The Boy and the Heron: all the latest on Hayao Miyazaki’s epic – The Verge

Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is a beautiful relic — and the end of an era

2023-12-08T08:30:00-05:00

Note: this review was originally published in July to coincide with the film's Japanese premiere. It has been updated and republished for the film's wide release in North America on December 8th.

The year is 1997, and famed Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki announced plans to retire following the release of Princess Mononoke, a film that set new records at the box office for Japanese animation and revolutionized the medium. The year is 2001, and Miyazaki announced plans to retire following the release of Spirited Away, saying he can no longer work on feature-length animated films. The year is 2013, and Miyazaki announced plans to retire …

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Hayao Miyazaki is very convincing

2023-11-22T12:00:00-05:00

The Boy and the Heron. | Image: GKIDS

Takeshi Honda already had a good gig lined up. The veteran animator was slated to work on Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the next film in the sci-fi series that Honda had worked on in fits and starts over the last two decades. Before starting that job, he partnered with Studio Ghibli's famed Hayao Miyazaki on Boro the Caterpillar, a short film that aired exclusively at the Ghibli Museum. But as Boro was winding down, Miyazaki came to Honda with a proposition: be the supervising animator on his next feature film.

"Of course I had already booked Evangelion, so I had to say to him 'I need some time to talk with the other parties, and …

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The Boy and the Heron’s English dub trailer keeps the secret magic intact

2023-11-02T12:07:06-04:00

In the months before The Boy and The Heron's Japanese debut, Studio Ghibli made a point of keeping details about the latest animated feature from Hayao Miyazaki to a minimum. For those who've been trying to avoid spoilers, it's definitely gotten trickier what with all the buzz coming from its run on the film festival circuit. But as much as you might expect the trailer for GKids' English dub to give away, it's a surprisingly restrained and tantalizing look at just what has everyone so worked up.

It's difficult to parse where and when The Boy and the Heron's young protagonist Mahito (Luca Padovan) is in the movie's new trailer, but it is cle …

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The Boy and the Heron’s English cast includes Christian Bale and Dave Bautista

2023-10-17T13:01:37-04:00

When Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron finally hits North American theaters, it'll be doing so with some star power. Distributor GKIDS announced the English voice cast for the animated feature, which debuted in Japan earlier this year, and it includes some big names: Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh.

The news came alongside a new poster for the film:

Presenting the English voice cast of THE BOY AND THE HERON from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

In North American theatres & IMAX Dec 8.
Tickets on sale soon.

(All production of the English language ver …

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Surprise: Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki has failed to retire a fourth time

2023-09-08T15:27:15-04:00

The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki's first feature film in a decade, probably won't be his last after all. Studio Ghibli executive Junichi Nishioka told CBC News that not only does he not feel like retiring anymore, he's actively coming into work to create yet another film.

"Other people say that [The Boy and the Heron] might be his last film, but he doesn't feel that way at all," Nishioka told CBC, through a translator, at the Toronto International Film Festival (via Gizmodo).

"He is currently working on ideas for a new film. He comes into his office every day and does that. This time, he's not going to announce his retirement at all. …

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The Boy and the Heron’s first trailer is a glimpse at Miyazaki’s next dark fantasy

2023-09-06T12:03:46-04:00

One of the most secretive films of the year just got a little less mysterious with the first trailer for The Boy and the Heron. The latest film from Studio Ghibli and perhaps the final feature-length project from famed director Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron premiered in Japan in July.

In the lead-up to its debut, Ghibli was refreshingly vague in discussing the film, which is also known as How Do You Live (and based on Genzaburo Yoshino's novel of the same name). Prior to the trailer, all fans had to go on were a few still images, simple plot descriptions, and the teasiest of teasers.

For more on the film, be sure to check out our r …

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Studio Ghibli’s mysterious new film will be out in North America later this year

2023-07-14T13:11:21-04:00

The mysterious new film from legendary animation studio Studio Ghibli and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki will be titled The Boy and the Heron in North America, according to an announcement from distributor GKids. The movie came out on Friday in Japan under the title Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka (translated as How Do You Live?), but GKids is only saying that it will be out in theaters "later this year."

Ahead of the film's release, Studio Ghibli only shared the Japanese title and a couple of images of some kind of bird-like creature - there hasn't even been a trailer - so there are a lot of unknowns about what the film might actually be about. That was …

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Hayao Miyazaki’s next film hits Japanese theaters in 2023

2022-12-13T09:10:45-05:00

Hayao Mizayaki | Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

The next release from famed animation house Studio Ghibli is due to hit Japan next year. How Do You Live (still a tentative title), the latest feature directed by Hayao Miyazaki, will be in theaters in the country on July 14th, 2023. There's no word on the international release yet, but as part of the announcement, Ghibli also put out this new poster for the film:

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Miyazaki and the studio have been working on the film for some time; the legendary director actually came out of retirement to lead the project, which was first announced in 2017, following the release of The Wind Rises, which was expected to be his final film. It's an ad …

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