Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse bagged the award for the best animated feature at the 29th Critics’ Choice Awards. Many believed Hayao Miyazaki’s critically acclaimed The Boy and the Heron would win the award as it bagged the Golden Globes in the same category this year. This scenario surely increases our excitement about which animated project will win the ultimate prize, that is, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature this year.
Set during the Pacific War, The Boy and the Heron revolves around Mahito, who seeks maternal affection after his mother’s death and finds settling in a new town hard. However, his life takes an unexpected turn after a talking heron informs him that his mother is still alive. This scenario forces him to enter an abandoned tower, which takes him to a whole new world.
The Boy and the Heron may seem complex and slow initially, but as we move forward with its emotionally impactful storyline, we realise how great of a storyteller Hayao Miyazaki is. Every scene in the movie is perfectly animated. The flawless animation brilliantly displays Mahito’s struggles, which portray loneliness and despair. If you are an anime fan, you will probably prefer Miyazaki’s film over Sony’s sequel to Into the Spider-Verse (2018).
But it does not mean that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is not good. It is an outstanding animated project which explores Miles Morales’ struggles with balancing his personal and superhero life. The events of Into the Spider-Verse result in the creation of The Spot, who vows to destroy Miles’ life and everything he holds dear. Things get more complicated after Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099) reveals to him that he is the original anomaly. Miles’ transformation into Spider-Man was never supposed to happen in the first place. This scenario forces Miguel to launch a multiverse-wide hunt for Miles.
When we look at both movies, Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron, they are fantastic pieces of animated storytelling. However, it seems like Hayao Miyazaki’s film may bag this year’s Oscar for Best Animated Feature. There are a couple of things that may favour The Boy and the Heron. One of them is Miyazaki’s popularity, talent, and legacy. Many believe his recent collaboration with Studio Ghibli is his last animated project. No one knows if the great animator will ever return to the world of animation after The Boy and the Heron. The Academy could consider this scenario and honour Miyazaki this year.
Another thing that can favour The Boy and the Heron is that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, despite being absolutely phenomenal, is only half of a film. The second Spider-Verse project ends with a major cliffhanger and does not give the audience a complete story. During the final moments, we see Miles accidentally entering the wrong universe (Earth-42) instead of his own universe (Earth-1610). He later realises that the spider that bit him in the first film belonged to Earth-42. Things take a wild turn after he encounters Earth-42’s Miles, who is The Prowler in his universe. He also finds out that Uncle Aaron is alive on Earth-42. This mishap forces Gwen Stacy to assemble a team of ‘misfits’, such as Hobie (Spider-Punk), Peni Park, Spider-Man Noir, Peter B. (Spider-Man), Pavitr Prabhakar (Spider-Man India), and more, to save Miles.
Let’s see which of them (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron) wins this year’s Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Stay tuned for more updates.
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