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Summary
- GKIDS releases new trailer for Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, featuring all new footage of the upcoming film.
- Trailer hints at a young boy venturing into a world shared by the living and the dead, exploring themes of life, death, and creation.
- Despite lack of traditional marketing, The Boy and the Heron pulled in over $52 million in Japan and gained positive reviews from critics.
Almost one week after the first teaser trailer was released, GKIDS has unleashed an all new trailer for Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, The Boy and the Heron. Unlike the first teaser, this one features all new footage of the upcoming film! Check it out below!
The footage itself still does not give up any explanation of the film’s plot, but there are hints all around of what fans can expect. It starts out with a young boy witnessing a traumatic event, a possible tunnel into a strange world, and fantastical things to come. A vague synopsis of the film can be read below.
A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
Originally titled “How Do You Live?”, The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan on July 14th. Despite Ghibli only advertising the film with a single poster, with no trailers or any other form of traditional marketing, the film pulled in over $52 million. The film also gained positive reviews from critics, Cezary Jan Strusiewicz from Polygon had this to say about the film.
The film’s fantasy elements look absolutely beautiful, and they naturally include shots of the classic impossibly delicious-looking Ghibli food. But they come with a kind of wistfulness for days gone by, paired with a full, unsentimental realization that there’s no getting them back. Which all feels like a director taking one last look at his career before bowing out. How Do You Live? has all the makings of a perfect swan song.
The Final Curtain Call of Hayao Miyazaki
If you are a fan of any kind of animation, then chances are you are familiar with the name of Hayao Miyazaki. The director, writer, and animator brought several beloved films into the world from the studio he helped found, Studio Ghibli.
Miyazaki’s career began in the studio Toei, where he directed and worked on several projects. His feature directorial debut was 1979’s Castle of Cagliostro, which brought him to other projects. This lead to Miyazaki writing and drawing an original manga, which he adapted into 1984’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Thanks to the established following of the manga, Nausicaä was a box office success, such a success that Miyazaki was able to establish Studio Ghibli with longtime collaborator, Isao Takahata. The rest is history, whether it involves flying on a broomstick, discovering a mysterious flying castle, a princess among wolves, or even a bath house for the spirits. The works of Studio Ghibli are hailed worldwide for their magnificent animation, unforgettable characters, and deep stories.
Throughout his career, Miyazaki announced more than once that his next big project would be his last. But considering the large gap between his previous feature film, 2013’s The Wind Rises, and The Boy and the Heron, it seems more likely that this will be the true final film from the director. But if the shots in this trailer have anything to say about his final film, it will be something truly unforgettable.
The Boy and the Heron will come to American (and IMAX) cinemas on December 8th.
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