While introducing Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron, Guillermo del Toro had high praise for the film.

TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey introduced del Toro to the stage to introduce the new Studio Ghibli film. He dubbed him “Miyazaki's most passionate fan.”

“He knows what makes my fat butt move!” del Toro joked (per Deadline).

“Animation is film, and tonight's film goes beyond that. Animation is hard,” he said.

He continued, praising Miyazaki himself. “We are privileged to be living in a time where Mozart is composing symphonies,” del Toro said. “Miyazaki san is a master of that stature, and we are so lucky to be here. He has changed the medium that he started in, revolutionized it, proved over and over again that is a tremendous work of art.”

Del Toro then called Miyazaki the “greatest director of animation ever,” pointing out how animated films are not easy to make.

Guillermo del Toro's admiration of Miyazaki is obvious. He recently went into the animated sphere, directed Netflix's stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio. He also directed, executive produced, and wrote Netflix's Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia. Additionally, he was an executive producer of DreamWorks' Puss in Boots and Rise of the Guardians.

Hayao Miyazaki just premiered his supposed final film, The Boy and the Heron. The Studio Ghibli joint follows a boy who discovers a fantastical world with a grey heron. It opened in Japan in July, but the TIFF premiere marks its first showing outside of Japan. GKIDS will release the film on December 8.

The Boy and the Heron will be released on December 8.