The heron, now speaking, entices Mahito with promises of finding his mother. Mahito, distant to the pregnant Natsuko, encounters a peculiar grey heron leading him to a sealed tower, the last known location of Natsuko's architect granduncle.Īfter a school fight, Mahito deliberately injures himself. Mahito's father Shoichi, an air munitions factory owner, marries his late wife's sister, Natsuko, and they evacuate to her rural estate. Among its numerous accolades, it won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.ĭuring the Pacific War in Tokyo, Mahito Maki loses his mother Hisako in a hospital fire. The film received critical acclaim and has grossed US$167 million worldwide. The release of the film was noted for its intentional absence of any promotion, with Ghibli choosing not to release any trailers, images, synopsis or casting details of the film in advance of its Japanese premiere with the exception of a single poster. The Boy and the Heron was theatrically released in Japan on July 14, 2023, by Toho, and was screened in both traditional theaters and other premium formats such as IMAX. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's score, while Kenshi Yonezu wrote and sang the film's theme song " Spinning Globe". The screenplay draws heavily from Miyazaki's childhood, and explores themes of coming of age and coping with a world marked by conflict and loss. According to producer Toshio Suzuki, The Boy and the Heron is the most expensive film ever produced in Japan. Financing for the project involved streaming deals for previous Ghibli films. Production spanned approximately seven years, facing delays as it navigated challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Miyazaki's slowed animation pace, before nearing completion in October 2022. By May 2020, 36 minutes of the film had been hand-drawn by 60 animators, with no set deadline. The film's title was announced in October 2017, targeting a release around the 2020 Summer Olympics. He began storyboarding for a new feature-length project in July 2016, and official production began in May 2017.
Miyazaki announced his retirement in September 2013 but later reversed this decision after working on the short film Boro the Caterpillar, which was released in 2018. Described as a "big fantastical film", it follows a boy named Mahito Maki during the Pacific War who moves to the countryside after his mother's death, discovers an abandoned tower near his new home, and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.
The Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake.
Produced by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese title references Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel of the same name, which briefly appears in the film, but the film has an original story that is not connected to the novel. 'How Do You Live?') is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The Boy and the Heron ( Japanese: 君たちはどう生きるか, Hepburn: Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, lit.