The Boy and the Heron: Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Directorial Effort

The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki’s final directorial effort, is scheduled for release later this year. Over the course of his six-decade career, he has directed a plethora of films that have garnered critical praise. The highly acclaimed director and recognized artist’s upcoming Japanese animated film has been in the works for nearly a decade, making it unquestionably the most anticipated of all of their projects. It is scheduled for its first public viewing this coming summer.

A Grand Fantasy

The film, which Miyazaki penned and oversaw as it was being made, has been described as a “grand fantasy.” It is not a straight adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Genzaburo Yoshino in 1937. Still, it draws its inspiration from that work. An original idea is explored in the film as a coming-of-age tale that follows a young kid as he investigates his emotional and philosophical development in the wake of the loss of his father.

The 11th Feature Film by Hayao Miyazaki

The Boy and the Heron is the 11th feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and the 10th film produced by Studio Ghibli, which is the movie’s production banner. The Japanese title of the film is Kimitachi wa Da Ikiru ka. The Japanese director declared his retirement for the second time in 2013 but chose to demonstrate his prodigious craft one more time with one more movie. Production on the movie has been underway since 2016 after the director announced his retirement for the first time in 2013. After what feels like an eternity of labor and the contributions of many talented artists, the movie is finally progressing toward completion, and its debut is just around the corner.

Prepare for an Emotional Journey

As you prepare to embark on another fanciful voyage with Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, you should brace yourself for the possibility that your heartstrings will be pulled. During the Studio Ghibli Fest 2023, which is currently taking place, you can delve into the enchanted world of Ghibli films if you have yet to see his work. While you wait, continue reading for our comprehensive guide on all the elements of the movie, including the specifics of the plot, the release date, and everything else that we know about The Boy and the Heron.

The Boy and the Heron Cast

Takuya Kimura as Shoichi Maki(voice)
Jun Kunimura as The Parakeet King(voice)
Masaki Suda as The Grey Heron(voice)
Kaoru Kobayashi as Old Pelican(voice)
Shôhei Hino as Great-Uncle(voice)
Yoshino Kimura as Natsuko(voice)
Soma Santoki as Mahito Maki(voice)
Aimyon as Himi(voice)
Jun Fubuki as Mother #2(voice)
Keiko Takeshita as Mother #1(voice)
Shinobu Ôtake as Mother #5(voice)
Sawako Agawa as Mother #3(voice)
Karen Takizawa as Mother #4(voice)
Kou Shibasaki as Kiriko(voice)

Release Date

Toho announced on December 13, 2022, that the theatrical release of Kimitachi wa Da Ikiru ka is planned to take place in Japan on July 14, 2023. A single poster was the only form of traditional advertising used to promote the film; there was neither a trailer nor any promotional stills that featured the movie that was distributed before the premiere. Suzuki was the one who chose to proceed in this manner. Suzuki made a public statement on June 29, 2023, on the opening day of the Friday Road Show and Ghibli Exhibition Tokyo 2023, about how Miyazaki is “worried” about the lack of publicity for the movie but that he trusts the effort that is behind it and believes that it is best for the movie. He claimed that he believes it is best for the movie. It is the first film produced by Studio Ghibli and the first film directed by Miyazaki to have a simultaneous release in IMAX and other high-end formats like Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS: X. The film was pre-sold in international markets. However, there is currently no set date for its release. After the film was shown in Japan, the rights to distribute it in North America were purchased by GKIDS. The film, which will be released in the United States under the title The Boy and the Heron in 2023, was shown in Japan first.

Director

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, and manga artist. He is recognized worldwide for his skill as a storyteller and maker of animated feature films in Japan. He is one of the co-founders of the animation studio Studio Ghibli. According to a widespread consensus, he is recognized as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation. Miyazaki was born in Tokyo in the Japanese Empire and was interested in comics and animation at a young age. In 1963, he started working at Toei Animation. In the early stages of his career at Toei Animation, he was employed as an in-between artist, and he went on to work with director Isao Takahata later on. Doggie March and Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon are two of the most notable movies to which Miyazaki contributed while working at Toei. Before transferring to A-Pro in 1971, he was a key animator on several movies at Toei, including Puss in Boots and Animal Treasure Island. After making the move, he co-directed Lupin the Third Part I alongside Takahata. He left Toei in 1971. After moving to Zuiy Eiz in 1973, which would later become Nippon Animation, Miyazaki worked as an animator on World Masterpiece Theater and directed the television series Future Boy Conan in 1978. Both of these projects were produced in Japan. In 1979, he joined the Tokyo Movie Shinsha staff and directed his debut feature film, The Castle of Cagliostro, and the television series Sherlock Hound. During the same time period, he also started writing and illustrating the manga Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1982–1994) and directed the 1984 movie adaptation that Topcraft produced. Both of these projects were completed during the same time period.

Plot

During the Pacific War in 1943, Mahito Maki’s mother, Hisako, was killed in an air raid on Tokyo. Mahito was just 12 years old at the time. After the death of Mahito’s mother, Mahito’s father bought an air munitions plant and remarried the younger sister of his late wife, Natsuko. After, the family was forced to flee to Natsuko’s home in the countryside, where they lived with numerous elderly maids. Mahito is having difficulty adjusting to life in the new town as he is still dealing with the loss of his mother, gets bullied at school, and is in the midst of a stressful relationship with Natsuko, who is expecting their child. At the estate, Mahito encounters a mysterious grey heron that regularly torments him. Mahito willfully injures himself by banging the back of his skull with a rock while walking home from school one day after getting into a fight with other students. While Mahito recuperates from his injury at the estate, he comes upon a copy of the book How Do You Live? that contains his mother’s handwriting inside. She had purchased the book to give it to him when he was an adult. Mahito ultimately discovers that the heron can talk and is a little guy occupying the heron’s body. Mahito is teased by the heron, leading him to a mysterious tower in the woods close to the house. The tower was constructed by Masato’s great-uncle, a well-known architect who vanished. The heron tells Mahito that his mother is still alive and that he must go inside the tower to save her. At first, Mahito is afraid to go inside. Still, after witnessing Natsuko, who is sick then, enter the tower under inexplicable circumstances, he decides to go inside to save her and finds himself in a parallel world filled with magic. In the parallel universe, Mahito meets many interesting people, such as Kiriko, a sailor lady who is a younger version of a maid at the estate, and Himi, a young woman with magical powers who helps Mahito and Kiriko. Both of these women are related to the estate in some way. And Natsuko’s great-uncle, a powerful magician who dominates the universe, is the ancestor of Natsuko. When Mahito, Himi, and the heron infiltrate a castle being defended by enormous man-eating parakeets, they find Natsuko within. Natsuko initially opposes leaving with Mahito…