KUALA LUMPUR, September 7 — Renowned Japanese manga artist, animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has revealed a teaser trailer for his first film in 10 years and his final Studio Ghibli outing in The Boy and the Heron.
Released on social media yesterday, the trailer showcases Miyazaki’s signature animation style and a magical world that will enchant audiences.
The Boy and the Heron will be the Academy Award-winning director’s first film in 10 years since The Wind Rises and is said to be his last under his animation studio, Studio Ghibli.
Co-founded by Miyazaki in 1985, Studio Ghibli became one of the major animation houses internationally in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to his films.
Miyazaki is one of Japan’s most acclaimed animators, directing modern classics like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro.
Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature at the 2001 Academy Awards making it the first, and to date only, hand-drawn and non-English-language animated film to win the award.
In 2020, Studio Ghibli announced that Miyazaki would come out of retirement to make one more film and kept the project in tight secrecy until its domestic premiere.
The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan on July 14 2023 with minimal marketing to overwhelmingly positive reviews from audiences and critics.
The fantastical story revolves around a boy called Mahito who explores a world between the living and the dead to find his late mother.
The film will be a semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, creation, and friendship, according to its official website
Miyazaki will return to collaborate with Studio Ghibli co-founder and producer Toshio Suzuki and longtime composer Joe Hisashi.
For more information about the film click here.
