Overview
A young boy embarks on a fantastical journey to find his missing stepmother in a world where the living and the dead coexist.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- dreamy
- eerie
- melancholic
- reflective movie night
- fantasy marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's breathtaking animation, sound design, emotional ambition, and imaginative fantasy while noting that its many storylines and themes can feel difficult to balance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mahito enters a supernatural world shared by the living and the dead while searching for his missing stepmother after his mother's death.
Mahito relocates to his father's estate amid world war ii after losing his mother and facing his father's remarriage.
The abandoned tower opens onto an uncanny world populated by supernatural beings and figures connected to life and death.
Mahito's quest for Natsuko takes place alongside his adjustment to grief, a new family structure, and an unstable supernatural world.
Films like The Boy and the Heron, and why
spirited away
shared studio ghibli fantasy, coming of age, grief, and richly imagined parallel worlds
howl's moving castle
shared hayao miyazaki authorship, magical realism, adolescent protagonist, and themes of loss and self-discovery
princess mononoke
shared animated fantasy adventure, spiritual symbolism, ecological and familial themes, and visually expansive worldbuilding
coraline
shared dreamlike animation, child perspective, emotional displacement, and encounters with uncanny supernatural beings
Movie Details
- Director
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Release Date
- 2023-07-14
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (2834)
Cast
- Soma Santoki
- Masaki Suda
- Ko Shibasaki
- Aimyon
- Yoshino Kimura
- Takuya Kimura
- Keiko Takeshita
- Jun Fubuki
- Sawako Agawa
- Karen Takizawa
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Boy and the Heron about?
- A grieving wartime boy enters an uncanny realm of living and dead beings, where finding his missing stepmother becomes a journey through grief, family, and moral choice.
- What is The Boy and the Heron like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Boy and the Heron as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Boy and the Heron violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Boy and the Heron as mild.
- What did critics think of The Boy and the Heron?
- Critics broadly praised the film's breathtaking animation, sound design, emotional ambition, and imaginative fantasy while noting that its many storylines and themes can feel difficult to balance.
- Which films are like The Boy and the Heron?
- Films with a similar feel include spirited away, howl's moving castle, princess mononoke, and coraline.
- How long is The Boy and the Heron?
- The Boy and the Heron runs 124 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Boy and the Heron?
- In United States, The Boy and the Heron streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
