Photo/Illutration The “panorama box” created by Hayao Miyazaki features “Warawara,” a character in “The Boy and the Heron.” ((c) 2023 Hayao Miyazaki/ Studio Ghibli (c) Museo d’Arte Ghibli)

The Ghibli Museum in Tokyo is offering visitors a unique glimpse into the production process of “The Boy and the Heron,” the Oscar-winning animation by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki.

More than 200 “layouts,” as blueprints for animation are known, are on display at the museum in the western Tokyo city of Mitaka.

A pencil-drawn layout on a thin sheet of paper is produced for each shot of an animation, complete with directions about character development and background.

Some pieces on display are crumpled because they were passed among numerous hands in the studio.

Miyazaki’s latest work, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in March, spent seven years in the planning stage before it got produced.

The exhibition, titled “The Boy and the Heron Part 2: Layouts,” was planned and supervised by Goro Miyazaki, Miyazaki’s eldest son.

“Layouts represent the beginning of a struggle of frontline animation creators,” Goro Miyazaki said. “I wanted fans to see them because things drawn on paper are compelling.”

He said “The Boy and the Heron” is somewhat unique for being hand-drawn as computers are now widely used for producing animation works.

The exhibition also features a “panorama box” personally created by Hayao Miyazaki.

When visitors look into the box, they see numerous little creatures called “Warawara,” which appear in the animation.

Asked at a news conference about his father’s next animation project, Goro Miyazaki said he expects it will be a swashbuckler but then warned it may turn out to be entirely different.

The exhibition, which follows “The Boy and the Heron Part 1: Imageboards,” will run until Nov. 10.

“The Boy and the Heron Part 3: Background Arts” is scheduled from Nov. 23.

The exhibition is organized by the Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation in collaboration with Studio Ghibli Inc.

Admission requires reservations. It costs 1,000 yen ($6) for adults.

For details, visit the museum’s website at (https://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/)

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