Ever since its release, The Boy and the Heron has proven to be nothing but a massive success, and its nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards is its latest accolade. The film has received praise from fans and critics alike that perfectly justified its hype, even being the first non-English film to win a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film, and it’s hard to see it as anything other than the biggest Studio Ghibli film in over a decade.
The Boy and the Heron’s success has been undeniable, and it has a chance to take its success the furthest a film’s success can go. The official nominations for the 96th Academy Awards have finally been revealed, and The Boy and the Heron is one of five films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
This is the 4th Hayao Miyazaki film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature and the 6th Studio Ghibli film to be nominated, overall, and despite some strong competition, The Boy and the Heron has a great shot at winning.
The Boy And The Heron More Than Earned Its Academy Award Nomination
The Boy and the Heron being nominated for Best Animated Feature is a tremendous honor, and it more than deserves it. In addition to being the first new film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in about a decade, The Boy and the Heron boasts some of the best visuals and most emotionally poignant story writing of any Studio Ghibli film in the past decade, if not for the entire history of the company. It was one of the biggest achievements in animation in 2023, and overall, it would have been weirder if it wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award.
The Boy and the Heron Review: Ghibli’s Best Movie in Years is Finally Here
The Boy and the Heron is the long-awaited new film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, and it stands out as one of their best projects in years.
The Boy And The Heron Faces Stiff Competition For Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron being nominated for Best Animated Feature doesn’t mean it will win. Fellow nominees Nimona and Robot Dreams have had plenty of success, but they’ve also had much more limited exposure, with Robot Dreams not even being released in theaters outside of Europe until 2024. Similarly, while Disney and Pixar are both known to dominate Best Animated Feature, Elemental, despite its box office success, didn’t have nearly as great reception as other Pixar nominees, so The Boy and the Heron likely has an edge over it, as well.
The film that’s bound to be the stiffest competition is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The movie has received immense praise for its story and visuals, and it’s also a sequel to another Best Animated Feature winner, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. However, Across the Spider-Verse’s story has been criticized for feeling far too much like the first half of a story, so that might work against it. There’s no telling how the 96th Academy Awards will progress, but regardless, The Boy and the Heron simply being nominated is a tremendous honor that it undeniably deserves.
