Studio Ghibli is back in top form, and we have The Boy and the Heron to thank. Last year, the anime movie went live under the care of Hayao Miyazaki. The director’s work has earned a number of awards including a historic Golden Globe. Soon, the film will make its way to new markets, but its impending debut in Colombia has been shadowed by drama sparked by one artist’s false claims.
The whole thing played out this week as documented by Cartoon Brew. Ahead of The Boy and the Heron‘s debut in Colombia, national news began reporting about one Geraldine Fernandez. The woman is a graphic designer located in Barranquilla, Colombia. In the past week, Fernandez caught headlines across Colombia for her alleged involvement with The Boy and the Heron. However, in the past few days, those claims have unraveled to the point major newspapers like El Heraldo have retracted their initial stories.
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The biggest indicator of these false claims comes in the the credits of The Boy and the Heron. Fernandez is not listed anywhere in the official reel. In other interviews, Fernandez sparked further doubt by recounting her close work with Miyazaki himself by saying she had direct contact with the legendary director three times during production. When asked for proof of these meetings, Fernandez would say her hands were tied due to confidentiality agreements. Before deleting her social media pages, Fernandez did write about her alleged contributions to The Boy and the Heron, so you can read her words below:
“Over 20 months, I had to deliver 25 thousand frames, and those 25 thousand frames corresponded to a 10-second scene, so to speak (…) It was a lot of work, but it was worth it, especially because Miyazaki was there, you know that he is a master not only of life, but also on a professional level and working hand-in-hand with him was quite incredible and it was a unique experience.”
As further scrutiny unraveled Fernandez’s claims, retractions have been posted at newspapers across Colombia. “The story of Barranquilla’s Geraldine Fernández, who had supposedly participated as an illustrator in the most recent Golden Globe-winning film, turned out to be false,” El Herald published this week. Another outlet El Tiempo also backtracked its coverage, but still, Fernandez asserts she worked on The Boy and the Heron. Speaking with Blu Radio, the artist admitted they embellished their alleged work with Studio Ghibli, but she has not recanted her experience at large.
“I worked on a couple of scenes, not the whole movie… which were part of the composition of 25,000 frames, but I didn’t make the 25,000 frames,” Fernandez shared.
Currently, Studio Ghibli has not touched upon this ordeal. Cartoon Brew confirmed with GKIDS, the American publisher of The Boy and the Heron, that Fernandez isn’t listed in the film’s credits. As for the artist herself, Cartoon Brew never received comment on the story after reaching out to Fernandez.
What do you think about this Studio Ghibli ordeal?Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
