Oscar-winning animated film ‘The Boy And The Heron’ movie review: A wild and unexpected adventure

Cast: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshimo Kimura

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Language: Japanese

Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film The Boy And The Heron won the BAFTA Award, the Golden Globe, and above all, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Miyazaki also said in an interview that this is the most expensive animated Japanese film they have made. The story is bursting with imagination and imageries we usually witness in Hollywood juggernauts. The Boy And The Heron begins with visuals from a war that has broken in a town and the boy in question is Mahito who says his mother died in that very war. And the Heron in question says she’s alive. Mahito encounters a woman who happens to be a spitting image of his mother and the mystery behind her existence continues to deepen.

A journey of discovery and dazzle

A journey of discovery involves a lot of travel and tension and in this case, some terrific and terrifying visuals. Cinematographer Atsushi Okui lets his ingenious imagination run wild and laces the animation with cutesy and gorgeous moments. The film takes time to settle. In fact, there are scenes where every minute activity of the central character is shown till it’s over, even if it involves wearing his clothes, climbing the stairs, or drinking a glass of water. The heron exists for comic relief and so do the maids that reside with our hero. The wild bird mouths the film’s best line one should quote in real too often- Loose lips lead to sinking ships.

Making no bones

What appeared to be a story of a boy and his lost mother, and of course the heron, turns into a crowded feature with one eccentric character after another with different motivations. And since the world is both fictional and animated, the makers make no bones about making the proceedings as cartoonish as possible in good ways. We know we are making a story about a lost mother but why should we shy away from cracking jokes and having fun?

It has been reported the film could be the filmmaker’s swan song. Here’s hoping it’s just could be and not will be. Let’s have some more adventures and madness.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

The Boy And The Heron is playing in cinemas