Emerging from retirement after a decade-long absence from feature filmmaking, Oscar-winning Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has returned with a visually breathtaking animated adventure that mingles visionary, gravity-defying fantasy with poignant autobiographical touches. Set during WWII, The Boy and the Heron follows young Mahito who moves with his father, the owner of an air munitions factory, to the countryside following the tragic death of his mother. Like Mahito, Miyazaki’s family also evacuated from Tokyo to the country during the war, and Miyazaki’s father was the director of a factory that manufactured rudders for fighter planes. After encountering a mischievous heron, Mahito is drawn into a supernatural wonderland ruled over by brightly plumed birds, where the living mingle with the dead and his loved ones appear in different forms.
The Japanese title of The Boy and the Heron — Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka, which translates to How Do You Live? — is taken from a 1937 coming-of-age novel by Genzaburō Yoshino that chronicles the school and home life of a 15-year-old-boy in 1930s Japan.
Learn More: “How a once-banned Japanese children’s book became a classic – and the next Studio Ghibli film” — Penguin Books
While The Boy and the Heron is not an adaptation of Yoshino’s novel, the book makes a significant appearance within the world of the film in the form of a gift given to Mahito by his mother.
The Boy and the Heron is also a tribute to Miyazaki’s friend and Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies), who passed way in 2018. In an interview with IndieWire, The Boy and the Heron‘s producer Toshio Suzuki suggested that the character of Great-Uncle, voiced by Mark Hamill in the English-language version, represents Takahata.
Learn More: “What’s It Like to Work With Hayao Miyazaki? Go Behind the Scenes.” — Carlos Aguilar; The New York Times
Opening January 19 in OKCMOA’s Noble Theater, The Boy and the Heron will screen in both its original Japanese-language version with English subtitles and in an English dubbed version, which features the voices of acclaimed stars like Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh. Click here to listen to an NPR story about the process of translating and dubbing The Boy and the Heron.
The Boy and the Heron won the 2024 Golden Globe award for Best Animated Film. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score, and was shortlisted in the Best Original Score category at the 96th Academy awards. Click here to listen to Joe Hisaishi’s score for The Boy and the Heron on Spotify (account required).
Learn More: “‘The Boy and the Heron’ composer wants you to feel the movie, not search for meaning” — Tim Greiving; Los Angeles Times
One of the most acclaimed films of 2023, it was voted the Best Animated Film of the year by the Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, San Diego, New York and Los Angeles film critics associations among others. Check out the list below for a roundup of reviews, podcasts, and videos about The Boy and the Heron, and join us in the Noble Theater this month!
“Review: ‘The Boy and the Heron’ is Hayao Miyazaki at his most beautifully elegiac” — Justin Chang; Los Angeles Times
“‘The Boy and the Heron’ Review: Hayao Miyazaki Has a Question for You” — Alissa Wilkinson; The New York Times
“‘The Boy and the Heron’ Proves That Hayao Miyazaki Is the Greatest Animator Alive” — David Fear; Rolling Stone
“Hayao Miyazaki’s Magical Realms” — Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz; The New Yorker
