The Boy and the Heron

"I very highly recommend this film. It felt familiar yet new. Visually, it is gorgeous. I enjoyed every minute. "

"😊 Perfectly lovely. #StudioGhibli #HayaoMiyazaki #FantasyAdventure #Anime #ComingOfAge"

"An adventure about a boy in morning over his mother death in a fire at a hospital, as he finds a mystery around his new house that goes back into the past!! As his journey takes him into the unknown to find what is missing he begins to relieve his grieving for his mother along the way as he seeks a way back home for himself and others! "

"I don't go into Miyazaki's movies expecting to understand what's happening cause they get crazy (in a brilliant way), but I do expect to be entertained, and for the first half of this I was really bored. I thought the second half would save it but i was feeling sleepy from the first half and didn't enjoy the ending. It just wasn't for me I think. 2/5🪶🏹 PS I recently rewatched Howls Moving Castle in theatres aaand the guy next to me walked in 10 min late, never understood what was happening and then when the credits rolled he said "the boy and the Heron was better". 😭😭 I knew it couldnt be true but I was hoping I'd still love the movie."

"Incredible animation and a fascinating story of a fantasy world where life and death co-exist. This has strong auto biographical elements for the creator, who recreates people he has known. "

"Visually stunning ! Good theatre watch"

"The Foley effects were immersive, the scenes beautifully created, and a story that is just as imaginative as any amazing Japanese anime. Despite some story elements going over my head, it was really a fascinating experience."

"The story of grief as it goes through many cycles. "

"Finally caught this in the theaters thanks to its post-Oscar rerelease (which had 2 making of featurettes attached in front of the film). This is actually my first Hayao Miyazaki film, but what an incredible film this is! Visually stunning with such vivid colors and impressive hand-drawn visual design. This is equally matched by its moving and heartfelt story of a boy trying to process his grief of losing his mother and the emotional journey he goes on while searching for his stepmom. I was especially impressed by how soulful the movie felt as well. Equally impressive was the score by Joe Hisaichi (which should’ve been nominated in my view) and the voice acting (I saw the Japanese version with subtitles). This is an extremely well deserved Oscar victory for Best Animated Film, a category that has been giving us very impressive winners for the last 2 years in a row (Netflix’s GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO won this category last year). This was absolutely the correct choice for the Oscar, even with the presence of ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE in the same category (which actually would’ve been a very deserving winner too). One of the best films of 2023. Very highly recommend. Fun fact: This marked Hayao Miyazaki’s 2nd competitive Oscar (after SPIRITED AWAY (which is on my watchlist now)) and he now has the distinction of being the only ever person in Oscars history to win an Honorary Oscar both before and after a competitive win (he got the Honorary in 2014, with 2002’s SPIRITED AWAY and 2023’s THE BOY AND THE HERON being his wins). He is definitely very deserving of this feat."

"this was jawdropping. i had chills down my spine most of the time. absolutely stunning. one of my top 5 movies of 2023. "