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If Goro Miyazaki is feeling the pressure of tradition, he doesn't seem to be showing it. He's the son of legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, whose stunning films large (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) and small (Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro) have become anime influentials on either side of the Pacific. But with the arrival of From Up On Poppy Hill, opening stateside March 15 in New York and wider next week, Goro Miyazaki now has two directorial bows to his hallowed name.

Watching "The Wizard of Oz" and "Star Wars" with his son and daughter made communications expert Colin Stokes wonder about the stories we celebrate. Thanks to a growing awareness of gender representation, the world is now safe for girls in armor - but is the hero journey we've gotten used to inherently limiting? This funny and thought-provoking talk from TEDxBeaconStreet will make you look twice at your favorite films.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

The worlds portrayed by Studio Ghibli are so vivid, colorful and imaginative, it seems almost silly to try and picture them realistically. They’re animated for a reason. One film that has a particularly grounded feel though, at least as far as Ghibli goes, is Hayao Miyazaki‘s Princess Mononoke, and that’s probably the reason why Ghibli has officially licensed a London theater group to put on a live-action stage production. It’s the first-ever of its kind.

Princess Mononoke, adapted by the Whole Hog Theatre, will run from April 2-6, 2013 at the New Diorama Theatre in London. This announcement was originally made in July and prompted quite the response, with the run completely selling out in 72 hours. After the jump, find out more about how Whole Hog plans on adapting one of Miyazaki’s masterworks and how you might be able to see it yourself. The news came to our attention from the MTV Geek blog. There’s also info on the Whole Hog website, which describes the show as follows: