‘The Boy and the Heron’: Studio Ghibli co-founder hopes Golden Globes win will make Japan smile after disasters, ‘if only a little’

By Heather Chen, CNN

(CNN) — The co-founder of legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli says he hopes the studio’s first-ever Golden Globe win will help the country smile – “even if only a little” – in the aftermath of two consecutive tragedies.

Toshio Suzuki, also the studio’s president, made the comment in a statement posted to X after the ceremony in Los Angeles Monday, when “The Boy and the Heron,” directed by legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, won the award for best animated feature.

“This is the first Golden Globe awarded to a Studio Ghibli film and it is a very special feeling,” Suzuki said in the statement.

“I hope the bright news of winning such an award can bring a smile to everyone’s face, even if only a little.”

Japan has been hit by consecutive disasters this year – a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake on January 1, followed hours later by a plane collision that killed five people and forced the emergency evacuation of hundreds more.

A week on, the quake’s death toll has surpassed 200 and more than 100 people remain missing.

“When I hear the reports of many people still waiting for rescue in the disaster areas, I am filled with a sense of despair,” Suzuki said in the statement.

None of the filmmakers, including Miyazaki, were present at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday to accept the award.

A video shared by Suzuki’s daughter Mamiko of the moment he learned of the win made the rounds online, with congratulatory messages from fans.

Barefoot and wearing trackpants, Suzuki is seen entering a room and looking at a live broadcast of the ceremony on a TV, asking those around him: “Did it win?”

Oscar chance

Miyazaki came out of retirement to make the film, the last of the 83-year-old’s storied career.

It tells the story of a young boy who moves to the Japanese countryside after losing his mother in a hospital fire and encounters a magical grey heron. It’s said to draw heavily from Miyazaki’s childhood and explores themes like grief and hope in a world marked by conflict and loss.

The movie premiered in Japan in June and went on to become a global success topping the North American box office – earning just under $13 million in its opening weekend. An English dubbed version featured the voices of Hollywood A-list actors including Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson and Mark Hamill.

In the Best Animation category, “The Boy and the Heron” was up against contenders like Disney Pixar’s “Elemental” and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The Golden Globes has been known to set the stage for the prestigious Academy Awards, or Oscars. Industry experts and fans are now hopeful for an Oscar win in March, which would mark the second for Miyazaki after the Ghibli classic “Spirited Away.”

Roland Kelts, author of “JapanAmerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US,” told CNN that Studio Ghibli’s Golden Globes win “bodes very well” for a second Miyazaki Oscar win in March. “(Firstly), there’s Miyazaki’s age and the possibility that this is his final film,” Kelts said.

He adds: “Artistically, its closest competition (‘Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse’) is a sequel while ‘The Boy and the Heron’ is so radically original and inventive that it’s mind-bendingly hard to follow.”

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Saki Toi contributed reporting from Tokyo.