The Boy and the Heron

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

2023 2h 4m JA

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 2,844

AnimationFantasyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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."

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

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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)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writers: Hayao Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki
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 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, shot by Atsushi Okui. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Soma Santoki and Masaki Suda and Ko Shibasaki carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hayao Miyazaki directs. Atsushi Okui behind the camera. Joe Hisaishi scores. Rie Matsubara cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.
3Released 3 years ago.
4Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, shot by Atsushi Okui. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Rie Matsubara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Soma Santoki and Masaki Suda and Ko Shibasaki carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Where death comes to an end, life finds a new beginning.".
9IMDB entry: tt6587046 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 22 themes, including "loss of loved one", "world war ii", "supernatural", "education".
11Released under 30 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Atsushi Okui
Original score: Joe Hisaishi
Editing: Rie Matsubara
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $50,000,000
Box office: $294,200,000
Return: 588% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Awards

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film
Ōfuji Noburō Award
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Feature
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film
BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

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

Also by

Hayao Miyazaki

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2023-10-27
★ 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 viewers into a world of wonder and magic. The sound design and score complement the visuals beautifully, enhancing the overall viewing experience. And finally, the film retains the typical Ghibli humor that fans have come to love, sprinkling lighthearted moments throughout the narrative. However, Hayao Miyazaki succumbs to his ambition. The filmmaker tries to incorporate too many ideas, resulting in a somewhat confusing, messy narrative, particularly in the transitions between different characters, locations, and story arcs. THE BOY AND THE HERON stumbles in its attempt to juggle multiple ideas, but overall, it still manages to deliver a delightful, enchanting experience for fans of the studio's work. Rating: B-
CinemaSerf2023-12-30
★ 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 "requested" by an enigmatic and beautiful grey heron, he strays into an old abandoned tower on his family estate and is soon embroiled in a world inhabited by people who are alive and, well, not! It seems the heron is not quite what it seemed, either, as he must explore rooms within rooms and endless doors that open into new scenarios. Pursued by giant pelicans, how can "Mahito" find his stepmother and return safely to their home? Luckily, along the way, he encounters the benevolently spiritual "Kiriko" as he finds himself the subject of some clever manipulation between the outwardly benign "Grand Uncle" who draws the power of life from a giant sacred stone he wishes to leave in the custody of our young explorer and the ambitious "Pelican King". You simply cannot fail to admire the vivid imagination of Miyazaki - the ideas and apparent randomness of the threads that gradually come together is hard enough to follow sometimes even when you have seen the denouement, and that's what makes these intricately drawn and characterised stories usually more intriguing and enjoying. Somehow, though, this was just a little too unstructured and meandering for my little brain. I've seen it twice now and maybe I just didn't engage with "Mahito" in the way I did with "Howl", "Totoro" or 'Chihiro" or, indeed, with the story. It's still a glorious watch on a big screen and is certainly well worth watching. Just not sure it is in his top five, though!
Chandler Danier2024-07-03
★ 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's cool animation. I like to watch these in Japanese with subs but I went back to listen to the English track for certain scenes. Dafoe kills it as the dying stork.