Canadian comic book creators sound off about ‘The Boy and The Heron’

Here’s my chat with Canadian comic book creators about Studio Ghibli’s ‘The Boy and The Heron’.

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Studio Ghibli has once again produced a masterpiece of a film. ‘The Boy and The Heron’ is yet another mesmerizing movie that will entertain and delight viewers of all ages. And more specifically, this new feature will be yet another enticing influence for Canadian animators, cartoonists and comic book creators.

Prior to the film’s opening on December 8, I reached out to some Canadian comic book creators to get their input about ‘The Boy and The Heron’ and Studio Ghibli. Here’s what they had to say.

Francine Delgado is a passionate Costa Rican Comic and Visual Development Artist. She’s been living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia since 2014, as a lead and senior designer for feature films and TV shows. Creating new worlds and telling characters’ stories in a visual way has always been her passion. She has been working most recently as a comic cover artist for the Golden Age Comic Tributes, as well as helping indie writers create their comic pitches

Francine said: “Ghibli has always been one of my favourite animation studios, starting all the way with ‘Nausica’, and probably the saddest movies I have ever seen, the ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ (I bought this as a present for my brothers-in-law, they have not forgiven me for it) all the way to their more popular ‘Spirit Away’ and ‘Mononoke’. My personal favorite is ‘Porco Rosso’, not because is the best but because the story and characters resonate with me in a higher level. I can say without a doubt this  [ The Boy and The Heron] is a Ghibli movie for sure, it has a magic feeling and warm style, the friendly-looking characters mix with some very cartoony ones, and the background design is stunning as always, and this time as the title says, the main character is a boy instead of a girl :)”

Graham Annable is an Oscar-nominated director, cartoonist and animator living just outside of Ottawa, with his wife and two boys. Graham’s unique voice has been consistently recognized in the mediums of film, games, and graphic novels throughout his career, garnering numerous awards and nominations along the way. When he’s not taking his pugs on a walk in the woods he can usually be found doodling ideas for his latest project in the studio. Graham’s latest book is Eerie Tales from the School of Screams from First Second Books. 

Graham said: “I’m always blown away at — how do you define what they do — the sort of whimsy that is in their movies. It’s not just Miyazaki but everything that comes out of that studio. There’s such a whimsical element, a surreal thing. I feel their movies are the closest things to modern day fairy tales because they incorporate some of the same aspects in my mind of that.”

In speaking directly about ‘The Boy and The Heron’, Graham added: “I was really struck by how perfectly they create a sense of place. As soon as the film gets going — the location the boy finds himself in that’s this new space with the house and the pond and everything. I felt like I knew where everything was. In a weird way, I think they do such a good job of creating a sense of place, so as a viewer it brings you into that story so much more… I’m always excited whenever Studio Ghibli releases a new film.”

Tara Audibert is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, cartoonist, animator, and podcaster residing in Sunny Corner, New Brunswick. She owns and runs Moxy Fox Studio, where she creates her award-winning works, including the animated short film The Importance of Dreaming, comics This Place: 150 Years Retold and Lost Innocence, and “Nitap: Legends of the First Nations,” an animated storytelling app. Her current project is the Jo Jo Makoons series with author Dawn Quigley.

Tara said: “I can’t really speak about the film, as I have only seen the amazing looking trailer! I can say that the amount of work and exceptional skill that goes into all the films from Studio Ghibli is unmatched. These are films that one person can only dream of making, as it requires so many people and those people need to have such a strong leader/director/teacher/producer as Miyazaki. The main thing I can comment on as an animator and comic artist, are the extensive boards Miyazaki uses, there is not much difference between the film and the storyboards/animatics. The boards are inspiring for comics, because they show so much movement and expression. Miyazaki has had a hand in all of it, fixing individual lines with masterful precision. If it doesn’t work in the boards, animating it won’t make it any better. My take away as a film maker as well, has always been to make sure the storyboards are as accurate as you can make them, then adding the movement WILL add to the story.  I would never even attempt the amount of work this man has done in one film let alone in his lifetime. But I do take from it. The simplicity of line for expression, subtle movements are meaningful, and adding color and fun details. These are my take-aways to improve my artistic expressions. I just read an indigenous story about Blue Heron being considered very good luck by the Cree, so I am interested to see if it is the same in Japanese culture!”

Scott A. Ford is an award winning comic creator, illustrator, and designer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His work puts an emphasis on atmosphere and rich visuals, drawing inspiration from video games, graphic design, film, and animation. His comic projects include Boreal, Ark Land, Giants’ Well, Ocosomoso, and Romulus + Remus.

Scott said: “Studio Ghibli is such a huge influence on my work – particularly on my largest graphic novel Ark Land. I think you can probably see the influences in there. Studio Ghibli is such a magical, wondrous kind of exhilarating and sometimes scary but also just this calming kind of presence that permeates most if not all their work that I certainly gravitate towards and and a lot of other people.”

He added: “It’s cool to see how comics can be influenced by it and also video games. How they take similarities but how they do things differently because of constraints of the different mediums. I love it and lots of other people love it too.”

‘The Boy and The Heron’ is now in movie theatres. Get a sneak peak with this trailer

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