Of Saturday night's many wonderful moments at the Academy's 6th annual Governors Awards, near the top would have to be seeing Hayao Miyazaki accept his Honorary Oscar. It was a rare US appearance for the legendary Japanese animator, who was not on hand at the 2003 Academy Awards to accept his competitive prize for “Spirited Away.”
In introducing “Miyazaki-san,” Pixar head John Lasseter spoke about wooing his wife by showing her scenes from Miyazaki's debut feature, “Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro,” the day after he met her. The film “had adventure, heart, action and humor, done with such style and sophistication and a wonderful eye for the details of human behavior,” he said. “It was proof positive, as Walt Disney had showed so many years earlier, that animation was for everyone…Every time I watch a Miyazaki film, I learn something about the craft of filmmaking.”
Given the rarity of such an appearance from the master filmmaker, it seemed worth it to pass along the video of his brief acceptance speech. But you can watch all the speeches from last night, as well as the introductions, at the Academy's official YouTube channel. Highly recommended.