The Boy and the Heron

About The Boy and the Heron

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 Boy and the Heron is a 2023 animation fantasy film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Released in July 2023, it runs 124 minutes.

Soma Santoki stars as Mahito Maki (voice), Masaki Suda as Gray Heron (voice), Ko Shibasaki as Kiriko (voice), and Aimyon as Lady Himi (voice). Written by Hayao Miyazaki. It was produced by Studio Ghibli.

Shelv files it under teenage boy, poverty, semi autobiographical, and parallel world. In the United States it streams on HBO Max and HBO Max Amazon Channel.

The Hand of God, anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix make useful companions to The Boy and the Heron, all filed under coming of age. It scores 7.4 out of 10 from 2,890 TMDB voters and it carries a PG-13 rating.