A scene from “The Boy and the Heron”
18:37 JST, February 18, 2024
LOS ANGELES – Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron,” directed by Hayao Miyazaki, won in two award categories Sunday at the 51st annual Annie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Hayao Miyazaki
The film, released in Japan as “Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka” (How Do You Live?), won awards for best character animation and best storyboarding in a feature film. The film was nominated for seven categories, including Best Feature, where it lost to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Annie’s Best Feature is considered a prelude to the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which will be announced next month.
Joe Hisaishi, who composed the score for the Miyazaki film, received the Winsor McCay Award in recognition of his contributions to the art of animation.
“Music plays an important role in animation and films,” Hisaishi said in a video message. “I am pleased that this aspect is being recognised.”
“Suzume no Tojimari” (“Suzume”), directed by Makoto Shinkai, did not win any categories even though it was nominated in seven categories. The second episode of Netflix’s “Pokemon Concierge,” directed by Iku Ogawa, was nominated for best director in TV/media, but did not win.
