I had to guilt my wife into going to see this with me, but happily we both liked it. Driving home after the movie, we struggled to make sense of what we had just watched. I felt like I had just awoken from the crazy dream of a child, which was exciting to me because as an adult I almost never remember my dreams, and yet I still have some recollection of dreams I had when I was a kid. I think it's wonderful that Miyazaki hasn't lost touch with his inner child, and is able to help others reconnect with theirs, if they can just let go of the adult instinct to try and rationalize everything.
I adored the first hour, it was slow paced but interesting and I thought it was building to something. But then it completely fell apart for me in the last 20 minutes. So many new things were introduced in the plot that I legitimately thought Miyazaki was trolling the audience
Ha! Yeah I had a similar experience. The anticipation of the heron and slow build up that something was wrong was really good and I wish the fantasy world segments had never happened. I can't help but think everything in the fantasy world had been covered already in previous Ghibli films, I get it was a big nod to previous films, and maybe this film should have been utilized as a story on endings being inevitable and how repetition isn't helpful.
Not his best (that goes to Spirited away to many but personally I pick Porco Rosso) but his most serious movie to date. It's a difficult watch as well more complex than mononoke hime, not recommended for those want to pick this as ur first Ghibli movie. But highly highly recommended for Ghibli fans like many of us who were mesmerised with Laputa, Tototo and so on.
At the theatre, I told my friends that I felt this movie was a little too surreal and impenetrable. Things kind of just happen or appear in ways that left me confounded and ultimately incomplete. The animation is gorgeous, but def not the best of his works imho.
Hmm…. I think the granduncle, parakeet king and the boy all represent different aspects of Miyazaki. He is looking for an heir to his anime legacy and doesn’t feel Goro is up to it (granduncle), the Parakeet King is probably his wild creative side that rejects form/structure, felt betrayed by his rational side. Since you raised it, I can also see Isao Takahata in there. From what I remember Takahata taught him many things but the main thing was to balance his highly imaginative stories with philosophy and positive messages. So you could be on target with that interpretation. I prefer this film over his other vanity project: The Wind Rises.
Kind of wild this was available in IMAX. There was a bit where the score was a dead ringer for Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel Im Spiegel. We got a Miyazaki and Shinkai movie in the same year. When is that ever gonna happen again? Scorsese. Miyazaki. Woo. Wiseman. Herzog. Scott. All over 70. Didn’t notice that until recently.
I love your reviews! I really liked the boy and the heron, however I agree with the other comments saying the ending was very abrupt. I left the theater not really knowing how to feel. I ended up sitting in the movie theater parking lot reading some online discussions about the themes in the movie. It helped me kinda grasp some of the stuff I missed on my first watch. I definitely think it’s worth seeing 2-3 times just to catch all the little details. I’m so glad I got to see a Miyazaki film in theaters!
I’m a huge Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli fan. I want to see it and your review is great as usual! Btw Miyazaki chose the name Ghibli from an aviation company that pronounces it with that G sound, however he chose it for the J sound and pronounces it “Jiblee” I only mention this as a fan of your reviews and not to be rude. Hayao just loved the sound…
Wow Alachia is back, I just discovered this!Welcome back to the Matrix, I always loved your reviews!I find that our taste in films is pretty similar so you're one of the few reviewers I really trust, if you like a movie it's definitely something I'll want to check out😊
i feel like the movie was something he wanted to tell for a while those fire bombings scenes are intense this really had me thinking is this what he imagined life was growing up in the last days of the japenese empire in the first half
It felt like it was cut really weird, almost as if theres a 4 hour director's cut out there. A lot characters get introduced really fast and dont have much time to meld into the story.
Yeah I did sense he was very much pushing allegory. It's tricky storytelling which made it feel a tad confusing. As well as made the world building feel tacked on. I felt the stronger story choice would have been to have the boy follow the heron into the realm of the dead to find his mother and then slowly learn to let her go as he found Lady Hime. There were moments in the film that felt like poorly placed exposition that was trying to be profound but ended up falling flat. Like the wounded pelican mimicking the leper in Princess Mononoke. With the Leper, even though he was a complete minor character with one scene, he spoke the the pain of world and even set up the moral complexity of Lady Eboshi. So that you couldn't simply write her off as a greedy industrialist but someone that also helped lepers and prostitutes find healing and dignity. The wounded pelican, seemed to attempt to do this, only it felt more virtue signaling and performative sympathy. As the viewer has only learned of the baby souls just now and so it doesn't really give us the time to really feel the cost and the struggle that these characters are grappling with for us to really have a real moral dilemma. It just feels light and random. Same with the old wizard. We get one glimpse of him at the entrance of the tower. But then really only meet him at the end of the film. Then he suddenly reveals that he needs the boy to inherit the world because he is of his bloodline. It's just this random chosen one plot that appears at the very end. That really diverts from the original goal of finding his mother. It again also makes the exposition of the old man trying to create a world without malice feel as though he is trying to say something profound without setting up the story to really make that exposition fit into the story. As a result the film eventually just feels confusing. And the film leaves you confused as to what you really just watched.
I think it was confusing because it's a personal project for Miyazaki. It was a meditative film for him reflecting on his life. I wonder if that's why they didn't even bother releasing a trailer for the movie when it was released in Japan.
The Boy And The Heron is a great movie. I saw it last Tuesday. It may not be the movie that I would watch more than once unlike The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service. However, The Boy And The Heron is beautifully made and has an amazing voice cast from Robert Pattinson to Dave Batista.
I have to see this again. I had a concern that the english edit of the original film had some issues in translation. I even had a concern elements of the original film were cut! There was a scene or two that did not make sense, only to deduce their may have been an edit error. But I was impressed and I most certainly will go and see the Japanese version with subtitles.
It was a 4.5-ish out of 5 for me. There are so many layers to the characters and plot, I have to watch it again to absorb more.The parakeet kingdom was incredible. And this won’t be Miyazaki’s last film. It was already announced he’s working on another film. No details were released. I guess he’ll keep going until he drops. Good for him. He still has more creativity than most storytellers a fraction of his age.
@@AlachiaBack in mid to late vanilla/early TBC my brother and I would play and listen to your podcasts. We were only 13 years old then so hearing your voice again was a crazy blast from the past. We didn't know what you looked like back then and I recall the only photo we found was one where you covered your face with a smiley lol. Hope you're doing well!
Interesting to hear you mention Wish in your review. That was such a weak film when watched so close to The Boy and the Heron. We had the same comparison in our review
I saw it recently and it was well done and beautfiul. There are some of the expected comedic elements and there is a story but it seems some of the in-between stuff is lost. It hits a lot of his other theme in his prior works, so if you are familiar with them, the plot and story makes more sense but if you are coming into this new, it may be confusing. I saw the dubbed version and it was fine. Agree with rating - not his best work, but good.
The movie feels inaccessible yet lingers in your mind says a lot and those who have followed more of ghibli and Miyazaki's history will have a ton of appreciation to the film
Seen every myazaki tens of times, and this one is shite, my wife and I were so disappointed that I know I for one won't be wasting another two hours of my quickly diminishing lifespan on anything he does from now on, he's lost the plot.
It really feels like Miyazaki was trying to be more mature with this one. Apparently the Book that it's based off of includes a lot of stuff that wasn't included in the film
I wonder what's your top 20 of Studio Ghibli Movies since Studio Ghibli utself have some underated movies that usually outside Miyazaki's Movies Grave of Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Whispher of Heart are great example🤔 I hope more people check out other Studio Ghibli's Movies Outside Moyazaki's Movies 😊
Was it one of the best Miyazaki films? No Was it good? Yes And I always appreciate the storytelling of Miyazaki that doesn't need conflict. It feels refreshing.
This doesn't have to do with the boy and the heron😢. There is a Critics At Large podcast from The New Yorker magazine. lt's called "The Year of the Doll". I would love to hear your review of that review.
Really wonderful movie this truly was But already in 2024 I have to say Argyle and night swim was both truly Horrendous and horrible we already have some Worst movie of the year contenters
Watched this last night with English subs, and it's nothing like you say, it's absolute Rubbish, and I've seen every Miyazaki film, some of them mare than 20 times, doesn't stop it being shite though.
You're awesome and im unsubscribing. I was one of your early subs and i loved/love your content. Back when you were going through some issues and took a hiatus i missed your uploads, but i stayed subbed and hoped others did too because i didnt want you to think people dont care about you. (I realize how silly this is btw, its irrational but im just telling you how i felt) Anyway, now you're back and seem a lot better, but Hollywood has been so trash for the last 5 years that it mostly killed my interest in the medium. I watch international films every now and then but still not with as much intrest. Anyway i just wanted to say farewell and keep doing you! 😅😅 👋🏿 👋🏿
Of all the Studio Ghibli movies, this one was the worst to me. It was slow until the last 20 minutes then the ending was too rushed. Lots of interesting ideas but none of them explored enough.
Miss you Alachia. But first of all, take care ❤️😊
Where are you?
Alachia. You are such a quality person. Keep doin' what ya doin'. Keep bein' you.😘
I had to guilt my wife into going to see this with me, but happily we both liked it. Driving home after the movie, we struggled to make sense of what we had just watched. I felt like I had just awoken from the crazy dream of a child, which was exciting to me because as an adult I almost never remember my dreams, and yet I still have some recollection of dreams I had when I was a kid. I think it's wonderful that Miyazaki hasn't lost touch with his inner child, and is able to help others reconnect with theirs, if they can just let go of the adult instinct to try and rationalize everything.
I adored the first hour, it was slow paced but interesting and I thought it was building to something. But then it completely fell apart for me in the last 20 minutes. So many new things were introduced in the plot that I legitimately thought Miyazaki was trolling the audience
Ha! Yeah I had a similar experience. The anticipation of the heron and slow build up that something was wrong was really good and I wish the fantasy world segments had never happened.
I can't help but think everything in the fantasy world had been covered already in previous Ghibli films, I get it was a big nod to previous films, and maybe this film should have been utilized as a story on endings being inevitable and how repetition isn't helpful.
Honestly didnt know this was released. Glad to see that Mr. Miyazaki and company had one more stunner left in them. Going to see it as soon as I can.
Like Persephone, Alachia has seemingly retreated to the underworld. Hopefully, we will see her in six months.
Not his best (that goes to Spirited away to many but personally I pick Porco Rosso) but his most serious movie to date. It's a difficult watch as well more complex than mononoke hime, not recommended for those want to pick this as ur first Ghibli movie. But highly highly recommended for Ghibli fans like many of us who were mesmerised with Laputa, Tototo and so on.
I hope everything is alright with you and the family.
At the theatre, I told my friends that I felt this movie was a little too surreal and impenetrable. Things kind of just happen or appear in ways that left me confounded and ultimately incomplete. The animation is gorgeous, but def not the best of his works imho.
I felt the same way until I found out how much his life experience was inserted which makes me want to see it again lol.
I felt exactly the same!!
I wanted to take my girl to see this film. Your review just solidified that.
Hmm…. I think the granduncle, parakeet king and the boy all represent different aspects of Miyazaki. He is looking for an heir to his anime legacy and doesn’t feel Goro is up to it (granduncle), the Parakeet King is probably his wild creative side that rejects form/structure, felt betrayed by his rational side. Since you raised it, I can also see Isao Takahata in there. From what I remember Takahata taught him many things but the main thing was to balance his highly imaginative stories with philosophy and positive messages. So you could be on target with that interpretation. I prefer this film over his other vanity project: The Wind Rises.
Hope you're doing well, miss your reviews!
Thanks for this context, it's helpful for someone like myself with only a limited exposure to Miyazaki. I'm trying to correct that.
Kind of wild this was available in IMAX.
There was a bit where the score was a dead ringer for Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel Im Spiegel.
We got a Miyazaki and Shinkai movie in the same year. When is that ever gonna happen again?
Scorsese. Miyazaki. Woo. Wiseman. Herzog. Scott. All over 70. Didn’t notice that until recently.
I could tell from the thumbnail this review was going to be metaphorical like a Miyazaki film.
I love your reviews! I really liked the boy and the heron, however I agree with the other comments saying the ending was very abrupt. I left the theater not really knowing how to feel. I ended up sitting in the movie theater parking lot reading some online discussions about the themes in the movie. It helped me kinda grasp some of the stuff I missed on my first watch. I definitely think it’s worth seeing 2-3 times just to catch all the little details. I’m so glad I got to see a Miyazaki film in theaters!
TOUGH GRADER - I'm steering waaayyyyy clear of your class
A wise decision 😂
I’m a huge Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli fan. I want to see it and your review is great as usual!
Btw Miyazaki chose the name Ghibli from an aviation company that pronounces it with that G sound, however he chose it for the J sound and pronounces it “Jiblee” I only mention this as a fan of your reviews and not to be rude. Hayao just loved the sound…
Yeah. I think I knew it was pronounced with a j but I've been saying it the same way for 25 years so it's hard to correct myself at this point. Lol
I started saying it like you too. Then I saw a lot of Ghibli documentaries…
Wow Alachia is back, I just discovered this!Welcome back to the Matrix, I always loved your reviews!I find that our taste in films is pretty similar so you're one of the few reviewers I really trust, if you like a movie it's definitely something I'll want to check out😊
100% agree with everything you said! Great review Alachia!
Movies UK release date is December 26,th👍
Great review! What are your Top 5 Miyazaki movies, Alachia? I’m curious now. 😊
i feel like the movie was something he wanted to tell for a while those fire bombings scenes are intense this really had me thinking is this what he imagined life was growing up in the last days of the japenese empire in the first half
Keep the reviews coming!
Just saw it and I liked it a lot! Your thoughts echoe my own so kudos to you! Watching your vids, I notice you have a good sense of quality!
Heron - swan song. Ha!
Lol
I can't wait to see this film. Thanks for the review! 🙂
It felt like it was cut really weird, almost as if theres a 4 hour director's cut out there. A lot characters get introduced really fast and dont have much time to meld into the story.
Yeah I did sense he was very much pushing allegory. It's tricky storytelling which made it feel a tad confusing. As well as made the world building feel tacked on. I felt the stronger story choice would have been to have the boy follow the heron into the realm of the dead to find his mother and then slowly learn to let her go as he found Lady Hime. There were moments in the film that felt like poorly placed exposition that was trying to be profound but ended up falling flat. Like the wounded pelican mimicking the leper in Princess Mononoke. With the Leper, even though he was a complete minor character with one scene, he spoke the the pain of world and even set up the moral complexity of Lady Eboshi. So that you couldn't simply write her off as a greedy industrialist but someone that also helped lepers and prostitutes find healing and dignity. The wounded pelican, seemed to attempt to do this, only it felt more virtue signaling and performative sympathy. As the viewer has only learned of the baby souls just now and so it doesn't really give us the time to really feel the cost and the struggle that these characters are grappling with for us to really have a real moral dilemma. It just feels light and random. Same with the old wizard. We get one glimpse of him at the entrance of the tower. But then really only meet him at the end of the film. Then he suddenly reveals that he needs the boy to inherit the world because he is of his bloodline. It's just this random chosen one plot that appears at the very end. That really diverts from the original goal of finding his mother. It again also makes the exposition of the old man trying to create a world without malice feel as though he is trying to say something profound without setting up the story to really make that exposition fit into the story. As a result the film eventually just feels confusing. And the film leaves you confused as to what you really just watched.
I think it was confusing because it's a personal project for Miyazaki. It was a meditative film for him reflecting on his life. I wonder if that's why they didn't even bother releasing a trailer for the movie when it was released in Japan.
agree with you on M still having stories to tell
The Boy And The Heron is a great movie. I saw it last Tuesday. It may not be the movie that I would watch more than once unlike The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service. However, The Boy And The Heron is beautifully made and has an amazing voice cast from Robert Pattinson to Dave Batista.
I have to see this again. I had a concern that the english edit of the original film had some issues in translation. I even had a concern elements of the original film were cut! There was a scene or two that did not make sense, only to deduce their may have been an edit error. But I was impressed and I most certainly will go and see the Japanese version with subtitles.
It was a 4.5-ish out of 5 for me. There are so many layers to the characters and plot, I have to watch it again to absorb more.The parakeet kingdom was incredible. And this won’t be Miyazaki’s last film. It was already announced he’s working on another film. No details were released. I guess he’ll keep going until he drops. Good for him. He still has more creativity than most storytellers a fraction of his age.
.05 from me.
Pretty weird finding this channel after knowing you from WoWcast back in the day
Wow4life baby! Lol. I haven't played for quite a long time
@@AlachiaBack in mid to late vanilla/early TBC my brother and I would play and listen to your podcasts. We were only 13 years old then so hearing your voice again was a crazy blast from the past. We didn't know what you looked like back then and I recall the only photo we found was one where you covered your face with a smiley lol. Hope you're doing well!
@@Alachia what happened with the channel?
I'm probably one of the few people on the planet who hasn't seen a Miyazaki film. I REALLY need to get my 💩 together! 😂
The style may not be for everyone but the world building and story are always great. For non Mayazaki fans, I always recommend Princess Mononoke
THE best film I saw last year! Wonderfully dreamlike and fantastic
Interesting to hear you mention Wish in your review. That was such a weak film when watched so close to The Boy and the Heron. We had the same comparison in our review
hell yeah im going to watch it
I saw it recently and it was well done and beautfiul. There are some of the expected comedic elements and there is a story but it seems some of the in-between stuff is lost. It hits a lot of his other theme in his prior works, so if you are familiar with them, the plot and story makes more sense but if you are coming into this new, it may be confusing. I saw the dubbed version and it was fine. Agree with rating - not his best work, but good.
I miss you too...
The movie feels inaccessible yet lingers in your mind says a lot and those who have followed more of ghibli and Miyazaki's history will have a ton of appreciation to the film
Seen every myazaki tens of times, and this one is shite, my wife and I were so disappointed that I know I for one won't be wasting another two hours of my quickly diminishing lifespan on anything he does from now on, he's lost the plot.
It really feels like Miyazaki was trying to be more mature with this one. Apparently the Book that it's based off of includes a lot of stuff that wasn't included in the film
We need your review of Megalopolis!
Oye. That movie looks so bad!!
Very touched by this movie
Hello. I'm listening to your WoWcast podcast rn as I play through WoTLK on a private server. I miss those days for real.
I'm currently playing the war within expansion. Retail. Resto shaman. 😁
@@Alachia How's the new xpac?
@@Alachia Btw. Episode 45 - the English sounding bloke, I always pictured as looking like Simon Cowell XD
i eagerly await your thoughts on joker 2: musical boogaloo
I wonder what's your top 20 of Studio Ghibli Movies since Studio Ghibli utself have some underated movies that usually outside Miyazaki's Movies
Grave of Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Whispher of Heart are great example🤔
I hope more people check out other Studio Ghibli's Movies Outside Moyazaki's Movies 😊
Was it one of the best Miyazaki films? No
Was it good? Yes
And I always appreciate the storytelling of Miyazaki that doesn't need conflict. It feels refreshing.
This doesn't have to do with the boy and the heron😢. There is a Critics At Large podcast from The New Yorker magazine. lt's called "The Year of the Doll". I would love to hear your review of that review.
Happy Monday
Please, return, and tell us your thoughts on Joker 2
0:15 shouldn't that be heron song?
Do : Scavengers Reign
Watch Star Wars Andor, amazing show
Really wonderful movie this truly was
But already in 2024 I have to say Argyle and night swim was both truly Horrendous and horrible we already have some Worst movie of the year contenters
Watched this last night with English subs, and it's nothing like you say, it's absolute Rubbish, and I've seen every Miyazaki film, some of them mare than 20 times, doesn't stop it being shite though.
Nineteenth!
Lol!
You're awesome and im unsubscribing. I was one of your early subs and i loved/love your content. Back when you were going through some issues and took a hiatus i missed your uploads, but i stayed subbed and hoped others did too because i didnt want you to think people dont care about you. (I realize how silly this is btw, its irrational but im just telling you how i felt) Anyway, now you're back and seem a lot better, but Hollywood has been so trash for the last 5 years that it mostly killed my interest in the medium. I watch international films every now and then but still not with as much intrest. Anyway i just wanted to say farewell and keep doing you!
😅😅 👋🏿 👋🏿
B-?😯
Please review the new 2024 Ghostbusters , love your reviews
Of all the Studio Ghibli movies, this one was the worst to me. It was slow until the last 20 minutes then the ending was too rushed. Lots of interesting ideas but none of them explored enough.