The Boy and the Heron

In 1943, during the Pacific War, 12-year-old Mahito Maki's mother Hisako is killed in a fire. A year later, Mahito's father Shoichi, an air munitions factory owner, remarries his late wife's younger sister, Natsuko. they evacuate to her estate in the countryside where they live with several old maids. Mahito struggles in the new town as he continues to grapple with grief, does not fit in at school and endures a tense relationship with Natsuko, who is now pregnant. Mahito is also pestered by a mysterious grey heron at the estate.

On the way home one day from a fight with other school children, Mahito purposefully injures himself by hitting his head with a rock. Recovering at the estate, Mahito discovers a copy of the 1937 novel How Do You Live? with his mother's handwriting inside, which she intended as a gift for him when he was older.

Mahito discovers that the heron is actually a small man inhabiting the heron's body. The heron taunts Mahito and leads him to a mysterious tower in the woods near the house, which was built by Mahito's granduncle, a famous architect who disappeared. The heron claims that Mahito's mother is alive and tells him to enter the tower to save her. Mahito is hesitant to enter, but when he sees an ill Natsuko enter the tower one day, he decides to save her and enters, finding himself in an alternate world filled with magic.

In the alternate world, Mahito encounters various characters, including Kiriko, a seafaring woman who is a younger version of a maid at the estate; Himi, a young woman with magical powers who assists Mahito and Kiriko; and Natsuko's granduncle, who rules the world as a wizard with great powers. Mahito, Himi and the heron infiltrate a castle guarded by giant man-eating parakeets and find Natsuko, who initially resists leaving with them until Mahito addresses her as his real mother. In Mahito's world, a maid tells Shoichi that the tower was formed after a meteorite struck the ground, and that when Hisako was younger she once disappeared for a year before inexplicably returning.

Himi is captured by the parakeets during their escape. While rescuing Himi from the Parakeet King, Mahito meets with the granduncle. The granduncle shows Mahito building blocks which he has used to maintain balance in the world as well as a giant floating stone which contains the granduncle's power. The granduncle asks Mahito to take control of the stone and maintain balance in the world, explaining that only someone blood-related and free of malice can control the stone. Mahito chooses instead to return to his own world and tells the granduncle that his head wound shows that he is not free from malice. The Parakeet King seeks to usurp the granduncle's power and cuts the building blocks in half, destroying the stone and causing the alternate world to collapse. While escaping, Mahito offers to take Himi to his world; however, Himi declines, revealing that she is a younger version of Hisako and that she and Kiriko must return to her own time to ensure that Mahito will be born. Mahito, Natsuko, and the heron return to their world and are reunited with Shoichi. Two years later, Mahito lives happily with his family after the end of the war.

Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori and Dan Stevens provide the English dubbing for the Parakeets.[2]

The Boy and the Heron has autobiographical features. The protagonist, Mahito Maki, is modeled after Miyazaki's childhood. Miyazaki's father, similar to Mahito's, was employed by a company involved in the manufacturing of fighter plane components. Additionally, Miyazaki's family had to evacuate from the city to the countryside during the war.[3][lower-alpha 1] The hospital fire at the beginning of the film evokes personal parallels with Miyazaki's own loss of his mother,[5] who was known for her strong opinions and is believed to have been a source of inspiration for several of the director's female characters, and Mahito's emotional connection with his mother parallels Miyazaki's deep affection for his mother.[6] The BBC defined the film as "a coming-of-age tale in which a child must overcome his selfishness and learn to live for others."[7]

Taichiro Yoshino, the grandson of Genzaburō Yoshino, confessed to being somewhat bewildered by the film's profound messages. He also mentioned a meeting he had attended at Studio Ghibli's offices in 2017, during which Miyazaki articulated his intention to create the film and acknowledged his past works, primarily featuring cheerful and optimistic male protagonists, and contrasted them with his perception of boys as complex individuals. Miyazaki aimed to depict a protagonist who grapples with inner conflicts and insecurities, emphasizing the transformative power of overcoming personal challenges. Yoshino drew a distinction between The Boy and the Heron and Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka as separate works, yet highlighted their shared central theme—how individuals navigate and come to terms with a world characterized by strife and loss.[8][3]

The film contains the message of creating "a world without conflict with your own hands."[8] According to The Japan Times, Miyazaki's unwavering faith in children's potential to surpass previous generations under challenging circumstances is exemplified in the film's Japanese title, which offers children a choice between emulating the chaos of Japan's past war or forging a better path, and thus demonstrates the enduring optimism that serves as a testament to the director's profound imagination.[6] The Hollywood Reporter noted that the film retains elements of the book that emphasize the theme of spiritual growth. The film, open to diverse interpretations, fundamentally conveys resilience in the face of conflict and grief, while advocating for the cultivation of meaningful friendships and trustworthy alliances, ultimately promoting progress and fostering "humanity and understanding to the world."[9] IndieWire's analysis argues that the film intricately weaves together various thematic layers and tonal elements drawn from Miyazaki's past work. It draws attention to the film's departure from the conventional children's genre, instead aligning more closely with the "violent" style of Princess Mononoke rather than the "cuddly charm" of My Neighbor Totoro, with the exception of the Warawara characters. This assessment underscores the film's diverse and nuanced nature.[5] A review on RogerEbert.com asserts that the film's narrative explores themes of "acceptance, redemption, and the power of creation", drawing explicit connections between Miyazaki's youthful inspirations and his hopes of inspiring others over four decades. The film delves into the juxtaposition of life and death, wherein childhood and the end of life can serve as reflective counterparts.[10] As highlighted by Unseen Japan, the film's themes make the viewer reflect on their role in a world marked by violence and uncertainty, their obligations to future generations and their connection to their ancestors.[11] For Nikkei Asia, the primary emotional driver in the film is the yearning for a mother's presence. This emotion fuels the narrative, occasionally diverting into adventures involving fantastical creatures. Mahito's father remarries his mother's healthier sister, evoking significant Freudian undertones. Miyazaki emphasizes the child's perspective, sometimes with quasi-sexual elements, as seen in encounters with frogs. Such moments, though evocative, are brief and dreamlike. The film stands as one of Miyazaki's less textured works, focusing on Mahito's mission to save his mother and stepmother, emblematic of Miyazaki's recurring theme of worthiness.[12]

Following the release of The Wind Rises, Miyazaki held a press conference in Venice in September 2013 announcing his retirement from feature animation, saying: "I know I've said I would retire many times in the past. Many of you must think, 'Once again.' But this time I am quite serious."[13][14] However, Miyazaki later changed his mind after concluding work on the short film Boro the Caterpillar (2018) and decided to come out of retirement to direct another full-length film, a decision which was captured in the 2016 documentary film Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki.[15][16] He commenced storyboarding for the film in July 2016 and presented a project proposal for it the next month.[17] This proposal included a children's novel The Book of Lost Things by Irish author John Connolly, which formed "a loose framework" for the project. Edogawa Ranpo's Ghost Tower (幽霊塔, Yūrei-tō), which Miyazaki loved as a child, inspired the tower in the film.[18][19] After Suzuki publicly announced the start of work on Miyazaki's new film in February 2017,[20] the studio's official website posted a call for staff for the new project on May 19, 2017, and production began in earnest.[21] With Miyazaki coming out of retirement, Studio Ghibli reopened with many of its past collaborators working on the project.[22] At an event held at Waseda University in October 2017, Studio Ghibli announced the film would be titled Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, after the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino.[23][24] The release date was not determined, but Miyazaki voiced his desire to release the film around the time of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.[17] Suzuki said that Miyazaki is working on the film for his grandson as his way of saying "Grandpa is moving onto the next world soon but he is leaving behind this film".[25]

Suzuki stated in August 2018 that the film was expected to be completed in 2021 or 2022. The film was confirmed to be 15% complete at the end of October 2019. In a December 2019 interview with NHK, Suzuki explained that the film is not to be expected anytime soon; Miyazaki in his younger age used to produce 10 minutes of animation every month, but now his speed was reduced to 1 minute per month. He contended that Miyazaki was unlikely to retire completely, as idleness would trouble him. Despite talk of Miyazaki's upcoming film being his last, Suzuki doubted it, asserting that as long as Miyazaki lives, he will likely keep making films.[26] Unlike his previous films, Miyazaki did not oversee every single frame and focused solely on creating the film's blueprint through storyboarding, while the animation director Takeshi Honda took charge of the animation process.[27] In March 2020, Suzuki disclosed that since the new film required a significant amount of time and money, the studio planned to finance the production by showcasing their previously released films on streaming platforms like Netflix. Miyzaki did not use a computer or smartphone and was unaware of online streaming, so Suzuki convinced him to make this deal to cover the costs, especially considering that their current project is unlike their previous endeavors.[28]

In May 2020, Suzuki recounted to Entertainment Weekly that the film was a "big fantastical" film. He said that 60 animators were working on the film and that an estimated 36 minutes had been completed after three years of production, saying "we are still hand-drawing everything, but it takes us more time to complete a film because we're drawing more frames", and they were "hoping it will finish in the next three years".[29] In December 2020, Suzuki stated that the production was working with no deadlines, similarly to The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), which took eight years to make. He said that the animation was half-finished, that production was running faster due to COVID-19 restrictions requiring them to work at home, and that the film would be 125 minutes long.[30] He also revealed that Miyazaki wanted to adapt Earwig and the Witch (2020) during development, but his son Goro, an executive-producer of Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka alongside Koji Hoshino and Kiyofumi Nakajima,[9] directed the adaptation instead.[31] Cinematographer Atsushi Okui introduced the idea of utilizing Dolby Cinema to Miyazaki during the production of Earwig and the Witch, which received the director's approval. Okui was particularly drawn to the technology's ability to maintain image sharpness in bright scenes while preventing dark areas from becoming overly black.[32][33] In October 2021, the director conveyed to T that he was creating the film because he didn't have an answer [to the question Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka], while the producer characterized the forthcoming release as an ambitious fantasy project.[34] In October 2022, Hoshino mentioned during a press conference that the production of the film had progressed quite smoothly, even during the pandemic, and was nearing completion. Hoshino did not specify the exact release date for the film but added that it would "indeed be Miyazaki's final film".[35] In December 2022, Takuya Kimura, who voiced Howl in Howl's Moving Castle, "hinted" that he was in the film with a post on social media.[36] Suzuki considered The Boy and the Heron to be the most expensive film ever produced in Japan.[37] The production timeline spanned approximately seven years, comprising two and a half years dedicated to pre-production activities and about five years for the production phase.[38] In June 2023, Suzuki clarified that the novel is not related to the film beyond inspiring the title.[39][40]

GKIDS managed casting for the English version in collaboration with Studio Ghibli, adhering to the SAG-AFTRA Foreign Dubbing Agreement during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The dub was directed by Michael Sinterniklaas at NYAV Post, and Stephanie Sheh wrote the English script.[41] The English cast, unveiled on October 17, features Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.[2]

The film score was composed by Miyazaki's longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi.[42] The soundtrack, consisting of 37 songs, was released in Japan on August 9, 2023, by Tokuma Japan Communications.[43][44] Kenshi Yonezu was in charge of the theme song, titled "Chikyūgi" (地球儀, lit. "Globe") in Japan,[42][45] and titled "Spinning Globe" internationally.[46] Yonezu's first visit to Studio Ghibli in 2018 led to his collaboration with Miyazaki, driven by his composition of "Paprika" for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Suzuki witnessed Miyazaki singing the song with children at Ghibli's nursery school, and the director approved the composition after reviewing a demo recording. Yonezu, shown storyboards and provided with project details, engaged in a five-year creative process with Miyazaki and Suzuki, resulting in the completion of the musical composition.[47]

On December 13, 2022, Toho declared that The Boy and the Heron has a scheduled theatrical release date of July 14, 2023 in Japan.[48][49][50]

The film was released in Japan without any traditional marketing campaign, with no trailers nor promotional stills of the film released before its premiere with the exception of a single poster. The decision to do so came from Suzuki, who opted to eschew traditional marketing methods due to concerns about over-revealing film content, in response to what he believed to be a fundamental preference among moviegoers for a more enigmatic cinematic experience.[51][52] The cast and crew were kept largely undisclosed until the release date.[53] After the preview screening held in late February 2023, where strict confidentiality measures were in place, a message from Miyazaki was read out following the end credits, saying "Perhaps you didn't understand it. I myself don't understand it."[8][3] On June 29, 2023, during the opening day of Friday Road Show and Ghibli Exhibition Tokyo 2023,[54] Suzuki publicly spoke on how Miyazaki is "worried" over the lack of publicity for the film, but said that he trusts the work behind it and believes it is best for the film.[55][56] It is the first Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki film to have a simultaneous release on IMAX, as well as other high-end formats like Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS:X.[57][58][59]

The film was pre-sold overseas with no concrete release date.[39] Goodfellas, formerly known as Wild Bunch, served as the sales agent for the film's distribution.[60] Upon the film's release in Japan, the North American rights were acquired by distributor GKIDS, making it the widest release in its 15-year history.[5] Internationally titled The Boy and the Heron, it will be screened in special previews on November 22 ahead of its theatrical United States release on December 8, 2023.[61][62][63] The first photos from the film were published in the theater pamphlets distributed by Ghibli on August 11.[64][65][66] The film had its international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as its opening film on September 7, becoming the first animated film in history to open the festival[67][68] and the festival's "strongest opening night film in decades".[69] The film was also shown at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival, the 2023 New York Film Festival, the 56th Sitges Film Festival and the 42nd Vancouver International Film Festival.[70][71][72][73]

Studio Ghibli granted promotional control to GKIDS for the American release, leading GKIDS to adapt a new marketing strategy, including the release of a teaser trailer on September 6[74] in advance of the film's international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, to reach a wider audience while preserving Ghibli's branding and integrity.[75] At the international premiere, where the director Guillermo del Toro introduced the film at its gala presentation,[lower-alpha 2][76] Studio Ghibli's Vice President Junichi Nishioka said that, contrary to rumors of retirement, Ghibli did not consider The Boy and the Heron to be Miyazaki's final film, and that Miyazaki is developing ideas for a new film and maintains a daily presence at his office, dispelling any notions of retirement. He said that Studio Ghibli did not envisage this film as a contender in award competitions and rejects the notion of associating films with wins or losses, and that Miyazaki's primary aim is for the audience to watch and enjoy the film.[5][77] Suzuki reiterated Nishioka's statement about Miyazaki's next project in October 2023, saying that Miyazaki has already moved on from The Boy and the Heron and is thinking about his new film every day.[78] On October 27, the official guidebook for the film will be released, showing behind-the-scenes featurettes such as interviews, roundtable discussions and storyboards.[79]

After the film's release, the novel How Do You Live? became temporarily in short supply due to the "synergistic effect" of the film. It was then decided to reprint the book, while the volumes were sold one after the other in Mercari marketplace app. On July 20, Iwanami Shoten announced on its official Twitter account that the total circulation of the book had reached 1.8 million copies, making it the number one Iwanami Bunko book in history.[127]

• The Boy and the Heron at Toho (in Japanese)
• The Boy and the Heron at IMDb
• The Boy and the Heron (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia