Why, it seems like only yesterday he was announcing his retirement, but turns out that was 10 years ago. But happily for fans of Japanese animation, legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki was full of it, and now he’s back to present his first feature-length film since 2013’s The Wind Rises.
When is The Boy and the Heron being released in the UK?
The Boy and the Heron arrives in UK cinemas on December 26.
The Boy and the Heron
What is The Boy and the Heron about?
Set during World War II, the film follows a young boy, Mahito Maki, who evacuates from Tokyo with his father and his new wife following the death of his mother in a hospital fire. Once ensconced in the family’s country estate, Mahito discovers both a mysterious grey heron and an abandoned tower that is a doorway to a hidden magical world.
As is generally the case with a Studio Ghibli joint, Mahito’s adventures in the hidden world parallel his internal struggle as he tries to figure out his place in his new family structure wile processing his grief over his mother. There’s definitely a little Pan’s Labyrinth energy in this one, we feel.
The cast of The Boy and the Heron
Depending on where you sit on the subs vs dubs debate, you’ve got either Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Karou Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake in the Japanese voice cast, or Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh on English dub duties.
The Boy and the Heron trailer
Why we’re excited about The Boy and the Heron
Hayao Miyazaki is simply a god-tier filmmaker whose work has changed the medium forever, so we’re always happy when it turns out he’s reluctantly come out of retirement to offer up another whimsical yet emotionally devastating banger. The man is simply a genius.
