The Boy and the Heron Review

Hayao Miyazaki is a legend of Japanese animation, making numerous classics like My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. After a 10-year break, Miyazaki has returned with possibly his last film, The Boy and the Heron.

Mahito Maki (Luca Padovan) is a young boy who loses his mother during an Allied bombing raid on Tokyo during the Second World War. Mahito’s father (Christian Bale) marries Natsuko (Gemma Chan), Mahtio’s late mother’s sister, and they are evacuated to the countryside.

When Mahito arrives at his mother’s ancestorial home he meets a supernatural heron (Robert Pattinson). The Heron says Mahito’s mother is still alive in another world. After Natsuko disappears in the forest, Mahito is forced to go on a rescue mission to save his aunt/stepmother.

The end of 2023 saw two Japanese films find great success in the West: Godzilla Minus One and of course, The Boy and the Heron. Both films were visually spectacular films that looked at the impact of war. They were character-driven films that explored trauma and grief. The Boy and the Heron tells its story through the eyes of a boy who goes into a strange fantasy world.

The Boy and the Heron was a film jam-packed with ideas and themes. There were themes about grief and acceptance, anti-war and militarism, environmentalism, and coming of age. All of these ideas have been explored in previous films and The Boy and the Heron did come across as Miyazaki’s greatest hits. Considering Miyazaki’s filmography, he’s deserving of a greatest hit type film.

Miyazaki has always been anti-war and films like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle had anti-war imagery. Environmental themes were explored in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke and the idea of a parent figure being ill with fantasy creatures appearing was a bit like My Neighbour Totoro.

The film that The Boy and the Heron bore the most similarities to was Spirited Away, arguably Miyazaki’s best film. This was due to Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron about 12-year-old characters in rural Japan needing to save an adult from a fantasy world. Like Chihiro/Sen in Spirited Away, Mahito met various allies and enemies and discovered that characters were more than black-and-white. There was also a bit of When Marnie Was There since there was a time travel mechanic, or if you prefer a more Western reference, it was a little like The Chronicle of Narnia where time in our world and the fantasy world moves differently.

Whilst The Boy and the Heron shares DNA with a lot of Miyazaki’s previous films, it was still its own beast. It was a story about Mahito’s self-discovery and discovering the truth about his family history. Mahito had to learn to accept Natsuko since she was kind and tried to get close to the boy, but he knew he had to try and save her when she disappeared. There were some genuine moments of emotion when Mahito met characters he had shared a connection with. It made The Boy and the Heron a heartfelt film.

The fantasy world was a strange and wonderful place. It was filled with seemingly normal creatures, like fish and pelicans, spirits that floated up to Mahito’s world, and anthropomorphic parakeets that seemed comedic but were actually dark beings. It was a rich and dense worldbuilding that Miyazaki’s films have become known for.

The mix of real drama and fantasy in The Boy and the Heron led to a theme of order and chaos. Many characters were trying to take control of their lives in a world that has no rhyme or reason. Characters take action against themselves, to a seemingly benevolent figure trying to keep the world alive which was a desperate struggle.

I watched the English dub of the film and like previous Studio Ghibli did get A-List talent. There was Christian Bale (who previously voiced a character in Howl’s Moving Castle), Gemma Chan, Florence Pugh, Robert Pattinson, and Mark Hamill. There were even actors like Willem Dafoe and Dave Bautista who voiced smaller roles. With this level of talent, there was excellent voice performance throughout the film. Luca Padovan gave a strong performance as the lead character, whilst Pattinson was the most surprising because he was playing an ugly, deceitful character who tried to trick Mahito.

The Boy and the Heron was a wonderfully rich and complex film because of its characters, plotting, and world-building. It was a compelling, mature, and heart-wrenching experience, and if it’s Miyazaki’s final film it was a great way to end his career.