During the preparations of the team for a western premiere, Funimation proudly announced that "Kimi no Na wa" or "Your Name" made the cut for Oscar's Best Animated Feature Film. They will also be in charge for the distribution of the film in Canada and United States of America.
The film will be contending to make the prestigious award, of which there were only five nominees. "Kimi no Na wa" will be the only nominee that will be coming from Asia. The other nominees for the Best Animated Feature Film are the films "Sausage Party" of Nitrogen Studios, "Zootopia" of Walt Disney Animations, "Finding Dory" from Pixar Animation and "Angry Birds" of Sony Pictures Imageworks.
According to Forbes, the film, with its English translation "Your Name", has been a huge hit at the Japanese box office. With earning that surplus of 17.9 billion yen, or around $170 million, it has also remained at the peak of the Japanese box office rankings now, three months after its release.
The movie is a masterpiece of highly-praised anime director and former graphic designer Makoto Shinkai, who has made a career of making visually spectacular anime together with very affectionate portrayals. According to some reviews, he will be the "New Miyazaki" which he claims to be an overestimation but he admits that he is an avid fan of Studio Ghibli pioneer Hayao Miyazaki's works.
GamenGuide tells us that "Kimi no Na wa" is based around the lives of Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu. Two complete strangers who met each other in an occurrence where a small comet hit a small town in Japan, which brought a new twist in their life. They both experienced a body-swap, switching places that let them to delve into each other's lives.
The awarding ceremony for the Oscars will be on February 2017. Though considered to be underdogs, it is without a second thought that the film will touch the hearts of people in the whole world. One will never know, maybe this will be the next "Spirited Away," a Ghibli masterpiece which won the award during the 75th Oscars.
The movie will hit the theatres of America and Canada early 2017. Best of luck to "Kimi no Na wa" and all other nominated films!
