The Boy and the Heron

Name: The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Released: 2023
Duration: 2 h 3 min

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Animation
Adventure

2023
Hayao Miyazaki
123 mins
12A

Summary

Animated fantasy from Studio Ghibli. Following the death of his mother, young Mahito is taken by his newly remarried father to live in the Japanese countryside. When Mahito's pregnant stepmother disappears into the woods, the boy follows and is led by a sinister heron into a strange and magical realm. Can Mahito find his stepmother and return safely?

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jayne Nelson

Japanese film-making legend Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) supposedly retired in 2013, but couldn't resist writing and directing another fine piece for Studio Ghibli. Incorporating elements from Miyazaki's own childhood, The Boy and the Heron opens in Tokyo during the Second World War. Young Mahito (voiced by Soma Santoki) loses his mother in a fire, before moving to the countryside. There, a creepy talking heron (Masaki Suda) lures the grieving boy into a surreal underworld. Miyazaki's gorgeous hand-painted animation is present and correct, alongside the requisite fearless little girls and cute sprites. The director's penchant for long moments of stillness in which nothing happens makes for an overlong first act, but proceedings are soon shaken up by Princess Mononoke-style blood and guts, plus parakeet soldiers, murderous pelicans and musings on the nature of reality. It's not quite in the same league as previous classics such as My Neighbour Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle, and it's dark enough that younger viewers might struggle, but this is still an exquisite work of art and what might be a fitting farewell from Miyazaki.

imdb-square

7.3/10