Baftas 2024: ‘The Boy and the Heron’ becomes first non-American movie to win ‘Best Animated Film’
Hayao Miyazaki’s latest movie, The Boy and the Heron, has become the first non-American production to win ‘Best Animated Film’ at the Baftas.
The movie, produced by the legendary Studio Ghibli, was Miyazaki’s first film since 2013’s The Wind Rises. It follows a young boy named Mahito, struggling to cope with the recent loss of his mother.
However, in typical fantastical Studio Ghibli fashion, Mahito is informed by a heron that his mother is actually alive, with the film charting his otherwordly journey to a world where the living and dead co-exist.
The ‘Best Animated Film’ Bafta category was established in 2006, with Happy Feet first winning the prize. Since then, only English-language films have won, with the previous winner being Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.
Thus, The Boy and the Heron has made history as the first entirely non-English language feature to win, as well as becoming the first Japanese movie to take home a ‘Best Animated Film’ Bafta.
The movie was up against Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Elemental and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
In a four-star review, Far Out said, “We’re treated to some of the most breathtaking animations that Miyazaki has ever delivered, not only in action but in the still background too, which features painstakingly and beautifully painted scenery and buildings.”
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