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That loud gasp followed by a long sigh of relief you heard this morning comes courtesy of Twitter, where Hayao Miyazaki was trending. But don’t worry, he’s okay! It’s the Studio Ghibli co-founder’s 78th birthday, and fans were paying tribute to the iconic artist and anime filmmaker.

Miyazaki is the creator behind such iconic Japanese animated films as Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, just to name a few. His works have earned a devoted following all over the world, and are so popular that they have inspired an upcoming Studio Ghibli theme park, set to open in 2022 in Nagakute, Japan.

Miyazaki’s films are known not just for their stunning animation, but for their poignant and challenging subject matter. His films frequently touch on environmentalism, feminism, identity, and family with a haunting effect that lingers long after the movie ends. Fan took to Twitter to celebrate the auteur.

Happy birthday to Hayao Miyazaki. His movies depict kindness and hard-won hope in worlds of indifference, senselessness, chaos or cruelty.

Watched My Neighbor Totoro last night. It made my eyes dusty. My eyes are getting dusty just thinking about it now.

— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 5, 2019

“I'm not going to make movies that tell children, 'You should despair and run away.'” ― Hayao Miyazaki
Happy Birthday to the master animator and storyteller, who turned 78 today! pic.twitter.com/gUAhqVmkQN

— Museum of the Moving Image (@MovingImageNYC) January 5, 2019

“Children's souls are the inheritors of historical memory from previous generations” – Hayao Miyazaki #bornonthisday pic.twitter.com/vrkUXt5kfH

— BFI (@BFI) January 5, 2019

Happiest of birthdays to Hayao Miyazaki. You made me so hungry all the TIME. pic.twitter.com/xKorAy3Ii1

— Thomas Sanders (@ThomasSanders) January 5, 2019

“Yet, even amidst the hatred and carnage, life is still worth living. It is possible for wonderful encounters and beautiful things to exist.”

A very happy birthday to the incomparable Hayao Miyazaki − thank you for everything. pic.twitter.com/8CKkfuWH3H

— alex 🦕 (@xhaixe) January 5, 2019

"All my films are all my children."

— Hayao Miyazaki

Happy 78th birthday to the 'Master of Animation', Hayao Miyazaki. pic.twitter.com/WipN18nNDA

— Art Film Art (@ArtFilmCinema) January 4, 2019

"All my films are all my children."

— Hayao Miyazaki

Happy 78th birthday to the 'Master of Animation', Hayao Miyazaki. pic.twitter.com/WipN18nNDA

— Art Film Art (@ArtFilmCinema) January 4, 2019

What is your favorite Miyazaki film? Let us know in the comments (I will never not be wrecked by Spirited Away).

(image:Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

• Matt Reeves’ The Batman is set to film in November, but still no word on whether Ben Affleck will reprise his role as the Caped Crusader. (via Collider)
• Mark Hamill revealed that, thanks to a heatwave, the pilots in Star Wars didn’t wear pants. Rebel Alliance: they’re just like us! (via CBR)
• Brie Larson enjoys a cookie after a hard workout. See, she’s just like us! (via Twitter)

275lbs —> @WhatsGabyCookin 🍪 pic.twitter.com/uvIHeybVCF

— Brie Larson (@brielarson) January 4, 2019

• The LEGO Lord of the Rings game has gone missing and fans are upset. Have they checked Gollum’s cave? (via Blastr)

Happy first Saturday of 2019, Mary Suevians!

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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

by Maha Chehlaoui I went to Aquaman for two reasons: First, the ticket was free. Second, this is basically underwater Magic Mike, right? I came for the pecs, I stayed for the pecs. But also for the analysis of what it is to be of two cultures. I mean races. I mean… worlds? Aquaman, née […]

Bullet dodged, or tragic missed opportunity? Or, perhaps a third option: concept ready to be revisited?

With all the recent talk about an upcoming sequel to the Michael Jordan/Bugs Bunny movie Space Jam, pro-skateboarding legend Tony Hawk has taken to Twitter to reveal that the original could have been merely the first in a possible series of athlete-meets-Looney-Tunes movies, saying that in 2003, he took a meeting at Warner Bros. to discuss the possibility of, yes, Skate Jam. But don’t blame him for it not happening — the numbers worked against it.

in 2003, I was requested to meet with Warner Brothers about doing a film tentatively titled “Skate Jam.” They were bringing back Looney Tunes with “Back In Action” & then wanted to start on my project immediately. A week later Back In Action bombed & Skate Jam was shelved forever pic.twitter.com/9giKzBnlWH

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) January 5, 2019

While Space Jam was a hybrid of animation and live-action, it looks as if Hawk would have been animated in this concept, though of course it’s possible that would only have been for a particular sequence. But the world may never know…or will it? With the sheer number of retweets Hawk has been getting, it’s entirely possible he’s trying to gin up interest in reviving the concept if Space Jam 2 turns out to be a hit. Given that such concept art is usually confidential, it’s also possible the studio had him leak it to see how fans react.

Well, fans, how do you react? Should the “Jam” concept go further than just more basketball?

Jump into comments below and tell us what you think.

Image: Warner Bros.

One of the reasons we love Jason Momoa so much is that despite looking like a big ol’ badass biker dude, he frequently demonstrates that he’s often just a little kid at heart. While he’s doing the convention circuit to meet and greet all the Aqua-fans out there, it seems he can’t resist the chance to meet some of his favorites as well, and at Wizard World New Orleans, he encountered the 1998-2002 voice of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, Scott Innes. Innes challenged the king of the seas to do a Scooby and Shaggy impersonation, which Momoa refused unless Innes agreed to do one first.

Innes filmed the results:

Scooby and Shaggy have had many famous run-ins with Batman, so it’s about time they met up with this Aquaman. Just because he talks to fish doesn’t mean he won’t talk to dogs too. And like Shaggy, he seems to have a hellacious appetite that never once ruins his figure. Perhaps the only issue with a team-up is that the inevitable mystery would be solved way too soon. After all, if Arthur Curry isn’t scared of a deep-sea kaiju that talks like Julie Andrews, what possibility is there that some mean old guy in a costume would make him even blink funny? After all, the closest thing he has encountered to that situation is Ben Affleck’s Batman, who mostly seemed to amuse him.

Or maybe in the highly unlikely event this whole Aquaman thing doesn’t catch on, Momoa can be the official voice of Scooby next. (Hey, we said “highly unlikely.” Only a Sith deals in absolutes.)

Image: Warner Bros.