Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron shortlisted for its first Oscars category

Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, produced by Studio Ghibli, has been shortlisted for its first Oscars category. On Thursday, December 21, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards.

Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron has been shortlisted in the category of Music (Original Score). It is worth noting that Miyazaki’s film is one of the 33 feature films eligible for the Category of Best Animated Feature Film, the nominations for which will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.

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After the Golden Globes, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and The Heron enters the race for the Oscars

The Academy announced the shortlists on their official website. The 10 categories announced are Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, and Sound and Visual Effects.

148 Scores were eligible for the Music (Original Score) category, of which 15 made it into the shortlist. Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron or 君たちはどう生きるか (Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka, translated as 'How Do You Live?’) was shortlisted in this category for the poignant score created by Composer Joe Hisaishi.

Hisaishi recently received a nomination in the Best Original Score – Motion Picture category at the 81st Golden Globes (on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST). The Boy and the Heron has also received a Golden Globes nomination in the Best Motion Picture – Animated category alongside Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume no Tojimari.

Hisaishi has collaborated with Miyazaki on many projects including My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, the Oscar-winning film Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. However, The Boy and the Heron is his first foray into Western awards, and if he receives a nomination on January 23, it will be his first Oscar nomination.

The film was released on July 14, 2023, in Japan and on December 8, 2023, in the United States. The English voice cast for the film features well-known names such as Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson, William Dafoe, Mark Hamill, and Florence Pugh.

IMDB lists the synopsis of the film as follows:

“A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.”

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Mahito and the Grey heron (Image via Studio Ghibli/ Hayao Miyazaki)

The Boy and the Heron is eligible for the Best Animated Feature Film category alongside the following:

• Suzume
• Blue Giant
• The First Slam Dunk
• Lonely Castle in the Mirror
• They Shot the Piano Player

Nominations voting for the shortlisted categories begins on Thursday, January 11, 2024, and concludes on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. The Academy will announce the nominations on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024. More details are available at the Academy’s official page: oscars.org