The renowned Studio Ghibli and animation legend Hayao Miyazaki return with their highly anticipated “The Boy and the Heron”. It’s the 82-year-old Miyazaki’s first feature film since 2013 – the year he announced his retirement after the release of the critically acclaimed “The Wind Rises”. But to the elation of his many fans, the beloved filmmaker had a change of heart and began working on a new feature-length project in 2016. After a lengthy production (one made lengthier by the COVID-19 pandemic) it has finally made its way to theaters.

To be completely honest and forthright, I’m hardly what you would call a Miyazaki connoisseur. I haven’t seen all of his movies nor have I ever felt inclined to. That’s not to say I haven’t respected him as a filmmaker. Quite the opposite. I’ve often lamented the fact that his movies have rarely registered with me in the same way they do with his legion of passionate fans. That said, Miyazaki’s career is nothing short of inspiring and his legacy is undeniable.

“The Boy and the Heron” sees Miyazaki drawing from his own childhood to tell a warm-hearted coming-of-age story. It’s told from the perspective of 12-year-old Mahito (voiced by Soma Santoki), a character whose experiences echo Miyazaki’s in a number of ways. Both were deeply affected by the losses of their mothers. Both had fathers who worked for companies that manufactured parts for fighter planes. Both were part of families forced to evacuate to other cities due to bombings in World War II.

“The Boy and the Heron” gets its title from Genzaburō Yoshino’s 1937 novel of the same name, but their connection is largely thematic. This is very much an original Miyazaki story set in the turbulance of 1943. A few years after the loss of his mother and amid the growing chaos from the war, 12-year-old Mahito and his father Shoichi (Takuya Kimura) leave Tokyo for the countryside to live with Natsuko (Yoshino Kimura), Shoichi’s new pregnant wife who is the younger sister of Mahito’s late mother.

Still grieving his mother’s death, Mahito is cordial but lukewarm towards the kindly Natsuko. During the day, while Shoichi is away running a nearby air munitions factory, Mahito mostly avoids his ‘new mother’ and her gaggle of elderly maids. He spends chunks of his time exploring the grounds which is where he discovers a creepy old tower grown up and in disrepair. Even stranger is his encounter with a bizarre and pesky talking grey heron (Marsalis Suda).

Things move further into the fantastical after Natsuko wanders off into the forest and goes missing. As parties search for her in our world, Mahito, paired with the suspicious Grey Heron, venture into the tower which turns out to be a gateway to a parallel universe. It’s an bizarre place filled with wild characters, weird creatures, and profound truths that may help Mahito cope with his sadness and find happiness in what he still has.

There is a lot in “The Boy and the Heron” that Miyazaki fans will recognize. There is the exquisite hand-drawn animation featuring painterly compositions with gorgeous backgrounds and rich detail. There are his classic themes of loss, grief, and childhood, all treated with his signature sense of optimism. It seems these and other Miyazaki trademarks have made the film a little too familiar for some ardent lovers of his work. But as someone who sees himself as more of an admirer than an authority, I found myself mostly swept away.

Admittedly the movie did lose me a bit in the second half where the wackiness reaches its height. Yet I was still captivated by how Miyazaki maintains his thematic connections throughout. And the way he steadily mirrors reality with the otherworldly is impression. It all leads to a truly touching ending that brings the entire story to a beautiful conclusion. As for Miyazaki, if this is his final feature, he has gifted us with something delightfully charming and artistically precious. “The Boy and the Heron” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 4 STARS