It has been 10 years since Hayao Miyazaki’s last Ghibli film was released. Now that he has come out of retirement, Ghibli fans are rejoicing and looking forward to his newest project. That said, here’s everything you need to know about the release date of The Boy and the Heron anime film!
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Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron: A Highly Anticipated Anime Film
Similar to Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises, The Boy and the Heron was inspired by a literary work—the 1937 masterpiece novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino.
It was also Hayao Miyazaki’s favorite childhood book and was beloved by millions of Japanese readers.
It had a huge influence on Miyazaki’s works, and he made it the basis of his final Ghibli film.
Miyazaki described Genzaburo Yoshino’s novel as follows:
This book is a story that has great meaning for the protagonist of his film. Yoshino's book centers around a man named Koperu and his uncle, and through Koperu's spiritual growth, it discusses how to live as human beings.
Set in World War II, The Boy and the Heron, also known as How Do You Live? in Japan, revolves around Mahito and his journey with a talking heron in another world.
At such a young age, Mahito lost his mother due to the firebombings in Tokyo.
Because of this, Mahito and his father moved into the countryside, where his father remarried his late mother's pregnant sister and where he encountered the talking heron!
The Boy and the Heron anime film is under the action, adventure, and fantasy genres, so Ghibli fans can expect the film to be a roller coaster ride.
Hayao Miyazaki worked on the film beginning in 2016, after not being satisfied with doing just a CG short entitled Kemushi no Boro for the Ghibli Museum.
In December 2020, Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli’s producer, even mentioned that the film would be 125 minutes long.
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The Boy and the Heron Anime Movie International Release Date
The international release date of Hayao Miyazaki's newest Ghibli film, The Boy and the Heron, happened on December 8, 2023.
A special preview engagement also happened on November 22 for North American regions, as confirmed by GKIDS.
The New York Film Festival (NYFF), which ran from September 29 to October 15, screened The Boy and the Heron as an official selection in the spotlight selection.
The Boy and the Heron was also the opening film of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 7, making it the first animated Japanese film to ever kick off the festival.
The Miami Film Festival's Gems 2023 also screened The Boy and the Heron at Silverspot Cinema 12 on November 4.
The film also opened the 2023 Animation Is Film Festival, which happened from October 18–23 at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese 6 Theater.
In Europe, the San Sebastian Film Festival (SSIFF) also screened The Boy and the Heron at Donostia-San Sebastian’s Kursaal Auditorium on September 22.
In the UK, the anime film was screened at the London Film Festival on October 8 and October 15.
The Boy and the Heron is also reported to have a UK cinema release date of December 26, 2023.
At this point, it is unclear if The Boy and the Heron will be screened in more countries. Stay tuned for more release date updates in the future.
In Japan, the release date of The Boy and the Heron was July 14, 2023.
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The Boy and the Heron Anime Movie Cast
The following are the official Japanese voice actors of Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron film:
Main Characters
- Aimyon (Theme Song Performance in Her Blue Sky) as Himi
- Soma Santoki as Masato Maki
- Kou Shibasaki (Dororo in Dororo Live-Action Movie) as Kiriko
- Masaki Suda (Shinpachi Shimura in Gintama Live-Action Movie) as The Gray Heron
- Takuya Kimura (JP in Redline) as Shoichi Maki
- Yoshino Kimura (Meika in Cooking Master Boy) as Natsuko
Supporting Characters
- Jun Fubuki (Tenar in Tales From Earthsea) as Mother Number 2
- Jun Kinumura (Hattori in The Wind Rises) as The Parakeet King
- Kaoru Kobayashi (Toshi-chan in Ghiblies) as The Old Pelican
- Karen Takizawa (Athletic Meet Announcer in Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko) as Mother Number 4
- Keiko Takeshita (Hana Matsuzaki in From Up on Poppy Hill) as Mother Number 1
- Sawako Agawa (Narration in A Sumo Wrestler's Tail) as Mother Number 3
- Shinobu Otake (Homily in The Secret World of Arrietty) as Mother Number 5
- Shohei Hino as Great Uncle
GKIDS has also announced the powerhouse English dub voice cast for The Boy and the Heron, and they include the following Hollywood stars:
- Christian Bale (Howl Jenkins Pendragon in Howl's Moving Castle) as Shoichi Maki
- Luca Padovan (Paco in You) as Mahito Maki
- Dave Bautista (Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy) as The Parakeet King
- Gemma Chan (Astrid Leong-Teo in Crazy Rich Asians) as Natsuko
- Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-Man) as Noble Pelican
- Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko Miyashiro in The Boys) as Lady Himi
- Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker in Star Wars) as Granduncle
- Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen in Twilight) as The Gray Heron
- Florence Pugh (Dani in Midsommar) as Kiriko
- Mamoudou Athie (Wade Ripple in Elemental) as Parakeet
- Tony Revolori (Zero Moustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel) as Parakeet
- Dan Stevens (The Beast in Beauty and the Beast) as Parakeet
The Boy and the Heron Anime Movie Staff
The staff of The Boy and the Heron anime film are as follows:
- Hayao Miyazaki: Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Story
- Takeshi Honda: Character Design and Animation Director
- Atsushi Okui: Director of Photography
- Toshiyuki Inoue: Key Animation
- Toshio Suzuki: Producer
- Studio Ghibli: Animation Production
- Khara: Animation Support
- TOHO: Distributor
- Joe Hisashi: Music
- Kenshi Yonezu: Theme Song Performance
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The Boy and the Heron Film Reception
The Boy and the Heron film gathered positive reception from fans and critics alike. It also rakes in positive numbers, as it grossed $13.2 million during its opening weekend!
In its first month of screening, the film earned $43 million from over 4 million viewers. As of November 12, 2023, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron film had a total gross of $77.9 million!
Interestingly, after the film’s release, sales for How Do You Live? novel increased, and there was a shortage of supply! This resulted in the novel’s reprinting, and it claimed the top spot in Iwanami Bunko’s history.
Most recently, The Boy and the Heron was also nominated for the 2023 Critics Choice Award for the Best Animated Feature category.
The Boy and the Heron Anime Movie Trailer
Catch The Boy and the Heron in your local theaters, and watch out for more release date updates!
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