The Boy and the Beast

"In a world of beasts, he found a family."

2015 1h 59m JA

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🔥

90%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 1,652🍅90%Rotten Tomatoes●65Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 29,537

ActionAdventureAnimationDramaFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.

“In a world of beasts, he found a family.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

HBO Max Amazon ChannelSubscription

Crunchyroll Amazon ChannelSubscription

HBO MaxSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Koji Yakusho
Kumatetsu (voice)
Aoi Miyazaki
Young Kyuta (voice)
Shota Sometani
Teenage Kyuta (voice)
Suzu Hirose
Kaede (voice)
Lily Franky
Hyakushūbō (voice)
Yo Oizumi
Tatara (voice)
Kazuhiro Yamaji
Iozen (voice)
Mamoru Miyano
Teenage Ichirohiko (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Writers: Mamoru Hosoda, Mamoru Hosoda
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, shot by Ryo Horibe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Masakatsu Takagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Shigeru Nishiyama shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Koji Yakusho and Aoi Miyazaki and Shota Sometani carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In a world of beasts, he found a family.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4272866 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mamoru Hosoda directs. Ryo Horibe behind the camera. Masakatsu Takagi scores. Shigeru Nishiyama cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, shot by Ryo Horibe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Masakatsu Takagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Shigeru Nishiyama shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Koji Yakusho and Aoi Miyazaki and Shota Sometani carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "In a world of beasts, he found a family.".
7IMDB entry: tt4272866 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 21 themes, including "japan", "parent child relationship", "runaway", "homelessness".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ryo Horibe
Original score: Masakatsu Takagi
Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama
Costume design: Daisuke Iga
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $49,714,378
Original language: JA
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Boy and the Beast (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 29,537 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 7 nominations total

Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Mamoru Hosoda

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-03-24
★ 8/10
Lost in one world, found in another. My last anime movie was 'Giovanni Island' and I did not end up liking much. I thought that was a decent movie with an intense WWII story told through the Japanese children's perspective. Since then almost half a year passed and now I saw this from the director of 'Wolf Children'. That was his career best movie, so I think the director wanted to follow the same footstep. Thus he ended up making this one which was quite similar theme, except the sketches were not as cute as that. Like one of the discussion topics on this title, it almost connects with the director's previous movie. Maybe something like Tarantino, who tried to connect 'The Hateful Eight' with 'Django Unchained', later dropped the idea for the characters that failed to merge. But here the reason might be the drawings which were somewhat different styles. And this one seems for teenagers and adults for having a little mature content when the narration reaches the second half. It opened by a brief telling about the monsters and its world. Came back to the human society to focus on a 8-year-old runaway boy named Ren. While tailing a couple of strange creatures, he accidentally enters the monster world through a secret portal. Soon he meets a beast called Kumatetsu who is one of two candidates for 'the great master' title, decides to take him as his protege. So the quarrelling begins between them for having difference in everything, but as the time passes, they bond well. Then comes a time for Kumatetsu to compete in what he was preparing for, and the boy who finds his own path. But somewhere when they were getting apart, an evil force brings them together to fight against it. "People who work hard sincerely will master it quickly." Felt like I was watching a comedy, that was until the first half. All the character intros were kind of normal, nothing grand, but later found a strong connection to each other and each were very unique in nature to remember. This part is where that suits better for children and what comes next was kind of opposite. Feels fun parts are over, introduces a few new characters as the narration takes as big leap as 8 years forward. This middle section was like a re-launch, like a new story to begin. As a child character turns into a teenager, the movie attempted to fit with adultish stuffs. So there was a semi romance, but feels like the quite friendship track. This is where you think the movie lets you down, a time kill section. Due to the theme that designed to take place between the two worlds, this is very important for moving forward to the 3rd act. I think shortening around 5 minutes would have done good for the pace of the movie. The final act is even more unlike to the earlier episodes that adds a wonderful special effects to bring the action sequence. Sadly the stunts were not as dynamic as I hoped, I mean it was too short especially if you love fights. The kid and the beast combo were like from 'Ernest & Celestine'. Whenever these two are seen together, that bring so much fun. Basically the movie outlines how humans are obsessed for power, who can go any lengths to clinch it and one of the ways is to let the darkness consume him. I already saw it twice. For the second time view it was even better and I liked it very much. Still, it is not the director's best work, as well as not a bad movie to just ignore. After Miyazaki announced his retirement, many anime fans, including me were heartbroken. I never found anyone who can replace him, but a very few names came closer that includes this film director. He already gave some hits, but right now all he needs is to carry on his consistency, and definitely his name would appear beside that legend. I need not to tell you that anime movies are becoming rare these days, so when one make its way and people who watched it says it is a good movie, then must grab it. 8½/10

Production companies