We were at the Studio Ghibli Honorary Palme d'Or ceremony
Four new short films were broadcast, as well as a very funny message from Hayao Miyazaki.
HAS Cannes, the event of the day is not always part of the official competition. And this Monday, what should not be missed on the Croisette was clearly the Honorary Palme d’Or delivered to Studio Ghibli. A doubly historic ceremony. This prize had never been awarded to a collective by the Festival. And as a bonus, the audience at the Grand Théâtre Lumière was able to discover new short films from the Studio, normally only visible in Japan in the Ghibli Museum (we'll talk more about them below).
After explaining that he had been looking to organize this Ghibli celebration for several years, Thierry Frémaux presented a 10-minute montage on the studio's greatest films (Porco Rosso, The Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, The wind picks up, My Neighbor Totoro…), then a video message recorded by Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki. A very funny sequence where Miyazaki pretended to make fun of the event, ensuring that he did not want the shorts to be shown at a festival and wishing good luck to his son, who came to receive the prize in his place.
Juan Antonio Bayona, member of Greta Gerwig's jury, took the stage to express his love for the Ghibli films and present the Honorary Palme d'Or to Gorō Miyazaki, who has the same sense of humor as his father:
“The Palme is in a box, that's good. We won the Oscar recently, and the Ghibli reps had to wrap it in a hotel towel because there was no box”
Excited, the audience gave many standing ovations and savored the icing on the cake, the famous short films promised by the Festival.
In Mei and the kittenbusset in the Totoro universe, the little girl meets a flying cat who loves caramels who takes her to a magical forest where she meets the Ghibli mascot again.
Looking for a house is more offbeat and original, with its mouth-made sound effects. In this film, sounds come to life in the form of drawn letters as we follow a hiker who finds refuge in a shack full of critters and meets a fantastic character.
In the vein of Howl's Moving Castle, Mr. Pâton and Princess Egg features a lady bird who loves fried eggs and bread dough who comes to life and yearns for freedom. Pure joy for fans of Ghibli-style cooking scenes.
Boro the caterpillarfinally, tells the story of a cute little caterpillar who discovers the simple pleasures of life (eating leaves and making poop), but also its dangers (a killer wasp, a praying mantis) in a piece of garden which seems to him to be a forest.
Ghibli films ranked from “worst” to best
