The film is set to become the first feature length work from Academy-Award-winning short animation director Michaël Dudok de Wit. After becoming enamored with Dudok de Wit's award winning short, Father and Daughter, Ghibli legend Miyazaki Hayao himself sought out the director for collaboration. The Dutch filmmaker stayed in Studio Ghibli's Tokyo Koganei office to complete scenarios and storyboards on the film before moving to France for full production.
The Red Turtle is an animated fantasy centered on a man marooned on a desert island and his relationship with a giant turtle. It will be released nationwide in Japan in September next year.