The Boy and the Heron is the latest film from the Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki and it has a wide release to U.S. theaters on Friday, December 8. The Studio Ghibli/GKIDS release is Miyazaki’s first feature film in ten years and also serves as the culmination of decades of animation excellence.
That excellence is maintained in The Boy and the Heron, a hand-drawn original story about a young boy named Mahito whose life is uprooted away from Tokyo in the years following his mother’s death during wartime. This new place where he lives, and a mysterious grey heron, lead him into a world that serves as the crossroads between the living and the dead.
Going into this film, I have not seen as much of Miyazaki’s work as die-hard fans may have; I have, however, seen Kiki’s Delivery Service which is one of my favorite animated films. That film also features several things that I assume are a common theme among these movies: Beautiful settings, emotional story, and delicious looking food (really!) It’s also very clear these films are labors of love for a storyteller like Miyazaki, and without spoiling the film, I also get the feeling that The Boy and the Heron is one of his most personal works.
Speaking about the settings, one thing I loved about The Boy and the Heron is that every place that Mahito goes to – aside from, perhaps, running into a fire – looks like places that I would want to explore more. The floors creak. You don’t know what’s around the corner. You feel the weight of things that are heavy. You want to explore a tower that has caught Mahito’s attention. Everything just looks intentional and immersive. Even an old adult like me can identify Mahito’s emotions and feel them along with him, and other characters such as his aunt Natsuko and his factory worker father Shoichi add to Mahito’s world. There’s also a selection of “old grannies,” each designed with such individuality that you can feel different things from watching each one.
At a certain part of the movie, things shift to a fantastical world with evil parakeets and a young girl that Mahito befriends on his journey. While these moments lead to a very satisfying and touching ending, there’s almost a part of me that wished for a simpler story involving Mahito’s new life and the mysterious heron that keeps flying around. The more I think about it in the days since I’ve seen the film, I realize that’s fairly boring, and part of what makes the film special is that it IS fantastical.
The American dub release has some notable voices including Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Robert Pattinson, Dave Bautista, and Florence Pugh. I’m not commenting on those, however, as the screening I attended was in the original Japanese with English subtitles. Both options are available — I actually really liked seeing the non-dubbed version to get the full and authentic emotions of the characters. With that said, I probably would like to see this again sometime dubbed, to see how different it may feel.
For those who are fans of Studio Ghibli films, you already well know the quality that you’ll be going into and you don’t need to hear it from me. But for those who are on the fence about seeing a beautifully-animated story that becomes an adventure that can be enjoyed by all ages, The Boy and the Heron is a very good bet. I’d give it a 9/10. See it in theaters starting December 8.
