The loved legend Hayao Miyazaki is back with his newest movie, “The Boy and the Heron.” Hayao Miyazaki is one of the founders of the famous Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio that has produced notable movies like “Spirited Away.” Ten years after his last film, he is back and ready to give his fans what they have been waiting for. 

 The New Movie:

“The Boy and the Heron” follows Mahito, a Japanese teenager during World War ll who moves with his father from the city to the countryside after the death of his mother. While he learns to adjust to his new environment, Mahito’s attention becomes captivated by a gray heron that lives nearby, and it wouldn’t be a Studio Ghibli movie without an adventure in a magical world that is hiding just around the corner. “The Boy and the Heron” is being released in a dubbed version in the U.S. on December 8th, with many critics already raving about the film. One critic, Barry Hertz, even stated, “This is an achingly sincere act of storytelling from an artist who seems concerned about what the world he helped build will look like when he is gone.” Another critic, James Berardinelli, wrote, “It’s proof that, no matter how hard Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, and others try, only one animator finds magic in every release.” The movie will also follow Miyazaki’s signature style that plays with deep and dark themes playfully, such as coping with a world of chaos, loneliness, and coming of age.

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli:

Hayao Miyazaki was born during World War ll, so he grew up around the political aftermath of the world from World War ll. His earliest interest in drawing came from drawing airplanes since his father was a fighter plane manufacturer. As a kid, while drawing his own, Miyazaki got interested in many Japanese comic books or manga. Miyazaki would later graduate from Gakushuin University in 1963 with a degree in political science and economics, and while studying there, he joined the children’s literature club. After university, Miyazaki joined the Toei Animation Company as an animator, working under Isao Takahata. Miyazaki would go on to work at different companies, animating various shows and movies until 1985. In 1985, Miyazaki and Takahata co-founded the now-famous Studio Ghibli. This studio went on to produce many featured films, including “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” “Princess Mononoke,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” and “Castle in the Sky.” Their most famous film, “Spirited Away,” garnered many awards, including the Best Animated Feature Film Award in 2003. Another notable movie, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, had been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film the year after. Even though Studio Ghibli can stand independently from its other directors, many believe Miyazaki makes the movies unique. Although he has stated plans for his retirement in the past, causing many fans to be sad, Miyazaki always returns better than ever. In 1997, Miyazaki claimed he would be retiring after “Princess Mononoke,” but he returned to make his most famous film, “Spirited Away,” in 2001. He followed the same process after making “Spirited Away,” stating his plans to retire and return to make another movie, “The Wind Rises,” in 2013. Now, ten years later and after his ‘last film’ release, Miyazaki is back with another The Boy and the Heron.

Why Is Miyazaki’s Work So Special?

Now, you may wonder why these movies impact people worldwide. So many people love his films because he keeps the characters’ emotions authentic, mainly as he discusses topics that are more technical than what the eyes see. His work causes the audience to sit there and think about what the movie truly means and even relate it to the world we live in today. Miyazaki knows children experience the same emotions as adults, like anger and sadness or hope and despair. He believes that children shouldn’t be shied away from such adult topics and that they will understand them better if presented in a certain way. Miyazaki uses these movies to discuss significant and complex issues like environmentalism, war, and coming of age. Movies like “Howl’s Moving Castle” deal with war and criticize the need for war because of how destructive it is for people, one line from the movie even being “This war is terrible, they bomb from the southern coast to the northern border. It’s all in flames now.” Many of his movies involve strong female characters like Princess Mononoke, who follows Ashitaka on his journey to find a cure for a deadly curse, and meets Mononoke, who is fighting to save the forest she and her tribe live in. Another movie, “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” also has a strong female character as Kiki is a witch struggling to prove to herself and others that she can be a good witch during her one year of training. Even the animation of these movies draws in the audience as Miyazaki follows the story based on visuals instead of plot.