The Secret Behind Spirited Away’s Oscar Win

It’s a great movie — but its big 2003 Academy win had more to do with campaigning than craftsmanship.

The surprise sweep of the Oscars by Everything Everywhere All at Once last week delighted moviegoers generally and Asian Americans in particular. But this month also happens to mark the anniversary of another massive triumph for an Asian filmmaker. Twenty years ago on March 23, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away won Best Animated Film at the Academy Awards,…