起风了》在电影节上放映。星野康二说：“宫崎骏已经做出了决定，《起风了》将是他的最后一部电影。他现在可以退休了。”宣布这个消息时的用词让人们觉得以后宫崎骏还有可能会参与到短片项目的制作中。

宫崎骏的这部最新作品在日本和韩国引起了一些争议。《起风了》虚构了堀越二郎的故事，他是设计了用于袭击美国珍珠港的零式舰载战斗机的工程师。一些日本保守派人士批评宫崎骏在影片中所体现出来的反战立场，而一些韩国网民则指责他将这位创造者的生平浪漫化，毕竟堀越二郎创造了象征二战期间日本军队的战斗飞机。

然而，这些争论无法改变的事实是：宫崎骏是动画电影制作界中最负盛名的人物之一。

在这34年间，这位72岁的导演曾经执导过11部动画长片，其中包括《龙猫》、《幽灵公主》、《千与千寻》和《哈尔的移动城堡》，这几部动画片都在全球市场上引起了不小的轰动。

在数字动画（和真人实景电影的）时代，宫崎骏依然坚持使用手绘技术。轻松愉快的剧情、令人信服的角色以及叹为观止的动画技术，他的电影作品赢得了观众们的认可。2003年，宫崎骏凭借《千与千寻》赢得了奥斯卡最佳动画长片；2005年，他在威尼斯电影节上被授予了荣誉金狮奖。

如果动画迷们再也看不到这位动画传奇的更多新作品，那毫无疑问将会是一件遗憾的事。希望他宣布退休只是一次短暂的、忧郁的心血来潮而已。希望他能在未来的岁月里一直给影迷们带来惊喜。