Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is a debatable Ghibli production. While Miyazaki’s movies have always sported hidden meanings and metaphors, The Boy and the Heron was even more of an enigma to me. But that was only because I was too obsessed with trying to find a connection between the scenes, without trying to figure out their deeper meanings.
In fact, The Boy and the Heron‘s Oscar win was much deserved, no matter how much Ghibli fans try to nominate other Miyazaki movies. And it is because it involved more of Hayao Miyazaki’s self than any of his other works. Through the film, he deals with grief, loss, and acceptance of the present.
Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is one of his best works
Many viewers might think that The Boy and the Heron is about Mahito’s quest to find his Natsuko or his dead mother. I thought the same in the beginning, but it is actually about his quest to overcome his grief. Trying to cope with the bitterness of the world and rescuing Natsuko is just an extension of the theme.
One Movie Helped Robert Pattinson Land ‘The Boy and the Heron’ and Batman That’s Too Hard to Believe
The Boy and the Heron also has themes that are pretty similar to another Oscar winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once. This 2022 movie, distributed by A-24, dealt with similar themes of grief. Just like how Evelyn searches for harmony with her mother in multiple universes, Mahito tries to accept his new stepmother, Natsuko, without treating her with bitterness.
Both films have extremely outlandish visuals and have some sort of whimsical fantasy lands involved. The alternate realities in which Evelyn and Mahito land are full of absurd things. Both movies are also marked by the grief and struggles of the protagonists who are trying to save their loved ones. And to do so, they are ready to do almost anything.
The Boy and the Heron is the best retirement point for Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement plenty of times already. And each time, he has made a comeback to gift the world another beautiful movie. It can also be called the creator’s curse, which cannot let a creator stop creating. However, Miyazaki is now over 80 years old. He can no longer work at the same speed as he used to, which is one of the reasons why the production of The Boy and the Heron took around seven years.
And in the movie, the director has pretty much shown his stance via the metaphors and the character of the great uncle. This old man in the movie is the architect of the film’s magical realm. But after carefully looking after the world for his entire life, the granduncle now wants a successor, and Mahito is the one he has chosen.
However, Mahito refuses to take over the fantasy world and as a result, everything around him starts collapsing. The magical world fails to continue existing because the grand uncle never found a successor. This is reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s own state, as he has not yet found a worthy descendant.
After creating a magical world of Ghibli films, Miyazaki might have come to the painful realization that there is no one to carry on his legacy. Thus, The Boy and the Heron serves as a reminder that he has accepted his fate. Thus, it is the perfect movie for the director to bid adieu as he has already made amends that the Ghibli brand would probably lose its essence when he is no longer present.
The Boy and the Heron is available to stream on Max.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
