Decoding the Significance of ‘The Boy and the Heron’

I could not explain how excited I was to see this movie. I went to the opening week and sat down in my seat with my heart pounding. You know a director has an amazing track record when a movie has no advertisement until it is released and is still number 1 in the box office. I feel as if Hayao Miyazaki will never retire. He has retired multiple times now but said he was done in 2013 after the Wind Rises, then casually came back 10 years later and won another Oscar at 82 years of age. My hope is he will continue to inspire us and transport us into breathtaking worlds for as long as possible.

With that being said what did I think of the Boy and the Herron? I was lost the whole movie! I didn’t follow a thing, and even though I was entertained I could not tell you a single thing about it after it finished. So of course I had to figure out what it was about after I watched it. I watched YouTube videos explaining the creation and story. Once I learned the depth of the storyline my mind was blown. I rewatched it once it was released to stream and it has become one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films.

Storyline: From the legendary Studio Ghibli and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) comes a new critically acclaimed fantasy adventure. After losing his mother during the war, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower and enters a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world and the truth about himself.

Featuring the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh.’

At the entrance of the tower says “fecemi la divina potestate” (“I was made by divine power”)

We discover later, that the tower was built when a meteorite landed in the garden, coming down from the sky like thunder before the Meiji Revolution and drying part of the pond in the old house.

Mahito’s great-uncle built a structure around it to hide it and protect it, as he became increasingly obsessed with its power. He eventually disappeared into the alternate world that he created inside of it.

Now, Mahito braves into that same place, unsure of what he will find. After a rocky start, the boy is sucked into a whimsical world that is quickly getting out of control, an island facing its imminent demise because of an unknown cause.

During his journey, Mahito is guided by the Heron (who is a little man inside of the bird’s skin), helped by the skillful sailor Kiriko (who turns out to be a younger version of one of the old maids living in his new home) and often saved by the mysterious Lady Himi, as he finds the answers he is looking for.

What does this all mean?

The Boy and the Heron is probably Miyazaki’s most personal film. He didn’t lose his mother at a young age — he was 42 when she passed — but the loss was profound all the same. The Tokyo bombings caused his family to leave the city for Utsunomiya when he was three. A year later, they fled to an even smaller town.

Mahito is very much Miyazaki. Except Miyazaski’s also the Great uncle. Miyazaki has spent his entire adult life creating fantasy worlds. But he’s 83. Any film could be his last. He’s aware of this. And one of the big narratives, since his short-lived retirement in 2013, has been finding a potential successor to lead Studio Ghibli once he’s gone.

He and Toshio Suzuki (The Heron in the film), Ghibli’s co-founder, had spent years attempting to convince Goro Miyazaki, Hayao’s son, to take over. But that didn’t come to fruition. So they sold to Nippon TV.

You can see Mahito’s refusal of the Great Uncle and the finality of the Great Uncle’s world as Miyazaki comes to terms with the idea that he may not ever have a successor.

That if Studio Ghibli ends with him, that’s fine, because his son, his grandson, and others are free to live their own lives and build their own world.

The actual title of the film isn’t The Boy and the Heron. The actual title is Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka. That translates to How Do You Live?

If that’s familiar, it’s because it comes directly from the book that Mahito finds from his mother. The book is real and was published in 1937 and is a classic in Japan. It’s a striking question because the novel puts some responsibility on the reader to put into context how close they are to the ideals espoused through the narrative.

Are you on a positive path? Or a negative path? Are you handling things well? Poorly? Where can you improve? The question is innocent, not judgmental. So it provides an opportunity for the reader to, on their own, feel inspired to live better, and to make adjustments.

Knowing all of this when I rewatched The Boy and the Heron I had a different level of appreciation for the story.

Did you learn something new about The Boy and the Heron? Anything that I missed? I’d love to hear in the comments below

Thank you for reading!

Like and Subscribe if you love Studio Ghibli

What more Studio Ghibli Content?

Newest From AnimeTipz

Unforgettable Tunes and Tragedy in ‘Her Blue Sky’

I went into this movie pretty blind. I needed something to play in the background and nothing sounded good to watch. It popped up on Netflix as recently added, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to watch.

In the first five minutes of this movie, you already will be hooked. As a female bass player, I got chills with the Bass solo intro, and there was already a dramatic death. You heard me right, Five minutes in and you will be hooked. I put this on as background noise and I got hardly any work done as I kept watching to see how the story was going to unfold.

Bye for now!!