After approximately seven years in development, Hayao Miyazaki finally released his first film after a decade: Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru kawhose literal translation is How do you live? However, the official title that has been chosen for international markets will be The boy and the heron (The Boy and The Heron).
This time expectations were even higher than usual given the secrecy of the project. In a movement of marketing unprecedented for a production of this caliber, Studio Ghibli did not publish any trailer, image, advertising, synopsis or production data before its premiere in Japan.
Here we tell you everything we know so far about Hayao Miyazaki’s twelfth feature film:
What is it about?
How do you live? is the name of a 1937 novel by Genzaburo Yoshino, which served as inspiration for this film. This classic of Japanese literature follows a Tokyo teenager who, after the death of his father, begins to ask himself many essential questions in life and begins a spiritual journey where his uncle’s advice and teachings are vital for the growth of his life. he. True to his style, Miyazaki does not make a literal adaptation of the source material, but rather reconfigures a story from it.
The film is dedicated to his grandson and is described as a “semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation, in tribute to friendship.”
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Here is the official synopsis of The boy and the heron provided by Ghibli:
“The setting is World War II. Our protagonist, Mahito Maki, lost his mother in a hospital fire, so he and his parents move from Tokyo to a house in the countryside, the birthplace of his mother. There, Mahito’s father remarries the pregnant sister of his late wife. As Mahito struggles with his mixed feelings about this situation, he is guided by a creepy heron to another world with the promise of reuniting with his mother.
Production team and cast The boy and the heronby Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki is credited with direction, screenplay and original work of The boy and the heron. A title that joins a superb filmography full of classics such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), My neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki: Home deliveries (1989), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001) or The incredible vagabond castle (2004).
Takeshi Honda (Ponyo and the secret of the little mermaid; tetralogy Rebuild of Evangelion) served as chief animation director and character designer. Your long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, My neighbor Totoro) composed the music again. Toshio Suzukico-founder of Studio Ghibli, served as producer.
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Kenshi Yonezu, performer of openings of Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia and March Comes in Like a Lionwas responsible for the main theme of the film titled “Chikyūgi”( “Balloon“).
The Japanese voice cast was led by 18-year-old Soma Santoki in his first voice role as Mahito Maki. The cast also includes Masaki Suda, Kou Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, Sawako Agawa, Karen Takizawa, Shinobu Ōtake, Jun Kunimura, Kaoru Kobayashi and Shohei Hino. Takuya Kimura makes a special cameo.
An atypical production, with an even riskier promotion
Hayao Miyazaki began working on the storyboards of The boy and the heron secret since July 2016. The public announcement of the legendary filmmaker’s departure from brief retirement (again), and the reopening of Studio Ghibli’s production department, was not made until August 2017.
At the time, the winner of a Golden Bear, an Oscar and four Japanese Film Academy Awards presented a work schedule for his twelfth film. However, producer Toshio Suzuki revealed in a March 2019 essay for the literary magazine Bungei Shunjū who soon stopped following said plan.
“With the production of [El niño y la garza], we are experimenting with not having a set deadline,” wrote the Ghibli co-founder. “I’m excited to see how that translates into the job,” he stated.
Curiosity and impatience for Hayao Miyazaki’s supposed last film increased as the release date approached and no promotional materials were available. A month and a half after its premiere, Suzuki confirmed that they would not do any type of advertising for the work before screening it in theaters in Japan. Everything moviegoers saw The boy and the heron was the official poster revealed in December 2022.
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“As part of the company’s operations over the years, Studio Ghibli has wanted people to come see the films we have made. So we thought about that and did a lot of different things for that purpose, but this time we said, ‘We don’t need to do that,'” Suzuki said in conversation with Bungei Shunjū. “They will want to see for themselves what the movie is about. And to do that, they will have to go to a movie theater.”
The strategy paid off. The boy and the heron It debuted last July 14, 2023 with an estimated ¥1.83 billion yen (about $13.2 million) from Friday to Sunday at the box office in Japan. It made ¥2.149 million yen ($15.5 million) if we include the Monday Sea Day holiday. With this, it became the best domestic debut in history for Studio Ghibli, surpassing the ¥1.48 billion it grossed The incredible vagabond castle in 2004. Additionally, Miyazaki’s film set a new record for the best three-day IMAX opening in the land of the rising sun, with $1.7 million courtesy of 44 screens. The film has grossed ¥8.5 billion yen ($56.5 million).
For a long time it was rumored that this could now be Hayao Miyazaki’s farewell. However, Junichi Nishioka, vice president of Studio Ghibli, stated during the promotion of the film at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival that “The Boy and the Heron It is not Miyazaki’s last film and he already arrives at the office with new ideas”.
Release date of The boy and the heronby Hayao Miyazaki
Cine Caníbal confirmed the distribution of The boy and the heron coming soon to theaters in Mexico. At the moment there is no exact date, but we will keep you posted on any updates.
Trailer of The boy and the heron
We remind you that much of the filmography of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli is available on Netflix.