A deeply personal, visually inventive fantasy about grief, memory, and letting go, with the kind of dream logic and emotional weight that makes Miyazaki’s late work feel both playful and devastating. It can be elusive, but the imagery, craft, and sincerity make it a standout theatrical experience.
The Boy and the Heron
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Animation · Fantasy
Fri · 2h 4m
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki
Overview
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."
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Cast
Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki
Curator Review
Verdict
A deeply personal, visually inventive fantasy about grief, memory, and letting go, with the kind of dream logic and emotional weight that makes Miyazaki’s late work feel both playful and devastating. It can be elusive, but the imagery, craft, and sincerity make it a standout theatrical experience.
Best for
Viewers who like poetic, symbolic fantasy
Fans of hand-drawn animation and meticulous world-building
People drawn to stories about grief, family, and growing up
Audiences comfortable with ambiguity and dreamlike storytelling
Skip if
You want a tightly plotted, clearly explained fantasy
You prefer fast-paced adventure over reflective mood
You dislike surreal symbolism or narrative digressions
You’re looking for light, uncomplicated family entertainment
Overview
The Boy and the Heron is less interested in straightforward plotting than in emotional weather: mourning, guilt, memory, and the uneasy work of moving forward. Miyazaki turns those feelings into a shifting fantasy landscape that is funny, eerie, and often breathtakingly beautiful. Even when the film seems to wander, it is usually circling something intimate and true.
Worth noting
What makes it resonate is the balance between wonder and ache. The movie’s creatures, rooms, and impossible spaces feel handmade in the best sense, full of tactile detail and symbolic charge. It can be opaque on first viewing, but the emotional line is clear enough to carry you through.
Bottom line
This is a late-career work with the feeling of an artist taking stock of his life, his fears, and the stories he still needs to tell. For viewers open to a meditative fantasy that rewards patience and attention, it’s one of the year’s most memorable theatrical releases.
Top Letterboxd reviews
blurayangel (4★) · 20333 likes
If my dad married my mom’s younger sister I’d probably be pissed too.
Sam B. · 18026 likes
Miyazaki is so fucking sad that his son can’t draw bro
Framesofnick (4.5★) · 15237 likes
You can sit and ponder the very nature of existence and grief. Juggling the choice of letting go or staying. Asking yourself if you really had enough time with someone you love before that time runs out. Or you can crank 90’s and build a block tower
Joe A (5★) · 13949 likes
Forgetting is normal. There’s this obsession that we need to remember it all— to the point where we are practically vilified for forgetting and moving on. It’s unrealistic, but more importantly, unfair. Mahito shouldn’t feel guilty, neither should we. It’s an even more poignant message considering it’s coming from a master reaching the end of his career. The Miyazaki x Hisaishi combo shatters me every single time but I wouldn’t have it any other way (I’ll send them my therapy bill though).
Ali (3.5★) · 13174 likes
im sure there is a profound deeper meaning to this but all i can think about is how much Miyazaki hates birds. Like they even got Parakeet Hitler in this. Miyazaki is cooking on some grade A bird hater shit in this. gotta respect it. i got chased by a turkey once and I don’t harbor even half the bird hate that’s present in this movie. Like fr what’s parakeet hitler doing here. Fuck that turkey though. Some birds are
Themes
grief and mourning, memory and forgetting, coming of age, family loss and inheritance, dream logic, alternate worlds, war-era displacement, self-discovery