The animated film THE BOY AND THE HERON will return to theaters in North America on March 22 to celebrate winning Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. This is the first film directed by Hayao Miyazaki has been directing since 2013’s The Wind Rises, and the new screenings will also include exclusive bonus content featuring an introduction by the film’s composer Joe Hisaishi and a recorded drawing session with supervising animator Takeshi Honda.
Screenings will be conducted in both the original Japanese as well as the English version, with the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh . GKIDS also posted a new trailer dubbed in English.
THE BOY AND THE DOG – New Anime Movie Trailer | Returns to North American theaters on March 22
The Oscar was the second for Hayao Miyazaki, who had earned four previous nominations and earned his first nomination for Spirited Away (released in 2002). Spirited Away and THE BOY AND THE HERON are the only two hand-drawn films to win in the history of this category, established by the Academy in 2002. This is also Studio Ghibli’s second win, while they There were a total of 2.7 nominations. This is the first win as a company for GKIDS after 13 nominations in the Best Animated Feature category.
It is also the highest-grossing film in GKIDS’ 16-year history and Studio Ghibli’s highest-grossing film in North America. According to the official press release, the film has earned more than $46 million at the North American box office to date, while also reaching the milestone of the highest-grossing original Japanese animation of all time domestically.
THE BOY AND THE HERON, known as Miyazaki’s final film, was released in July 2023 in Japan. The film is inspired by How Do You Live? by Yoshino Genzaburo. novel from 1937, but not a direct adaptation. Instead, it also features elements from Miyazaki’s own life. The film had its international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, while its US premiere took place during the 61st annual New York Film Festival.
The film has been shown in North American, Australian and New Zealand theaters since December. The film also won the Best Animated Film award at the 77th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).
Official Summary: After losing his mother in war, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events leads him to an ancient and secluded tower, inhabited by a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower and enters a wonderful world shared by the living and the dead. As he sets out on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must discover the secrets of this world and the truth about himself.
Source: Press release, GKIDS Films YouTube©2023 Studio Ghibli