The Spirited Away animation master previously announced his 2013 release, The Wind Rises, would be his final movie, but he has decided to return to work to create a short anime about a tiny caterpillar.

Miyazaki confirmed the news on Monday (13Jul15) in a rare public appearance at the Tokyo office of his Studio Ghibli company, revealing the project will screen at the Ghibli Museum in about three years.

He says, "I'm trying to make a story of a tiny, hairy caterpillar like this, so tiny that it may be easily squished between your fingers. Little hairy caterpillar clinging to a tiny leaf.

"We just started working on it. This time, our longtime staff will meet the new staff from the world of computer graphics."