Danica Davidson
February 19, 2024 
Hayao Miyazaki’s new movie, The Boy and the Heron, is continuing its winning streak! It has just been given awards by both The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood (in the form of the Annual Annie Awards).
The BAFTA Award for Animated Film never saw an anime nominated in this category before. So The Boy and the Heron not only made records by being nominated, but also made records by winning!
At the Annie Awards, which concentrates on animation, it took home not one but two awards: the Best Storyboarding for a feature film award went to Miyazaki, and the Best Character Animation for a feature film award went to animation director Takeshi Honda. Miyazaki was not present at the event, but Honda was there to accept the awards.
GKIDS has licensed The Boy and the Heron in North America, and gave this description for it:
After losing his mother during the war, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world, and the truth about himself. Featuring the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.
The Boy and the Heron is the new critically-acclaimed fantasy adventure from the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and My Neighbor Totoro. Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years is a hand-drawn, original story written and directed by the Academy Award® -winning director. Produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, the film features a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. The theme song for the film “Spinning Globe” was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
____
Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
Related Posts
