‘The Boy and The Heron’ hits local cinemas in January

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) – Exciting news for Filipino Studio Ghibli fans! Hayao Miyazaki’s latest hand-drawn animated feature film The Boy and the Heron is finally making its Philippine debut on January 8, 2024 in local cinemas nationwide, after almost a two-month delay. It was originally slated for a November 29 release.

The Boy and The Heron will be the first Miyakazi film to premiere in Philippine cinemas.

The film, which received glowing reviews from critics at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, has been heralded as a return to form for acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki.

Based on the 1937 Genzaburo Yoshino novel How Do You Live?, The Boy and the Heron is a semi-autobiographical film that follows a 12-year-old Mahito Maki (.voiced by Soma Santoki). As he is dealing with the loss of his mother in the aftermath of World War II, he comes across an abandoned tower in his new town and stumbles onto a magical world, all with a talking grey heron by his side.

Initially thought to be Miyazaki’s last, the film is said to echo Miyazaki’s own childhood with the death of his mother and his experiences living through the wartime era. The English dub is set to be voiced by an all-star cast rounded out by the likes of Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Mark Hamill, and Gemma Chan.  – Rappler.com