The Boy and the Heron (2023)
7.472 /10
1324 Reviews
Rate This Movie:
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."
Videos & Photos
cast
... Mahito Maki (voice)
... Gray Heron (voice)
... Kiriko (voice)
... Lady Himi (voice)
... Natsuko (voice)
User reviews
MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2023-edition
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 that fans have come to love, sprinkling lighthearted moments throughout the narrative.
However, Hayao Miyazaki succumbs to his ambition. The filmmaker tries to incorporate too many ideas, resulting in a somewhat confusing, messy narrative, particularly in the transitions between different characters, locations, and story arcs. THE BOY AND THE HERON stumbles in its attempt to juggle multiple ideas, but overall, it still manages to deliver a delightful, enchanting experience for fans of the studio's work.
Rating: B-
Director:
Release Date:
2023-07-14
Run Time:
124 min
MMPA Rating:
PG-13
Reviews of
The Boy and the Heron
MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2023-edition
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 that fans have come to love, sprinkling lighthearted moments throughout the narrative.
However, Hayao Miyazaki succumbs to his ambition. The filmmaker tries to incorporate too many ideas, resulting in a somewhat confusing, messy narrative, particularly in the transitions between different characters, locations, and story arcs. THE BOY AND THE HERON stumbles in its attempt to juggle multiple ideas, but overall, it still manages to deliver a delightful, enchanting experience for fans of the studio's work.
Rating: B-
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 seems the heron is not quite what it seemed, either, as he must explore rooms within rooms and endless doors that open into new scenarios. Pursued by giant pelicans, how can "Mahito" find his stepmother and return safely to their home? Luckily, along the way, he encounters the benevolently spiritual "Kiriko" as he finds himself the subject of some clever manipulation between the outwardly benign "Grand Uncle" who draws the power of life from a giant sacred stone he wishes to leave in the custody of our young explorer and the ambitious "Pelican King". You simply cannot fail to admire the vivid imagination of Miyazaki - the ideas and apparent randomness of the threads that gradually come together is hard enough to follow sometimes even when you have seen the denouement, and that's what makes these intricately drawn and characterised stories usually more intriguing and enjoying. Somehow, though, this was just a little too unstructured and meandering for my little brain. I've seen it twice now and maybe I just didn't engage with "Mahito" in the way I did with "Howl", "Totoro" or 'Chihiro" or, indeed, with the story. It's still a glorious watch on a big screen and is certainly well worth watching. Just not sure it is in his top five, though!
Cast & Crew of
The Boy and the Heron
Cast
... Mahito Maki (voice)
... Gray Heron (voice)
... Kiriko (voice)
... Lady Himi (voice)
... Natsuko (voice)
... Shoichi Maki (voice)
... Izumi (voice)
... Utako (voice)
... Eriko (voice)
... Warawara (voice)
... Aiko (voice)
... The Parakeet King (voice)
... Noble Pelican (voice)
... Granduncle (voice)
Crew
... Producer
... Director
... Original Music Composer
... Key Animation
... Storyboard Artist
... Executive Producer
... Art Direction
... Art Direction
... Animation Director
... Director of Photography
... Character Designer
... Theme Song Performance
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Key Animation
... Executive Producer
... Assistant Director
... Executive Producer
... Key Animation
... Sound Director
... Foley Artist
... Editor
... Editor
... Editor
... Sound Mixer
... Compositing Artist
... Color Designer
... Color Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Background Designer
... Second Unit First Assistant Director
... Second Unit First Assistant Director
... Co-Producer
... Writer
... Original Story
Videos & Photos of
The Boy and the Heron
Videos (2)
Official Trailer 2
1: 31
Official English Trailer
1: 31
Photos 35
Similar Movies To
The Boy and the Heron
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
5.699/10
A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.
Release: 1989-06-09
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
6.5/10
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.
Release: 1994-11-18
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
7.507/10
When eccentric candy man Willy Wonka promises a lifetime supply of sweets and a tour of his chocolate factory to five lucky kids, penniless Charlie Bucket seeks the golden ticket that will make him a winner.
Release: 1971-06-29
Live and Let Die (1973)
6.497/10
James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.
Release: 1973-06-27
Puppet Master: Axis Termination (2017)
4.89/10
To stop the Third Reich and the Nazi war machine from winning World War II and affecting the outcome of the free world, Toulon's indestructible puppets join forces with the masters of psychic powers.
Release: 2017-09-15
The Good Book (2020)
0/10
In a future Leeds, society is divided between loyalists of the powerful Queen Bear and radical followers of Galahad. Avalon is a young woman desperate not to take sides, but as civil war begins she must undertake a dangerous mission to rescue a precious relic from destruction.
Release: 2020-05-01
Dr. No (1962)
6.998/10
Agent 007 battles mysterious Dr. No, a scientific genius bent on destroying the U.S. space program. As the countdown to disaster begins, Bond must go to Jamaica, where he encounters beautiful Honey Ryder, to confront a megalomaniacal villain in his massive island headquarters.
Release: 1962-10-07
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)
7.15/10
Two years have passed since the final battle with Sephiroth. Though Midgar, city of mako, city of prosperity, has been reduced to ruins, its people slowly but steadily walk the road to reconstruction. However, a mysterious illness called Geostigma torments them. With no cure in sight, it brings death to the afflicted, one after another, robbing the people of their fledgling hope.
Release: 2005-07-14
From Russia with Love (1963)
7.1/10
Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.
Release: 1963-10-10
Goldfinger (1964)
7.3/10
Special agent 007 comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox -- and obliterate the world's economy.
Release: 1964-09-20
Ben-Hur (1959)
7.889/10
In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.
Release: 1959-11-18
You Only Live Twice (1967)
6.6/10
A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.
Release: 1967-06-13
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
6.6/10
James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat in the Swiss alps where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women. Along the way, Bond falls for Italian contessa Tracy Draco, and marries her in order to get closer to Blofeld.
Release: 1969-12-18
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
7.913/10
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths—and about the villain who's to blame.
Release: 2001-11-16
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
6.436/10
Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
Release: 1974-12-14
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
6.8/10
Russian and British submarines with nuclear missiles on board both vanish from sight without a trace. England and Russia both blame each other as James Bond tries to solve the riddle of the disappearing ships. But the KGB also has an agent on the case.
Release: 1977-07-07
Moonraker (1979)
6.2/10
After Drax Industries' Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company's owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax's nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon...and even outer space.
Release: 1979-06-26
Top Gun (1986)
7.057/10
For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.
Release: 1986-05-16
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
7.1/10
When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.
Release: 1972-12-13
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
6.422/10
The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.
Release: 2007-05-01