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The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron

Animation · Fantasy · Drama · 2023

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Movie details

The Boy and the Heron

“Where death comes to an end, life finds a new beginning.”

2023 Animation · Fantasy · Drama 2h 4m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Boy and the Heron?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hayao Miyazaki

Written by

Hayao Miyazaki

Soma Santoki

Soma Santoki

Mahito Maki (voice)

Masaki Suda

Masaki Suda

Gray Heron (voice)

Ko Shibasaki

Ko Shibasaki

Kiriko (voice)

Aimyon

Aimyon

Lady Himi (voice)

Yoshino Kimura

Yoshino Kimura

Natsuko (voice)

Takuya Kimura

Takuya Kimura

Shoichi Maki (voice)

Keiko Takeshita

Keiko Takeshita

Izumi (voice)

Court is in session

Put The Boy and the Heron on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.