is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese title references 's 1937 novel of the same name. The Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake. The film follows a boy named Mahito Maki during the Pacific War who discovers an abandoned tower in his new town after his mother's death and enters a fantastical world with a talking gray heron.
The film was released in Japanese theaters on July 14, 2023, by Toho. It had its international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, and after preview screenings on November 22, it was released theatrically in the United States on December 8, 2023. It was generally acclaimed by critics; on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% from 250 critics, with an average rating of 8.5 out of 10. , the film has grossed internationally, making it the fifth highest-grossing Japanese film of all time.
The Boy and the Heron received numerous awards and nominations, particularly for its animation and musical score, composed by Joe Hisaishi. At the 96th Academy Awards, Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki won Best Animated Feature – the second hand-drawn production to do so after Miyazaki's 2001 film Spirited Away. At the 81st Golden Globe Awards, it received Best Animated Feature Film, with Hisaishi being nominated for Best Original Score. At the 77th British Academy Film Awards, Miyazaki and Suzuki won Best Animated Film, marking the first time a Japanese-language film had received the award.
Accolades
+ Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Academy Awards March 10, 2024 Best Animated Feature and Toshio Suzuki ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards February 10, 2024 Excellence in Production Design for an Animated Film Annie Awards February 17, 2024 Best Animated Feature Outstanding Achievement for Directing in a Feature Production Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production Outstanding Achievement for Writing in a Feature Production Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards January 6, 2024 Best Animated Feature Best International Filmmaker Austin Film Critics Association Awards January 10, 2024 Best Animated Film Best International Film AWFJ EDA Awards January 3, 2024 Best Animated Film Boston Society of Film Critics Awards December 10, 2023 Best Animated Film British Academy Film Awards February 18, 2024 Best Animated Film and Toshio Suzuki Chicago Film Critics Association Awards December 12, 2023 Best Animated Film Best Foreign Language Film Cinema Audio Society Awards March 2, 2024 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Animated Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 14, 2024 Best Animated Feature Critics' Choice Super Awards April 4, 2024 Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards December 18, 2023 Best Animated Film Dorian Awards February 26, 2024 Non-English Language Film of the Year Animated Film of the Year Film Music of the Year Florida Film Critics Circle Awards December 21, 2023 Best Film Best Foreign Language Film Best Animated Film Best Score Georgia Film Critics Association Awards January 5, 2024 Best Animated Film Best International Film Golden Globe Awards January 7, 2024 Best Animated Feature Film Best Original Score Houston Film Critics Society Awards January 22, 2024 Best Animated Feature Best Original Score Imagine Film Festival November 4, 2023 Silver Scream Award IndieWire Critics Poll December 11, 2023 Best International Film International Cinephile Society Awards February 11, 2024 Best Picture Best Animated Film Best Score Best Sound Design International Film Music Critics Association Awards February 22, 2024 Film Score of the Year Best Original Score for an Animated Film Japan Academy Film Prize March 8, 2024 Animation of the Year London Film Critics' Circle Awards February 4, 2024 Foreign Language Film of the Year Animated Film of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards December 10, 2023 Best Animated Film Mainichi Film Awards January 19, 2024 Ōfuji Noburō Award National Board of Review Awards December 6, 2023 Top Ten Films New York Film Critics Circle Awards November 30, 2023 Best Animated Film Online Film Critics Society Awards January 22, 2024 Best Animated Film Producers Guild of America Awards February 25, 2024 Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures San Diego Film Critics Society Awards December 19, 2023 Best Animated Film San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards January 9, 2024 Best Animated Feature Satellite Awards March 3, 2024 Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature Saturn Awards February 2, 2025 Best Animated Film Seattle Film Critics Society Awards January 8, 2024 Best Animated Feature Best International Film Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards February 13, 2024 Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards December 17, 2023 Best Animated Film Toronto Film Critics Association Awards December 17, 2023 Best Animated Feature Toronto International Film Festival September 17, 2023 People's Choice Award Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards December 10, 2023 Best Animated Feature Best Voice Performance
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