GKIDS announced on Wednesday that it will screen Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film The Boy and the Heron (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, or literally How Do You Live?) in theaters in North America and IMAX on December 8 with a special interactive preview on November 22. The company streamed a first look video in English with footage:
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This was the first time the footage was shown outside of Japanese cinemas.
© 2023 Studio Ghibli
GKIDS licensed the film. The New York Film Festival (NYFF) will screen the film’s US premiere as an Official Selection in its Spotlight selection. The 61st NYFF will take place from September 29 to October 15.
The film will have its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), opening the event on Thursday at Roy Thomson Hall. This will be the first time the festival opens with an animated film as well as the first time with a Japanese film. The San Sebastian Film Festival (SSIFF) will screen its European premiere at Donostia-San Sebastián’s Kursaal Auditorium in Spain on September 22 following a gala opening the event. This will be Miyazaki’s fourth film to screen at SSIFF and the first time his film has participated in the event’s Official Selection.
The film opened simultaneously on IMAX with a general release date in Japan on July 14. The film earned more than Miyazaki’s 2001 Oscar-winning hit Spirited Away in its first four days of release and earned 50% more than his 2013 film The Wind Rises. According to entertainment news website Deadline, the film surpassed $1.7 million from 44 IMAX theaters, which is a new record for the opening three days. The film sold 1.003 million tickets and earned about 13.2 million USD in the first three days of release in Japan. The film sold 1.353 million tickets and grossed 2.149 billion yen (about US$15.53 million) over the long weekend from Friday to Monday (July 17 is the Marine Corps Day holiday in Japan).
The film was Studio Ghibli’s first film to receive a simultaneous IMAX release. The film is also being shown in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema and DTS:X.
The story takes place during World War II. After Mahito lost his mother in the Tokyo bombing, he and his father moved to the countryside. There, Mahito’s father remarried to his late mother’s pregnant sister. As Mahito struggles with his situation, he meets a talking heron and enters another world based on the promise that he can see his mother again.
Soma Santoki, 18 years old, voices the main character Mahito Maki. Takuya Kimura makes a special appearance. The cast also includes Masaki Suda, Kou Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, Sawako Agawa, Karen Takizawa, Shinobu Ōtake, Jun Kunimura, Kaoru Kobayashi and Shohei Hino.
Miyazaki is credited with original work, in addition to directing the film and writing the screenplay. Takeshi Honda (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Rebuild of Evangelion) is the animation director. Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) is composing the music. Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki is the producer. Kenshi Yonezu (Chainsaw Man, My Hero AcadeKaren, March Comes in like a Lion) performed the theme song “Chikyūgi”(Globe).
Producer Suzuki Studio Ghibli revealed in June that the film will have no trailer before its release. The film also does not have any TV commercials or newspaper ads. Before the film’s release, the studio did not reveal a plot summary, voice cast, or most of the film’s staff.
Miyazaki inspired the film from the novel How Do You Live? by Genzaburō Yoshino in 1937. He added that this book is a story that means a lot to the main character of his film. Algonquin Young Readers released the book in English in October 2021.
Miyazaki officially revealed the film in 2017. Suzuki reported in April 2017 that Miyazaki had been drawing storyboards for the project since July 2016.
Source; Press Release