Miyazaki continues to impress with “The Boy and the Heron”
Written by Riley Wolcott. Photo courtesy of SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
Hayao Miyazaki’s newest film, “The Boy and The Heron,” is another masterpiece that continues to prove his incredible talent in storytelling through animation. The film, which was screened on Oct. 25 at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival in the Trustees Theater, follows the story of a young boy named Mahito Maki, voiced by Soma Santoki, on his journey through time and space to a world shared by the living and dead. He meets many whimsical characters, such as the Grey Heron voiced by Masaki Suda, along with many new loveable creatures. The movie is said to be a semi-autobiographical fantasy of the great animator’s life, which adds a sense of humility and genuine passion throughout the story.
SCAD presented the film subtitled with its original audio. The English voice cast will include Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, Mark Hammil and Christian Bale, who played Howl Pendragon in Miyazaki’s “Howl’s Moving Castle.”
After the screening, there was a Q&A with David Jesteadt, President and Co-Founder of GKids, the studio responsible for the North American distribution of Studio Ghibli films. He gave advice to students seeking jobs in animation, saying, “Excel at everything that you set out to do, even if it’s small. It might be the short film that leads to some project, and it’s not necessarily where you want to be at that moment, but you’re proving yourself every step of the way.”
The panel was a fun and informative way to end the evening, especially after the audience had the opportunity to enjoy such a technically and emotionally brilliant film. Overall, the showing was beautiful and inspiring and satisfied the expectations of the Ghibli fans of Savannah.
“The Boy and the Heron” is in theaters now.
