X
Summary 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.
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Written By: Hayao Miyazaki
The Boy and the Heron
7.8
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Summary 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.
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Written By: Hayao Miyazaki
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 55 Critic Reviews
91
95% Positive
52 Reviews
52 Reviews
5% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 55 Critic Reviews
91
95% Positive
52 Reviews
52 Reviews
5% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Dec 24, 2023
The Boy and the Heron is richly self-synthesising and achingly sentimental, collating artistic motifs from across the Miyazaki filmography and nakedly articulating the hopes it places in the next generation.
Nov 28, 2023
As you leave The Boy and the Heron, you may feel strangely bereft, emptied out in a way that I suspect Miyazaki both intends and hopes to console us against.
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 413 User Ratings
7.8
77% Positive
316 Ratings
316 Ratings
16% Mixed
66 Ratings
66 Ratings
8% Negative
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 413 User Ratings
7.8
77% Positive
316 Ratings
316 Ratings
16% Mixed
66 Ratings
66 Ratings
8% Negative
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
Aug 31, 2025
Another masterpiece by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki full of crazy and dark twists and turns.
Report
Apr 15, 2025
The Boy and the Heron là anime kỳ ảo sâu sắc về hành trình trưởng thành và chữa lành của thiếu niên Mahito sau mất mát.
Report
Sep 7, 2023
While this dream-like warble of a swan song may be too pitchy and scattered to hit with the gale-force power that made “The Wind Rises” feel like such a definitive farewell, The Boy and the Heron finds Miyazaki so nakedly bidding adieu — to us, and to the crumbling kingdom of dreams and madness that he’ll soon leave behind — that it somehow resolves into an even more fitting goodbye, one graced with the divine awe and heart-stopping wistfulness of watching a true immortal make peace with their own death.
Dec 6, 2023
Hayao Miyazaki's 12th and possibly final feature film could not be more relevant as a call to action, bravery, and the unrelenting hope of childhood.
By Francisca Tinoco FULL REVIEW
Dec 6, 2023
It’s a grand culmination of both Miyazaki’s extraordinary body of work and of a film that gathers, like a flock, or a symphony, so many of his trademark obsessions.
Dec 20, 2023
The Boy and the Heron is a valuable new addition to this unique film-artist’s canon, about confronting a terrible sadness and finding a way to replace it with wonder and joy.
Sep 8, 2023
The Boy and the Heron is a gentler and slower though no less soulful addition to his canon.
By Radheyan Simonpillai FULL REVIEW
Jun 29, 2024
I love Miyazaki. Out of all anime, he's at the top of the list for me. He's a master, and Heron pits his animation front and center - its glorious. Unfortunately, that is yhe height of the film for me. The story was too vague for my dumb head. I get it was largely biographical about his life and therfore very personal to him, and I hope that scratched whatever itch that man needed to scratch, but I could have used a more cohesive narrative instead of just the aroma of a the theme. I get some Candide vibe, "plant and tend your own gardern" especially in the face of tragedy.Definitely a coming of age fever dream, and no issues with that, but Miyazaki doesn't really have a **** say about it other than beautiful animation. That animation is the real star of the movie and it's great on that alone, but it's only as deep as the paint on the canvas for me. Similar to The Wind Rises in beauty, but also lacking depth I hoped for.
Report
Jan 10, 2024
I grew up on anime, at least the anime that was slowly making its way into the US in the early 90s. Multiply copied VHS, those fever dream dubs early morning Saturday on SciFi. Then I found manga, learning the language, finding a rich media tradition and enjoying it more than most anything Western media has provided. Ghibli films are a big part of what I love about Japan. Castle Of Cagliostro remains a personal favorite (I know, but it is really a Ghibli film), and all the fan favorites, but I love Whisper Of The Heart and the Cat Returns. I love relatively more recent films, like Arriety and The Wind Rises. The last film out of Japan we saw in theaters that we enjoyed immensely was Shinkai's Suzume. I'm qualifying all this to explain that I did not go into this film as an unwashed initiate, some rube that casually went into a theater thinking this animated film should be fun. I knew what I was getting into. My wife and I had to struggle to find a sub version playing in a local theater so we could enjoy the film as it was meant to be enjoyed. We did not like the film, which surprised us more than anything else. Mostly because of the nearly universal praise the film has garnered. The more I see others praise the film, the more I wonder if I was just mistaken, that I am the crazy one. I'll probably see it again just to confirm or disabuse what I saw and heard in the theater. I look at it like the Emperor's New Clothes. Miyazaki is a giant, this was to be his opus, and most of the reviews reflect this. So much praise is heaped on Miyazaki, it is as if people are afraid to say anything negative about the film. To the meat of it. Know that I am stating opinions. Visually, the film is well crafted. More surreal in parts than other films, but that is not really a problem with me. I thought the motion blurring was overused in places, preferring cleaner lines in animation. The premise is fine, and the seiyuu were excellent in their performances. I had no PROBLEMS with the story being heavily allegorical and non traditional. I don't need to be spoonfed a story, but I freely admit I do not go out of my way to watch or rewatch films that rely on art instead of structure. The story leans heavily into a knowledge of Japanese customs, history and mythology. Knowledge I have, but a person can know something and still be confused as to what is happening while watching the film. And I think this film was made that way on purpose, like Miyazaki wanted you to realize what something meant only after you are done watching. Everything felt very deliberate in how it was made. Honestly, I wanted to watch a film, not put together a puzzle. However, I want to be clear, while I do not care for this kind of storytelling, I do not want these opinions to color what I think made the film an objectively disappointing film. The two major complaints I have are very simple, something I feel are important in how films are made: music and pacing. I think Joe Hisaishi is one of the greatest composers who has ever lived, earning his place next to John Williams or any other composer of that magnitude. I own and regularly listen to many of his scores. He brings films alive like few can. And the music for this film isn't just the worst he's ever made, it might be one of the worst collection of music for any film. That is, when there is music. For a 124 minute film, there are massive stretches of space with no music. Then when the music plays, we are lucky to get a few single notes from a piano. From the man who brought us Merry-Go-Round Of Life, there was no dynamics in this score. The worst offender of the film was the pacing. There are long, LONG, stretches of nothing. Any editor worth their salt should have cut about 30 minutes from this film. Yes, the animated scenery is pretty, but then it keeps going. The purpose of a scene is to move from point A to point B. This film doesn't do that. It wants you to appreciate the scenery and forget that there should be a story there. And Miyazaki does that plenty in his other films, but always with restraint, with a focus on showcasing art inside of the frame of a story, rather than making the art the point of the film. Which is what I think is the problem. It is an animated arthouse film. It wanted to evoke feeling rather than tell a story. And it looks like a lot of people just wanted those feelings, because a lot of people liked this film. I was looking forward to watching a story and was disappointed.
Report
Production Company
- Studio Ghibli
- Toho
Release Date Nov 22, 2023
Duration 2 h 4 m
Rating PG-13
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Annie Awards
• 2 Wins & 7 Nominations
