Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese filmmaker and animator known for the short films that made up Digimon: The Movie (2000), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) and Summer Wars (2009). Born in Toyama Prefecture in 1967, he was inspired as a schoolboy by late 1970s anime and later worked as an animator and director at Toei Animation. His seventh film, Mirai (2018), earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 91st Academy Awards.
Early career
Hosoda was drawn to animation after seeing a cluster of influential anime releases in 1979, when he was in sixth grade. After studying oil painting and making live-action films at the Kanazawa College of Art, he applied to Toei Animation in 1991 and worked as an animator for several years. His directing work on Digimon Adventure short films was well received, which led to his selection as film director for a major theatrical project.
Studio Ghibli period
In 2001, Studio Ghibli announced that Hosoda would direct Howl's Moving Castle, but the project was halted in April 2002 amid production difficulties. Hosoda later said he had felt pressure to imitate Hayao Miyazaki's approach and had isolated himself at the studio. He returned to Toei Animation, where a 2002 episode of Ojamajo Doremi Dokkān! he directed marked a turning point in his career.