The Boy and the Heron: Release date, trailer & everything we know
Studio GhibliThe Boy and the Heron is the newest Studio Ghibli film
Hayao Miyazaki returns to the big screen once more with the Boy and the Heron. Here is everything we know about the legendary filmmaker’s latest project.
After years of working for Toei Animation and A-Pro, Hayao Miyazaki directed his first feature film, The Castle of Cagliostro, in 1979. That led the animator and filmmaker to co-found Studio Ghibli.
Under his newly minted studio, Miyazaki went on to direct a string of memorable movies and established a reputation as one of the greatest animators of all time.
Spirited Away became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history and won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, while Howl’s Moving Castle and the Wind Rises received nominations. In 2013, Miyazaki announced his retirement from filmmaking, but The Boy and the Heron brought him back for a 12th time.
When is the release date?
The Boy and The Heron was released on July 14 in Japan but won’t come to the US until December 8, and the UK December 26 – though was shown at the London Film Festival in October.
Ghibli’s latest film comes at a perfect time, right before March’s Academy Awards. 2023 was a stacked year for animated films with heavy hitters like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Super Mario Bros., but the world-renowned artist is sure to make waves with his project.
The Boy and The Heron cast
The Japanese voice cast for the movie is as follows:
- Soma Santoki as Mahito Maki
- Masaki Suda as The Grey Heron
- Karen Takizawa as Mother #4
- Takuya Kimura as Shoichi Maki
- Aimyon as Himi
- Shohei Hino as Great-Uncle
- Jun Kunimura as The Parakeet King
- Kaoru Kobayashi as Dying Pelican
- Yoshino Kimura as Natsuko
- Ko Shibasaki as Kiriko
- Shinobu Otake as Mother #5
- Jun Fubuki as Mother #2
- Keiko Takeshita as Mother #1
- Sawako Agawa as Mother #3
As for the English dub, the voice cast includes but is not limited to:
- Christian Bale as Shoichi Maki
- Dave Bautista as The Parakeet King
- Gemma Chan as Natsuko
- Willem Dafoe as Noble Pelican
- Karen Fukuhara as Lady Himi
- Mark Hamill as Granduncle
- Robert Pattinson as The Grey Heron
- Florence Pugh as Kiriko
- Luca Padovan as Mahito Maki
- Mamoudou Athie as Parakeet
- Tony Revolori as Parakeet
- Dan Stevens as Parakeet
The Boy and The Heron trailer
On September 6, GKIDS Films revealed the first trailer.
The film’s English dubbed trailer was released on November 2. Catch it in full below:
What is The Boy and the Heron about?
As described on GKIDS official website, Miyazaki’s film is about: “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.”
The movie was also categorized as A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation in tribute to friendship.
That’s everything we know about The Boy and the Heron. For more, make sure to check out the rest of our upcoming movie coverage.
