Cannes 2024: Studio Ghibli receives an honorary Palme d'Or, marking a significant recognition for studio

Studio Ghibli, the Japanese anime studio known for 39 years of enchanting audiences with surreal ecological wonders like Totoros, magical jellyfish, and floating castles, was honoured by the Cannes Film Festival with an honorary Palme d'Or on May 20.

In the 22 years since Cannes began awarding honorary Palmes, Studio Ghibli's recognition marks the first for something other than an individual filmmaker or actor. Hayao Miyazaki, the 83-year-old animation master who co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985 with Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki, did not attend the ceremony but delivered a message via a video recorded in Japan.

‘I don't understand any of this. But thank you,’ said Miyazaki.

At Cannes, where standing ovations can be lengthy, the reception for Ghibli's representatives—Goro Miyazaki and Kenichi Yoda—was one of the most thunderous. Cannes' artistic director, Thierry Fremaux, filmed the long ovation on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, intending to send the video to Miyazaki.

‘With this Palme d'Or, we'd like to thank you for all the magic you've brought to cinema,’ said Iris Knobloch, the president of the festival, presenting the award.

The event did not feature any new Ghibli film but instead showcased four earlier shorts that had not been shown outside Japan before. One of these shorts, ‘Mei and the Baby Cat Bus,’ is a brief continuation of Miyazaki's 1989 film ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ It expands on the concept of the Cat Bus from that classic film, introducing a whole fleet of cat conveyances, including the mini Baby Cat Bus.

The shorts, originally created for the Studio Ghibli Museum outside Tokyo, featured ‘Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess,’ a culinary-themed dessert for Miyazaki's 2001 film ‘Spirited Away.’ The remaining two shorts, ‘House Hunting’ and ‘Boro the Caterpillar,’ present musical mini-adventures involving forest creatures.

The Studio Ghibli celebration followed Miyazaki's long-awaited film ‘The Boy and the Heron’ winning the Academy Award in March for Best Animated Film.

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