“I didn’t want to visit a country that was…”: Hayao Miyazaki Refused to Attend the Oscars to Protest After His Producer Shut Him Down
After claiming to retire time after time, Hayao Miyazaki won the second Oscar of his career last night. The Japanese director is known for animated films with a heartfelt plot that remains with the viewers long after the credits roll. After winning the Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away in 2003, the master filmmaker took home the award in the same category for his blockbuster film The Boy and the Heron. But we wonder why the director was not present at the ceremony to accept the coveted golden statuette yet again.
Why Did Hayao Miyazaki Not Attend the Oscars in 2003?
The 83-year-old director of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki has pioneered the art of animation in Japan with his hand-drawn technique to animating the movies. The stories are pure magic with the characters resonating with every viewer who eventually feels pulled into the movie. In 2003, Miyazaki received his first-ever Oscar for the movie Spirited Away, which remains on everyone’s must-watch list even decades after its original premiere.
However, the visionary director did not attend the Academy Awards ceremony to accept the award even though he knew his work was nominated. Traveling from Japan to America is a long and tedious process, but Miyazaki’s decision to not attend the ceremony had a more political angle to it. He said at the 2009 Comic-Con in the USA,
“The reason I wasn’t here for the Academy Award was because I didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq. At the time, my producer shut me up and did not allow me to say that, but I don’t see him around today. By the way, my producer also shared in that feeling.”
Miyazaki abhors war in every sense, with his work portraying the deepest tragedies and war itself in a negative light. His decision to protest the Iraq bombing was a sincere effort to end the war on both sides. Being a celebrity in the public image, he felt it was necessary to take a stand.
The reason he chose to end his ban on the USA in 2009 to attend the Comic-Con was his friendship with Pixar Animation Studios creative chief John Lasseter. The latter helped Miyazaki in bringing his movie Ponyo to the USA. The duo share a strong bond and the Japanese director felt that he owed it to Lasseter to visit and share his views with everyone.
Also Read: Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Movie Artwork Released, Studio Ghibli Stills Breaks the Internet
Hayao Miyazaki Wins The Second Oscar of his Career
Last night at the dazzling Academy Awards ceremony, Miyazaki bagged the second Oscar of his career for the wonderful movie The Boy and the Heron. Not only did he make history by being the oldest-ever director to be nominated, but he is also the oldest winner in the category along with Miyazaki being the only director to have two hand-drawn animated movies to win. It was not an easy feat for the Japanese movie to win since the contenders included Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, Elemental, Nimona, and Robot Dreams. All these animated movies did phenomenally at the box office and were loved by the audience.
Even at the Golden Globes and the BAFTA awards, Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki won the top honor. However, they were not in attendance at the Oscar ceremony. In their place, Studio Ghibli’s Kiyofumi Nakajima read a statement on their behalf while a translator helped bridge the language gap,
“Both Hayao Miyazaki and I have aged considerably. I am grateful to receive such an honor at my age, and taking this as a message to continue our work, I will devote myself to working harder in the future.”
Out of four Oscar nominations for his work, Miyazaki has won twice. He understands how deluded he must look to the masses as he has announced his retirement many times. However, his love for the craft keeps bringing him back to make more heartfelt movies. The Boy and the Heron is based on the story of a young boy who has to look for his mother in the midst of the Second World War.
