The Boy and The Heron 4K Blu-ray SteelBook Edition Is On Sale

Hayao Miyazaki's latest Studio Ghibli anime masterpiece comes to Digital on June 25th and Blu-ray July 9th.

By Sean Fallon

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Studio Ghibli's recent anime film The Boy and the Heron has been one of the biggest success stories in the illustrious career of Hayao Miyazaki, winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature award at the 96th Academy Awards after a 10 year "retirement". It is destined to be another Studio Ghibli classic that will be enjoyed for generations to come, which makes the home video release especially exciting. In fact, this is the first time that a Studio Ghibli film will be released in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. 

Recently GKIDS announced that The Boy and the Heron will be available on all major on-demand platforms starting on June 25th. The Blu-ray release date for the film will take place on July 9th in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Blu-ray / DVD, with a limited edition 4K Blu-ray Steelbook as the must-have item for collectors. The 4K editions will feature Dolby Vision plus Dolby Atmos and all versions will contain the film in its original Japanese language with English subtitles, as well as in the new English-language version featuring the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.

Special Features will include feature-length storyboards, an interview with Golden Globe®-nominated composer Joe Hisaishi, an interview with Academy Award-winning producer and Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, an interview and drawing featurette with Annie Award-winning supervising animator Takeshi Honda, the music video for the film's theme song "Spinning Globe" from global J-Pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu, and teasers and trailers. Pre-orders for all editions of the Blu-ray and DVD are available via the links below. Note that the 4K Limited Edition SteelBook is currently 22% off, making it cheaper than the standard 4K Blu-ray at the time of writing ($34.96 and $39.98 on Amazon respectively). 

The Boy and the Heron Special Features:

  • Feature-Length Storyboards
  • Interview with Composer Joe Hisaishi
  • Interview with Producer Toshio Suzuki
  • Interview with Supervising Animator Takeshi Honda
  • Drawing with Takeshi Honda
  • "Spinning Globe" Music Video
  • Teasers & Trailers

Synopsis: THE BOY AND THE HERON follows young Mahito, who, after losing his mother during the war in a hospital fire, moves to his family's estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito's new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastical world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world and the truth about himself.

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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 written and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.

Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki had the following to say about the Oscar win for The Boy and the Heron:  

"As producer on The Boy and the Heron, I am extremely honored to receive the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Academy. I would also like to give my thanks to those who were involved in the production of this film, and to all those who worked to distribute the film worldwide," Suzuki wrote.

"The film began with Director Hayao Miyazaki retracting his retirement statement. Following that, we spent seven years in the production of this work. It has been ten years since Hayao Miyazaki's previous film, The Wind Rises, during which time there have been dramatic changes in the environment surrounding films. This film was truly difficult to bring to completion. I am very appreciative that the work that was created after overcoming these difficulties has been seen by so many people around the world, and that is has received this recognition. Both Hayao Miyazaki and I have aged a considerable amount. I am grateful to receive such an honor at my age, and taking this as a. Message to continue our work, I will devote myself to work harder in the future."

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