On December 8th, Studio Ghibli released The Boy and the Heron in the United States. With both Japanese and English dubbed versions made available, the film is accessible to watch in theaters around the nation.
The storyline takes place during the Pacific War and is considered the coming-of-age narrative of Mahito Maki. Just a young boy, Mahito is adjusting to the death and loss of his mother, as he and his father move to live with his new stepmother, Natsuko, in a rural area. There, he encounters a gray heron, who he follows to discover an abandoned tower. One day, Natsuko mysteriously disappears, and Mahito chooses to enter into the tower where she was last seen. However, he only comes across the heron, who leads him into a completely different world, in which Mahito encounters and meets new people and creatures. In attempts to locate Natsuko, Mahito pursues an adventure that eventually forces him to make a choice that has consequences that could destroy dimensions.
Over the years, Studio Ghibli has built a fanbase with a common appreciation for beautiful animations and fantasy concepts. This enjoyment has sprawled across the globe since the studio’s originating in Japan. Since the release of Castle in the Sky in 1986, Studio Ghibli has created over 20 films in its course. The Boy and the Heron has been anticipated since its initial announcement in 2017. Production spanned an unexpected seven years due to a series of setbacks including COVID-19. The film was finally theatrically released in July of 2023 in Japan after high production costs.
I had really high expectations for this film, as I have thoroughly enjoyed many other Ghibli movies such as Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. While I enjoyed The Boy and the Heron, I constantly find myself wanting to rewatch the older movies and can’t confidently say I liked this one as much. The movie was very much beautiful as well as action-packed, but I had difficulty following the storyline. Ghibli storylines are not known to be simple, a characteristic that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, I got confused a few times during the film, which made it difficult for me to understand everything that was happening.
Miro Durana on Rotten Tomatoes shared, “To give you an idea as to what you can expect from this movie, it has a similar feel of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ but [imbued] with the Ghibli magic you’re familiar with. It includes elements of many of the other Ghibli movies ‘Princess Mononoke’, ‘Pompoko’, and ‘My neighbor Totoro’ but adds something new that’s never been made before by Hayao [Miyazaki].”
Living up to the Ghibli standard, the animation of the film was beautiful and never lacked in visual detail. Each creature was strikingly interesting and unique, which contributed to the fantasy-magical aspect of the plot. Overall, I found little flaws in terms of animation.
