Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron Is Coming Back to Theaters

The Boy and the Heron has announced it will be coming back to theaters with some exclusive bonus content to help celebrate all of its big awards wins! Once touted as the final film in legendary creator Hayao Miyazaki’s career, The Boy and the Heron was first released in Japan without any visuals or other promotional materials revealing what the new movie would look like ahead of its release. But this ended up working out in Studio Ghibli’s favor as it became the most successful film in the company’s run, and even more of a success as it released around the world. 

The Boy and the Heron then absolutely took over the awards scene with tons of nominations and wins which capped off with a Best Animated Feature Film win at the 96th Academy Awards. It was a history making win for both Studio Ghibli and GKIDS, and now everyone is celebrating by bringing The Boy and the Heron back to theaters in the United States beginning on March 22nd with some exclusive new material for these screenings that will offer both Japanese and English language dubbed audio. Check out the trailer for the re-release below: 

The Boy and the Heron Returns to Theaters

GKIDS has announced that the bonus materials for these return screens of The Boy and the Heron include a special introduction from composer Joe Hisaishi (who was nominated for a Golden Globe with the film), and a recorded drawing session with supervisor Takeshi Honda (who won Best Character Animation at the Annie Awards with the film). Featuring a dub cast with stacked stars such as Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh and more, GKIDS teases The Boy and the Heron as such: 

“After losing his mother during the war, young Mahito 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 fantastic 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.”

Will you be checking out The Boy and the Heron in theaters now that it’s coming back? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on X (formerly known as Twitter)!