Synopsis

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.

The Boy and the Heron is said to be the last film of the great Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of the famous Studio Ghibli and author of such classics as Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001), which brought him the Golden Bear in Berlin and the Oscar for Best Animated Film. Critics have hailed The Boy and the Heron as the highlight of Miyazaki's career, praising the interweaving of a coming-of-age story and fantasy with imaginative animation.

The film also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.