The Boy and The Heron: A Sumptuous Journey Through the Mind of an Animation Master

The Boy and The Heron, written and directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, is a fantastical tale of a boy grieving the loss of his mother, who is lead into a journey about the pain of life and figuring out who he is after it.

With similarities to some of Miyazaki’s other films, this one dives into a literal realm of existentialism where the boy must choose to leave behind his broken past, push through his pain, and grow into who he is becoming.

Heed the call

The film starts in WWII Japan, where a young Mahito (Luca Padovan) is terrorized by the bombing of his village.

While being pulled to safety by his father Shoichi (Christian Bale), Mahito breaks free to run and get his mother, who is away in another part of the village. When he gets there, the building where she was, is set ablaze and Mahito can’t save her.

Fast forward a couple years later, and Shoichi has remarried his deceased wife’s younger sister, Natsuko (Gemma Chan), who is now pregnant with Mahito’s new sibling. Having moved to his family’s estate in the country, Mahito must adjust to a new town and school.

The children at school are less than welcoming, and Mahito finds himself the target of bullying. He ends up taking a rock and hitting himself in the head in order not to go back to school. As he explores the new grounds, he comes across a big, ugly heron (Robert Pattinson) that leads him to a mysterious tower.

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He asks his caretakers, a gaggle of comical “grannies”, Aiko (Barbara Goodson), Izumi (Denise Pickering), Eriko (Melora Harte), Utako (Barbara Rosenblat), Oyuki (Nika Futterman) and Kazuko (Debi Derryberry), about the tower.

They all discourage him to go and tell him to leave the place alone, as his Granduncle (Mark Hamill), also disappeared there long ago.

But the Heron persists in getting Mahito’s attention, at one point telling him to come “save her”, in reference to his mother. When his stepmother disappears, Mahito takes it upon himself to rescue her so that he doesn’t lose another mother again.

the other side

The Heron leads him into the tower that is full of magic and mystery. They are sent into a world “beneath” their own, where everything looks like Earth, but is always a bit unsettlingly off. A sailor called Kiriko (Florence Pugh) leads him to a massive structure that is another world within this world.

There he is taken further into the search for his stepmother, in an ethereal realm with all kinds of strange creatures, those who would be helpful and some that are not. He begins to explore more of his family’s past there, where he also figures out what happened to his Granduncle.

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Within that, Mahito is forced to make an important choice that will decide not only his fate, but the fate of his lineage and the world “beneath”.

In all honesty…

The Boy And the Heron is a spectacular vision of creativity, humanity and the unsettling duality of pain and grief.

Apparently semi-autobiographical, Miyazaki, in his final film, pays homage to his experiences as a young boy growing up in a time of war, and the heart-wrenching end of childhood innocence after the loss of his mother.

His mother and the war have been depicted in many of his past films, showing up in a lot of the lead females he has written. He remembers her so fondly and she is said to be one of his greatest influences in his creative work and life.

This film delves into the “whys” that I think a lot of humans think about when bad things happen and when we wish life could be easier. The duality within us is something that we all share while on our Earthly journeys, some of us choosing to live within the light, and others of us who choose to live within the dark.

It is a deep question that has haunted humanity since the beginning of our time here, and will continue to follow us in the never ending circle called life on Earth.

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Miyazaki uses beautiful and strange imagery to create a moving, vivid metaphor for life, and demonstrates the necessity for pain and loss. We find that only through pain can we grow and change, which couldn’t happen if life was always easy.

The filmmakers do an excellent job of creating a world that is palpably beautiful and peaceful, with an unsettling feeling that things are not quite right.

Though one could argue that this particular film may not be his best, it is nonetheless still destined to be a classic and an elegant closure to the legacy that this master of animation leaves with us.

Studio Ghibli has a look and a feeling that is truly one of a kind, no matter who may try to recreate it. Whatever the situation its protagonists find themselves in, there is always a feeling of hope, grandiosity, and a side of the startlingly bizarre, created with so much heart, love and extraordinary artistry.

I always enjoy his tiny side creatures the most. From the soot sprites of Spirited Away to the Wata Wata’s in this film, it always adds a dimension of the adorable and brings to life minor things most of us would never even think of.

What a ride Miyazaki has brought to the lives of so many people and what an incredible life he has led. He is a true master of animation and storytelling, and so blessed to have been one of the privileged few who have been able to share his work on such a grand scale with the rest of the world.

His legacy will persist and live to inspire for countless years to come. Bravo sir!