Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki won the Academy Award for best animated feature for his film “The Boy and the Heron,” making him the only Asian director to achieve this honor. Miyazaki, 83, is a renowned animator who co-founded Studio Ghibli and previously won an Oscar in 2002 for “Spirited Away.” He also won his first Golden Globe this year for “The Boy and the Heron,” which was a box office success grossing $168 million worldwide.
The film, inspired by Miyazaki’s own childhood experiences, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who lost his mother during World War II. After encountering a talking heron who reveals his mother is still alive, he embarks on a journey to a world where he can communicate with the deceased.
Studio Ghibli president and co-founder Toshio Suzuki stated, “If he hadn’t made this film, he wouldn’t have been able to die a happy man,” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Fans of Miyazaki’s work, such as “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “My Neighbor Totoro,” are concerned that “The Boy and the Heron” may be his final film as retirement rumors circulate. However, Miyazaki has retired and returned multiple times, most recently for the seven-year production of “The Boy and the Heron.”
Other directors of Asian descent who have been nominated in the best animated feature category include Domee Shi in 2022 for “Turning Red,” Mamoru Hosoda in 2018 for “Mirai,” Isao Takahata in 2014 for “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” and Jennifer Yuh Nelson in 2011 for “Kung Fu Panda 2.”
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