The Boy And The Heron: A Heartfelt Coming-Of-Age Story

This year has had several very strong animated features in the form of Nimona, Suzume, Elemental, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. That’s not to say that every animated feature has been fantastic, but there have been a good amount of them that came out that are above the average quality. The Boy and the Heron
continues this trend and, while it may not be as good as the majority of Studio Ghibli’s outings, it is still a great and imaginative coming-of-age story that is simultaneously engaging and mature.

The Boy and the Heron follows Mahito and his father Shoichi as they move out of Tokyo during World War II following the death of Mahito’s mother. While living there, Mahito discovers a tower built by his granduncle that leads to a fantasy world. When his mother’s sister goes missing in the tower, he has to enter the world and bring her back home. The English Dub stars Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Florence Pugh, Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Karen Fukuhara, and Mark Hamill.

The movie is beautiful and the fantasy world that Mahito finds is engaging and fun while he is there. Considering that the world exists beyond the ordinary confines of space and time, it does allow for some interesting character interactions between Mahito and other members of the cast (names withheld to avoid spoilers) across various times. It allows for Mahito to grow as a person and become a better character as he develops beyond what he was in the beginning in a way that a lot of movies would either have gotten distracted by the appeal of time travel and infinite worlds or would just be unwilling to commit to.

That said, this is also part of the biggest issue with the film, namely that it takes too long to get started in the beginning. The viewer does need to become acquainted with Mahito’s selfish ways, however there is definitely room to cut. Fortunately, it is well-paced and somewhat interesting, however since the viewer is already waiting for the trip into the extraordinary, it just feels like an obligatory part of the story.

The Boy and the Heron is the beautiful mix of heartfelt emotion and genuine fun moments that audiences have come to expect from a Studio Ghibli film. While it may not be as memorable as some of the other films (possibly because they’ve become classics at this point) it is still an enjoyable enough film to warrant a trip to the theater. Even the parts of the movie before Mahito enters the fantasy world are gorgeous and stylized in interesting ways. If someone wants to see a solid animated movie this weekend, this is the one they should check out.

Final Rating: 9/10