The Boy and the Heron

2023 124 min ★ 7.4 Animation, Fantasy, Drama

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

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Cast

Soma Santoki

Mahito Maki (voice)

Masaki Suda

Gray Heron (voice)

Ko Shibasaki

Kiriko (voice)

Aimyon

Lady Himi (voice)

Yoshino Kimura

Natsuko (voice)

Takuya Kimura

Shoichi Maki (voice)

Keiko Takeshita

Izumi (voice)

Jun Fubuki

Utako (voice)

Sawako Agawa

Eriko (voice)

Karen Takizawa

Warawara (voice)

Details

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Screenplay

Hayao Miyazaki

Tagline

"Where death comes to an end, life finds a new beginning."

Status

Released

Original Language

JA

Budget

$50,000,000

Revenue

$294,200,000

Production

Studio Ghibli

Reviews

M

Manuel São Bento

October 27, 2023

★ 6/10

MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2023-edition THE BOY AND THE HERON is a visually captivating film that struggles to balance all of its storylines and themes. Technically, no faults. The visuals are nothing short of breathtaking, with each shot meticulously detailed and rich in storytelling. The animation is a true work of art, drawing viewe...

C

CinemaSerf

December 30, 2023

★ 7/10

Maybe it's sacrilegious to say, but I didn't love this latest from the marvellously imaginative mind of Hayao Miyazaki. It follows the adventures of "Mahito" who arrives at the home of his factory-owning father amidst WWII. We appreciate quickly that his mother has died and that he is to have a new, expectant, mother in "Natsuko". When she mysteriously disappears and "Mahito" finds his presence "r...

C

Chandler Danier

July 3, 2024

★ 8/10

Good little adventure for this young man who... has a bit of a strange situation with his dad. What a crazy bugger his dad is and what kind of family dynamic is going on? Is the younger sister pregnant with the dad's kid? Maybe it's cultural and I'm not sure why the old man changes intention so quickly or what the bird motivations are. Perhaps will read a book about it one day. It's fun. There'...