Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, beating movies like “Chicken Run: The Dawn of the Nugget,” “Elemental,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
This is a big deal because it’s the first anime ever to win or even be nominated for this award since it started in 2006. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was considered but didn’t make the final cut.
“The Boy and the Heron” wins the BAFTA Award for best animated film:
“The Boy and the Heron” wins the BAFTA Award for best animated film. https://t.co/RM6xTtIFwU pic.twitter.com/fyLBxlnGGa
— Variety (@Variety) February 18, 2024
Miyazaki also grabbed the Annie award for Best Storyboarding, and the movie’s animation director, Takeshi Honda, won for Best Character Animation.
Earlier, the film took home the Golden Globe for Best Animated Motion Picture and other awards, showing it’s been a big hit in the awards scene.
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“The Boy and the Heron” did great in theaters too, especially in Japan, where it made over $61.4 million. It even topped the U.S. box office on its opening weekend, a rare achievement for an original anime film.