The Boy and the Heron review: Even a weak Miyazaki is worthwhile

What was supposed to be director Hayao Miyazaki’s final film might not be the case after all. 10 years after his previously supposed final film The Wind Rises, The Boy and the Heron is a mixed bag of Studio Ghibli assortments.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Miyazaki is ploughing ahead with new film ideas at the age of 82. According to his collaborators he actually has no signs of slowing down, but allegedly can’t remember the details of the film he’s just made. With this in mind, it’s astounding that The Boy and the Heron contains the amount of golden moments that it does.

For hardened fans of animation house Studio Ghibli, the latest instalment is sure to be an underwhelming disappointment. After a back catalog of films including Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and My Neighbour Totoro, improving on perfection is nigh on impossible.

At the same time, The Boy and the Heron is an absolute Easter egg hunt of small Ghibli details. If Miyazaki truly thought that this would be his last outing, it shows through paying homage to the exceptional body of work that came before. Even when the plot gets ropey, it’s a significant comfort to know that Miyazaki loves his lifetime of work as much as his viewers do.

Too many plot lines spoil the broth

When The Boy and the Heron was released domestically in Japan earlier this year, it was accompanied by the bare minimum of marketing. Fans had one ominous poster to work with, alongside an ever-changing title and no plot details to hold onto. In retrospect, this might have been a wise move.

The film hones in on Mahito, a young boy who is processing the loss of his mother during wartime Japan. In a largely bizzare move, Mahito’s father looks to move on with the boy’s aunt, relocating him to the countryside. While there, he is taunted by a strange-looking heron, leading to the discovery of an abandoned building that holds its own magical secrets.

The Boy and the Heron’s main issue is its plot. Stretching from sketchy to overloaded, the film’s story is nowhere near as finessed and seamless as previous Studio Ghibli works. Miyazaki has a lot on his cinematic plate in this instance, and no singular narrative is explored with a hoped-for level of depth, or ends on a needed note of satisfaction. It’s almost as if Miyazaki is purposefully throwing everything and the kitchen sink at his work purely to appease his fans, rather than stripping things back to let the magical animation do the talking.

When Miyazaki gets whimsical, it’s golden

Studio Ghibli

That being said, the moments of nostalgic brilliance fans need from a Studio Ghibli film are peppered throughout. As the heron – who is later “Heron Man” – shows Mahito the truth about where he lives and who he is living with, The Boy and the Heron kicks into a gear of whimsy that viewers can only too happily get swept away in. A frenzy of different birds make up a large percentage of the supporting cast, tiny cute creatures are already set to make adored stickers and tattoo ideas, and heroes are born – even if Mahito himself is a fairly soulless vehicle for the film to progress.

Not only do these moments feel emotionally nostalgic, but they hold firm in terms of visual brilliance. Wider shots of Japan’s breath-taking countryside are comparable to the likes of Totoro and Princess Mononoke, while the color palette and architectural stylings fall somewhere in between Grave of the Fireflies and The Wind Rises. After the release of the 2020 film Earwig and the Witch, fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief that the studio’s classic 2D style of animation is back and better than ever.

In terms of tone, Miyazaki dives into darker territory through his whimsy. Never quite hitting the devastating lows of Grave of the Fireflies, Mahito’s turmoil over his mother encapsulates every other detail that viewers encounter. It’s a tonal shift that feels both refreshing for Ghibli work and relevant to a 2023 world that carries plenty of heavy burdens on its shoulders. That being said, there are always nonsensical details waiting in the wings to lighten the mood – including 6 foot parakeets that wield carving knives.

The Boy and the Heron review score: 3/5

If Hayao Miyazaki had the film equivalent of a Greatest Hits album, it would be The Boy and the Heron.

Rather than being enjoyable for what it is, the movie’s merit rides almost solely on its moments of parodying Studio Ghibli work that came before it. Now that Miyazaki looks set to continue his lifetime passion of filmmaking, the ode doesn’t quite hit the moments of closure it would have if viewers knew this was the final hurrah.

However, even when Miyazaki isn’t firing on all cylinders, his movies are still brilliant in their own right, never straying toward the realm of “terrible.”

The Boy and the Heron releases in theaters on December 8. Check out everything we know about the film here, alongside more of our Studio Ghibli coverage.