The mind of director and writer Hayao Miyazaki gives his movies verisimilitude. He brings his audience into a world of wonders with strong bonds to a fascinating reality. The Boy and the Heron is a new world of wonders that left me breathless. A tale where something is lost but has a chance to be regained by taking a chance and adventuring into the unknown. With Miyazaki skillfully adding depth and emphasis to his animations, The Boy and The Heron soars with faith and ambition. The magical imagery in The Boy and the Heron is an experience that is hard to forget.

The film is set in a fantasy post-war era. The story focuses on the character Mahito (voiced by Luca Padovan). Mahito’s mother has died, and he moves to his family’s estate with his father Shoichi (voiced by Christian Bale) and his stepmother Natsuko (voiced by Emma Chan). Mahito struggles with the grief of losing his mother. Repeatedly, in his head he hears his mother calling him for help. Mahito is visited by a Grey Heron that always shows up unexpectedly and he takes this as a sign. This leads Mahito to follow the bird (voiced by Robert Pattinson). After he is told that his mother may still be alive, Mahito is in for an adventure that he will never forget. It takes him into a world of the living and the dead. Death is an end, yet there is a new start from where life leaves off. Mahito and the Grey Heron embark on an adventure where Mahito may be able to find the missing aspect in his life…his mother.

The Boy and the Heron is a journey into the unknown with an added layer of faithful significance—Mahito’s name means sincere one. Mahito is the meaning of everything that happens around him as he embarks on his adventure with the Grey Heron. A sense of disconnect surrounds Mahito as a more revealing and empathetic atmosphere gradually increases throughout the film. His experience opens up a world of possibilities. The writing of the film fulfills that aspect of despair finding hope. It does so in its fantasy elements as Mahito goes deeper in his journey.

To an extent, this is one of the most authentic animations I have seen in ages. Its presentation flows like a classic novel through vast narrations in key moments of the film. A new door is unlocked around every corner of The Boy and the Heron.

Will Mahito find his mother? Will Mahito find a new direction in life through his adventures with the Grey Heron? There are a few moments in this film that may not make sense at first, however they are where the empathy builds. It is an experience where humanistic aspects will truly touch audiences in afantastic display through the mind of Miyazaki. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for The Boy and the Heron.