The Big Picture

  • Hayao Miyazaki's latest film on Netflix wows fans with stunning hand-drawn 2D animation and personal storytelling.
  • The Boy and The Heron impresses with themes of coming of age, loss, and war beautifully depicted in a mystical world.
  • With a star-studded voice cast and critical acclaim, this semi-autobiographical fantasy promises to be a must-watch on Netflix.

After winning an Oscar for Best Animated Film this year, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film The Boy and The Heron has found a streaming home on Netflix, the streamer announced. The critically acclaimed fantasy adventure brilliantly hand-drawn with an original story comes from the legendary director after a decade-long hiatus. Nonetheless, it had the attention of all fans and critics and did wonders on the box office proving to be a commercial success as well.

Set in the backdrop of the Pacific War, The Boy and The Heron follows a young boy, Mahito, yearning for his mother. Ridden with grief he accidentally ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead, where he encounters a peculiar Grey Heron, who tells him his mother is still alive. The movie is billed as a semi-autobiographical fantasy from Miyazaki, and beautifully addresses the themes of coming of age and coping with a world marred by conflict and loss, making it a perfect watch for across age groups.

The Secret Ingredient of 'The Boy and The Heron’s Success

Right off the bat, The Boy and The Heron is stunning to look at the beautiful hand-drawn 2D animation instantly offers the viewer a cozy and familiar environment. The movie is beautiful to look at and even rivaled Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which itself is a stunning piece of artwork. Coming to the themes, the movie takes a lot of inspiration from Miyazaki’s life, who also wrote the film, as he channels his anguish through a poignant, semi-autobiographical plot and animates his suffering in mystical ways. This makes the film even more personal and relatable watch for the viewers.

The movie has a 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and is highly praised by fans and critics for its visuals, background score and performances. The narrative and visual representation of the film worked wonders on the big screen as it made and broke several records at the box office. Furthermore, it has a separate voice cast for the English and the Japanese versions, whose talents further elevate the story.

The illustrious English voice cast includes Luca Padovan as Mahito Maki, Robert Pattinson as The Grey Heron, Karen Fukuhara as Lady Himi, Gemma Chan as Natsuko, Christian Bale as Shoichi Maki, Mark Hamill as Granduncle, Florence Pugh as Kiriko, Willem Dafoe as Noble Pelican, Dave Bautista as The Parakeet King and more. The Japanese cast include talents like Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Shōhei Hino, Ko Shibasaki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Kunimura, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, and more.

The Boy and The Heron will arrive on Netflix sometime later this year. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

The Boy and The Heron Film Poster
The Boy and the Heron
PG-13810

A young boy named Mahito, yearning for his mother, ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

Release Date
December 8, 2023
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Cast
Soma Santoki , Masaki Suda , Takuya Kimura , Aimyon
Runtime
124 minutes