Hayao Miyazaki’s Swan Song: “The Boy and The Heron”

Studio Ghibli logo. Photo by Quentin Garde via Flickr

Hayao Miyazaki returned to the world of cinema in 2023, delivering what is likely his very last full-length feature. In his final film, Miyazaki provides audiences with a glimpse into his childhood and a reflection on the legacy he will leave behind.

“The Boy and the Heron” ends the decade-long break Miyazaki took after releasing his 2013 film, “The Wind Rises,” which focuses on a boy who devotes his life to plane design after being unable to become a pilot.

Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” carries themes from his previous film. In the 2023 film, the protagonist’s family designs fighter planes, which is a reflection of the Miyazaki family in real life. The new film serves as an origin story for Miyazaki and the pieces of his life he has sewn throughout his previous films.

Many elements of “The Boy and the Heron” directly reflect Miyazaki’s life. The protagonist, Mahito Maki, acts as a stand-in for the filmmaker. This lens makes it clear why he chose to exit retirement to create one last personal film. The parallels between the film and Miyazaki’s upbringing are so vivid that “The Boy and the Heron” acts as his final memoir.

As we follow Mahito through his journey, we see him grieve, mature and find himself along the way. When the heron appears to the boy, he tempts him with the promise that he can take him to his mother. Throughout the film, the boy is haunted by the image of his mother, whom he lost in a bombing in World War II. This reflects Miyazaki’s life as a child; he felt the absence of his mother due to her decade-long fight against tuberculosis that left her bedridden. This experience is visible throughout his work, but it is the core of “The Boy and The Heron.” Throughout the film, Mahito’s desire to feel close to his mother is his motivation. The autobiographical nature of this story explains to viewers why mothers are often ill, dead, or absent in his works.

Although the film contains many themes recurring throughout Miyazaki’s filmography, the story contained within this two-hour epic is singular. Mahito might be Studio Ghibli’s most apprehensive and flawed hero. He is not innately brave and pure-hearted. He is avoidant and stuck in the past. Miyazaki breaks out of the stories of brave young heroes to deliver to audiences his perception of himself in childhood.

Entirely hand-drawn, the animation for “The Boy and the Heron” elevates the signature style of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki with familiar techniques intertwined with more languid yet frantic and anxious illustrations to help audiences experience what Mahito is feeling. This can be seen at the film’s start when he runs through the streets towards the fire where his mother is. The loose, flowing brush lines and the pace at which they move induce fear and anxiety in audiences for what is to come and allows the extreme heat of the fire to be felt through the screen. The scene is vivid; it sticks with the audience, driving home the gravity of the event.

Miyazaki reflects on all his creations in a powerful moment at the end of his final movie. Many of his stories follow brave and righteous young heroes saving the day through love and compassion. In this movie, he doesn’t shy away from the reality of human nature and his moral complexities. He accepts that a story that centers on his reality is one worth telling.