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During the 96th Oscars Nominee Programs livestream on March 3, 2024, Studio Ghibli Co-Founder Hayao Miyazaki commented on his work for The Boy and the Heron. According to Miyazaki, he was able to finish it because the money kept coming. [Thanks, Game Watch!]
You can watch Miyazaki’s portion of the interview from around the 26:20 mark of the livestream. He’s with Toshio Suzuki, who is a producer, co-founder, and president of Studio Ghibli. He was the producer for The Boy and the Heron as well.
During the interview, they thanked people for nominating their film, and then started discussing it. When Suzuki asked what Miyazaki was most happy about with The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki took a moment to think before saying that he’s glad they finished it. Production took seven years, which was the longest Studio Ghibli ever took making a movie. Miyazaki joked that he thought they could never finish it, but they did because the money never stopped coming in. After sharing a laugh, Suzuki said, “Yay.” He then flashed the peace sign at the camera.
The Boy and the Heron came out in July 2023. Despite sharing a name with a novel in the original Japanese, the story is an original one with autobiographical elements from Miyazaki’s childhood. The movie made over $167 million worldwide.
The Boy and the Heron has finished its theatrical run and Blu-Ray/DVD versions should come out some time in 2024.
