The Boy and the Heron is an animated movie produced by Studio Ghibli and written, animated and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Released in December of 2023, The Boy and the Heron stars, (in english), Luca Padovan in the starring voice roll of Mahito Maki as the boy travels away from Tokyo during World War II to live with his father Shoichi Maki (Christain Bale, no I’m not kidding) and his fathers new lover, Himiko (Karen Fukuhara) after his mother (Gemma Chan) dies in a fire.
Upon his arrival to the new home Mahito is pursued by a grey heron who eventually leads him to a tower made by his grand uncle (played by Mark Hamil). Eventually, the pregnant Himiko disappears into the tower and Mahito and one of the old maids, Kiriko (Florence Pugh), follow. Inside the heron (Robert Pattinson) takes the form of a man, and leads Mahito and Kiriko through the tower on a mission to save Himiko and the unborn child.
This movie was fantastic. All of the actors and actresses did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life in a beautifully drawn and animated world. Every single shot in this movie is hand drawn by Hayao Miyazaki, and is beautifully executed. While the story had me lost for a bit the ending really tied all of the strings together and proved what an excellent story it was. The movie’s themes of legacy and ending really help push the narrative forward, and may also be a signal to fans that it is Miyazaki’s last film, and after twelve feature-length films, spanned across nearly forty years, Miyazaki has truly left an indelible mark on the legacy of animated media.