“The Boy and the Heron” Well-Positioned in Animation Oscar Race

Miyazaki Hayao’s latest film The Boy and the Heron has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It has already picked up similar prizes from critics in New York and Los Angeles, and fueled Oscar buzz by receiving the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film on January 7, becoming the first work not in English to be so honored. In the Annie Awards for animation, it has been nominated in seven categories.

Including The Boy and the Heron, films directed by Miyazaki have been nominated for Best Animated Feature four times, and Spirited Away won it in 2003.

The boy Mahito meets strange characters in his journey to another world. (© 2023 Studio Ghibli)

The Boy and the Heron is Miyazaki’s twelfth feature film. He initially planned to retire after completing the 2013 film The Wind Rises, but changed his mind and returned to filmmaking. Miyazaki also wrote the script for the new movie. The Japanese title Kimitachi wa dō ikiru ka comes from a classic children’s book (trans. by Bruno Navasky as How Do You Live?) by the journalist and editor Yoshino Genzaburō, which left a strong impression on Miyazaki when he read it. However, while he borrows the title, it is not an adaptation of the novel.

Miyazaki Hayao took inspiration from a Japanese children’s classic. (© 2023 Studio Ghibli)

The setting is wartime Japan. The boy Mahito’s mother died in a US bombing raid, and as he goes in search of his missing stepmother, he is guided by a strange heron to a mysterious world.

The film was released in the United States on December 8, 2023; according to the website Box Office Mojo, it topped the country’s movie rankings for the first seven days after its release. As of February 5, its total box office was around $45 million in the United States and $165 million worldwide.

The Boy and the Heron has been a hit in Japan and around the world. (© 2023 Studio Ghibli)

The ceremony for the Annie Awards is set to take place on February 17, while the Academy Awards results will be announced on March 10.

Major Overseas Awards and Nominations for Miyazaki Hayao’s Films

Porco Rosso (1992)

• Best Feature Film at Annecy International Animation Film Festival

Spirited Away (2001)

• Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival
• Best Animated Film at New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• Best Animation at Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
• Best Animated Feature at Annie Awards
• Best Animated Feature at Academy Awards

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

• Golden Osella for outstanding technical contribution at Venice Film Festival
• Best Animated Film at New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• Nominated for Best Animated Feature at Academy Awards

Ponyo (2008)

• Appeared in competition at Venice Film Festival

The Wind Rises (2013)

• Best Animated Film at New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• Nominated for Best Animated Feature at Academy Awards

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

• Best Animated Film at New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• Best Animation at Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
• Best Animated Feature Film at Golden Globe Awards
• Nominated for Best Animated Feature at Annie Awards (result announced February 17)
• Nominated for Best Animated Feature at Academy Awards (result announced March 10)

(Translated from Japanese. Banner image from The Boy and the Heron. © 2023 Studio Ghibli.)