If anything, the only argument that could be made against Suzuki receiving the Winsor McCay Award is that his career appears far from over, as he’s still heavily involved in promoting Ghibli’s animation through projects like the Spirited Away stage play, Ghibli Park theme park, and Toshio Suzuki and Studio Ghibli Exhibition, as well as serving as producer for director Hayao Miyazaki’s upcoming How Do You Live? anime film project.
Suzuki was presented with the Winsor McCay Award as part of the Annies’ online ceremony, held last weekend.
The Winsor McCay Award, though, is given in recognition of an individual’s career/lifetime achievements in animation, and it’s safe to say that Suzuki, who was the producer for a lengthy string of landmark works of Japanese animation that includes Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Whisper of the Heart, definitely qualifies.
Completes hat trick for the group that created Studio Ghibli. This year’s recipients of the Annie Awards, the annual honors bestowed by the Hollywood chapter of the International Animated Film Association, were announced last week, and one name on the list should be very familiar to fans of anime and Japanese pop culture: Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki.