While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."
"Where death comes to an end, life finds a new beginning."
Top Billed Cast
Soma Santoki
Mahito Maki (voice)
Masaki Suda
Gray Heron (voice)
Ko Shibasaki
Kiriko (voice)
Aimyon
Lady Himi (voice)
Yoshino Kimura
Natsuko (voice)
Takuya Kimura
Shoichi Maki (voice)
Keiko Takeshita
Izumi (voice)
Jun Fubuki
Utako (voice)
Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews
M Manuel São BentoVerified TMDB Critic
2023-10-27
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THE BOY AND THE HERON is a visually captivating film that struggles to balance all of its storylines and themes. Technically, no faults. The visuals are nothing short of breathtaking, with each shot meticulously detailed and rich in storytelling. The animation is a true work of art, drawing viewers into a world of wonder and magic. The sound design and score complement the visuals beautifully, enhancing the overall viewing experience. And finally, the film retains the typical Ghibli humor tha...
C CinemaSerfVerified TMDB Critic
2023-12-30
Maybe it's sacrilegious to say, but I didn't love this latest from the marvellously imaginative mind of Hayao Miyazaki. It follows the adventures of "Mahito" who arrives at the home of his factory-owning father amidst WWII. We appreciate quickly that his mother has died and that he is to have a new, expectant, mother in "Natsuko". When she mysteriously disappears and "Mahito" finds his presence "requested" by an enigmatic and beautiful grey heron, he strays into an old abandoned tower on his family estate and is soon embroiled in a world inhabited by people who are alive and, well, not! It see...
C Chandler DanierVerified TMDB Critic
2024-07-03
Good little adventure for this young man who... has a bit of a strange situation with his dad. What a crazy bugger his dad is and what kind of family dynamic is going on? Is the younger sister pregnant with the dad's kid? Maybe it's cultural and I'm not sure why the old man changes intention so quickly or what the bird motivations are. Perhaps will read a book about it one day.
It's fun. There's cool animation. I like to watch these in Japanese with subs but I went back to listen to the English track for certain scenes. Dafoe kills it as the dying stork....
P popcar2Verified TMDB Critic
2026-08-12
Gorgeous animation as always from Ghibli, but the movie was a mess. It's like 3 different movies mashed together, none of which have any synergy or feel like they have anything to do with the overall plot.
Compared to their other movies which were genuinely whimsical, all the magic and beautiful scenes here felt forced. Like they had to add pretty scenes to hide how nonsensical the story is. A lot of it is meant to mimic Miyazaki's life as a child and now as an old man, but it just falls flat....
