How do you live? A question that many ask themselves constantly. Should you live your life in regret constantly looking back on your mistakes and memories, carry on and forget the actions of the past, or rather should you embrace the idea that you exist now based on the memories and creations of the people who came before you? All of these existential questions are explored in Studio Ghibli’s newest film, “The Boy and the Heron”.
This film from the acclaimed Japanese animation company, is also the final film of their co-founder and biggest director Hayao Miyazaki. The movie hit theaters last Dec. with many people excited to see it due to the buzz it has built being Miyazaki’s last film as he has directed many classics in the animation industry such as Spirited Away, Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle, and many more. Another notable reason for the excitement for the movie was the English voice actor cast that featured Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, and Willem Dafoe.
The movie takes place in Japan WW2 era where our main character, 11-year-old boy Mahito, and his father move out of the city to the country after a series of firebombing resulted in the death of Mahtio’s mother. After moving to the country and his father remarrying Mahito finds himself in a new house feeling estranged to his new life, especially curious as to the local Gray Heron that flocks around his house and keeps pestering him. After having enough of the Heron’s antics Mahito confronts it and finds himself pulled into a whole new world of magic, birds, and the Warawara for the chance to bring back his mother.
Themes of the past and the future and how they interact are very prevalent, while Mahito is going through the new world he is constantly interacting with people from his present in their past forms to see how they once lived. The new world that Mahito is in is one that was built block by block by the people that have come before him and the question is if he should add to that creation or to leave it be.
This decision serves as testament to the end of an era, reflected in Miyazaki stepping down from Ghibli. Miyazaki built Ghibli with his bare hands and recognizes that it is finally time for him to step away from the thing he created and hand it off to the next generation of animators the same way the creator of the world Mahito finds tries to pass it off to Mahito.
This movie provides not only an amazing story that will find yourself questioning the way to live, but also great characters. It is worth the watch for true fans of Studio Ghibli to see Miyazaki’s final goodbye to the company, and to see the oh so cute Warawara.