The Boy and the Heron movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Boy and the Heron

This lovely animation by the legendary Studio Ghibli is now playing in theaters.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 4 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

Hayao Miyazaki is a master filmmaker, storyteller, and animation stylist. He also produced and wrote the screenplay for this movie which has now been nominated for Best Animation at the Oscars, having recently won Best Animation at the Golden Globes. It’s pretty hard to compete with excellence.

Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli. I had the great privilege of visiting Studio Ghibli when I took my family to Japan a few years ago. It was just as magical as you would want it to be. Guests get to watch a special film that has never been released anywhere else. It was mesmerizing and completely adorable. One of my sons had been studying Japanese and is a professional animation artist for a video game company. We were able to check off one of the things on his Bucket List by visiting the studio.

It is rumored that this film may be Miyazaki’s last. The story is about a young boy whose mother has died. He ventures into a mysterious world in search of peace, meaning, and his mother.

THINGS I LIKED:

The cast of talented voices is terrific and includes Willem Dafoe, Dave Bautista, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, Mamoudou Athie, Dan Stevens, Gemma Chan, Luca Padovan, Karen Fukuhara, and more! Notice how many Academy Award nominees and winners are in that lists!
Studio Ghibli has a talent for creating unique characters, as well as some that are just super adorable. We get both in this film.
The beautiful and imaginative landscapes are fantastic.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There is a LOT of exposition to explain what’s happening.
The movie is too long. I started to look at my watch and get tired.
The story line is confusing and complex.
The boy doesn’t have a compelling personality, and we don’t see a lot of growth in his character. He simply has crazy experiences.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Non-Japanese speakers will need to read subtitles if you watch the movie with the original Japanese cast. An English version is now available with a terrific cast.
We see some bloody images.
People cut open a big creature. We see its guts fall out.
People and creatures are in dangerous situations.
Lots of destruction.
Very young children will be bored.
Some images might be disturbing for children. The story is fairly dark.
Smoking