GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of award-winning animation from around the globe, announced today it will bring The Boy and the Heron, the highly anticipated new film from legendary, Academy Award-winning Hayao Miyazaki, to cinemas nationwide on December 8, 2023.
The latest feature from Japan’s celebrated animation house, Studio Ghibli, begins special preview engagements on November 22 before expanding to cinemas nationwide and in Canada on December 8, 2023. As with previous Studio Ghibli titles, the film will be released in its original Japanese with English subtitles, as well as a new English language version. This film was released in Japan as “Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka” (translated as “How Do You Live”)
From the Press Release:
GKIDS also released the first teaser trailer for The Boy and the Heron, marking the first time footage from the film has been shown outside of Japanese theatres. In an unprecedented decision by Studio Ghibli, no images, trailers, synopses, advertisements, or other information about the film were made available to the public prior to its release in theatres in Japan on July 14th. First look images were recently revealed by Studio Ghibli in celebration of the film’s ongoing theatrical release in Japan. Last week, GKIDS released an English language “pre-teaser,” which officially introduced the film’s story.
The hand-drawn, animated feature – director Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years – is an original story written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, produced by co-founder Toshio Suzuki, and featuring a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Its theme song, “Spinning Globe,” was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
The Boy and the Heron Teaser Trailer
The next screening of this movie includes the Vancouver Film Festival in Sept/Oct, and afterwards, will make its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, its European Premiere as the Opening Night of San Sebastian International Film Festival, and its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
Below is a description recently released by Studio Ghibli:
The Boy and the Heron – A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.