Studio Ghibli's Goro Miyazaki received the honorary Palme d'Or on Monday, on behalf of the Japanese animation studio that became the first group awarded the coveted Cannes prize in its history, according to the festival website.

Miyazaki, a film director and the Creative Development Director of the Ghibli Park, thanked the audience for their support during a standing ovation that followed a screening of four new short films written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, his father and the studio's co-founder.

Accompanied by Kenichi Yoda, Vice President of Events and Exhibitions at Studio Ghibli, Goro Miyazaki walked out of the Palais Des Festivals and down its famous red steps holding the award, before the pair posed for photographers.

Studio Ghibli won this year's best animated feature Oscar in March for "The Boy and the Heron", a semi-autobiographical fantasy tale written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki about a boy grieving his dead mother.

The anime film emerged as a major awards contender after winning a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and was No. 1 at the North American box office when it premiered in 2023, earning $13 million.

Co-founded nearly four decades ago in June 1985 in Tokyo by storytellers Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli is also known for its 2003 Oscar-winning "Spirited Away", as well as over 18 other feature films.

'The Boy and the Heron' review: Melancholy, meditative Miyazaki
'The Boy and the Heron' wins best animated film Oscar

The 77th Cannes Film Festival runs until May 25.

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(Production: Lisa Giles-Keddie)