So you've just finished watching your imported Ponyo DVD, and you need your Ghibli fix. You could pull out your Miyazaki DVD collection and watch his films for the hundreth time... or you could head on down to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo this January to catch their new short, Chu-Zumo.

Based on the Japanese folktale Nezumi no Sumo, this thirteen-minute film was directed by Ponyo assistant director Akihiko Yamashita. Like the folktale, it will feature a story involving sumo-wrestling mice. Those of you in Japan will be able to see it at the Ghibli Museum from January 3rd to February 28th, 2010.

This story definitely piqued by curiosity. Aside from the concept of sumo mice (which is epic), I'm intrigued by this short's seeming similarity to the classic Disney and Warner cartoons involving anthropomorphic animals. Now, if only we could get Ghibli to make something like Duck Dodgers...

[Via Anime Nation]