THE long-awaited animated film, “The Boy and The Heron,” is finally coming to the Philippines this January. It will be released in cinemas starting January 8. 

This is the first film Hayao Miyazaki has made since “The Wind Rises,” which was released ten years ago. 

It has received plenty of buzz since then, especially because Miyazaki is the man behind many iconic Studio Ghibli films such as “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Ponyo,” and “My Neighbor Totoro.” 

If you’re looking for a place to watch it ASAP, the Cinema ‘76 Film Society has since released slots for screenings of the film, with dates available from January 9 up until January 16. They are located at Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

About the film

The Boy and The Heron is a film that takes place in Japan during the second World War, following a young boy named Mahito. One day, he meets a talking heron, who tells him that his mother – whom he thought was deceased – is actually still alive. 

With the heron by his side, he is transported to another world, and starts to search for his mother along with a number of other colorful characters.

When news about the film broke out, many grew excited at the fact that Studio Ghibli was making films once again. They became even more excited when they found out the stars attached to this project. 

In particular, the English voice cast for this film stars: 

• Christian Bale as Shoichi Maki
• Dave Bautista as the Parakeet King Willem Dafoe as the Noble Pelican
• Robert Pattinson as the Gray Heron
• Mark Hamill as Granduncle
• Florence Pugh as Kiriko

Since its release, the film has received plenty of critical acclaim, with SEA IGN writer Kat Bailey calling it Studio Ghibli’s most visually complex film thus far – which is saying a lot if you’ve ever seen one of their movies.

“It serves as an ultimate statement from Miyazaki, and the perfect coda to his career,” they wrote.

Serving as a semi-autobiographical film, Miyazaki wrote The Boy and The Heron with himself as the protagonist, serving as a story about his younger self. This is why the film is set during the Pacific War – because it is in this madness that Miyazaki grew up in. 

Other characters, such as the father of Mahito, are also based on people in Miyazaki’s life.

While there have been rumors of this being Miyazaki’s last-ever film, they have since been quelled since news came out that he has a new movie already in the works. Thankfully, you’ll be seeing a lot more of Miyazaki and his brilliant mind in the future.