Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron just received its first trailer alongside the English release date for the mysterious movie. The movie was shrouded in mystery as Studio Ghibli had not released any information besides a poster, but now fans have a trailer ahead of the international release date. Though Miyazaki’s last movie released in Japan on July 14th, the movie’s international release date hasn’t been known until now.
After a long period of radio silence from the makers of the movie, a trailer for The Boy and the Hero not only shed light on what Ghibli fans can expect to see, but also revealed the movie’s English release date of December 8th. The trailer and English release date are sure to be welcome news given Gihbli’s odd lack of marketing for The Boy and the Heron keeping the movie’s contents mysterious for quite some time now.
The Boy and the Heron Releases on December 8th in English
The YouTube channel of the American film distributor GKIDS Films has released a trailer for The Boy and the Heron. The trailer showcases the main character Mahito and his fantastical journey in coming to terms with a loved one’s death. The art and animation style that fans of famous Studio Ghibli movies like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle are used to is being employed again. This style is Hayao Miyazaki’s signature, and it has propelled him to the top of the entertainment industry. The movie is presumably his last after he came out of retirement after the release of his 2013 historical drama The Wind Rises.
The Boy and the Heron revolves around a young man named Mahito whose mother died during World War II. As he is grieving, a heron informs him that his mother is in fact not dead. The heron leads Mahito to an abandoned tower and there he enters another world. “Where death comes to and end. Life finds a new beginning”. The trailer alludes to the fact that the movie revolves around the world of the dead. A dark-haired woman is also shown, although it’s not certain if that is the spirit of Mahito’s deceased mother.
The Boy and the Heron will have a special preview at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7. It will also screen all around the world like London and New York. It will then be released in American and Canadian cinemas on December 8. The movie, despite having no marketing, has done exceptionally well in the Japanese box office, garnering approximately $53M. Studio Ghibli also has a huge international audience, with Spirited Away being the only non-English movie to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Hayao Miyazaki has expressed that this movie holds a personal connection to him, as it’s dedicated to his grandson. There are already numerous positive reviews of the movie which increases the anticipation even more ahead of the international release. The Boy and the Heron might be Miyazaki’s last Studio Ghibli movie, but it’s also promising to be one of his best.
The Boy and the Heron releases in English on December 8th!
Source: Website of GKIDS Films, YouTube channel of GKIDS Films.
