“The Boy and the Heron”, a new animated gem by Hayao Miyazaki, was released this week. With an average of 4.2/5, the press is won over. But is it the best animated film of the year?
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Almost 10 years after The Wind Rises, Hayao Miyazaki returns with his new masterpiece, The Boy and the Heron. In theaters since last Wednesday, this little gem of poetry was very well received by the French press, since its average is 4.2/5 (for 35 reviews, on AlloCiné). It even ranks first in the ranking of the best animated films of 2023, ahead of Linda Wants Chicken! (4.1/5) and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (id.).
A very good rating, even if lower than the majority of the works of the 82-year-old Japanese director. Thus, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away have an average of 4.8/5, and Castle in the Sky 5/5, just that!
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
After the disappearance of his mother in a fire, Mahito, a young boy of 11, must leave Tokyo to live in the countryside in the village where she grew up. He settles with his father in an old manor located on a huge estate where he meets a gray heron who little by little becomes his guide and helps him through his discoveries and questions to understand the world around him and break through. the mysteries of life.
WHAT THE PRESS THINKS…
According to Les Inrockuptibles:
“Like Alice in Wonderland, Mahito slides from dreamlike space into fantastical corridors, with an excitement that is disconcerting to say the least. We can thus be dizzy seeing the film spread its wings bigger and bigger, far and wide. quickly, constantly changing thanks to a powerful narrative engine, designed by a master at the top of his art.” (Jacky Goldberg) 5/5
According to Télérama:
“We find the entire universe of the Japanese master in this lush, unbridled and delicate fresco.” (Cécile Mury) 5/5
According to Critikat.com:
“Ten years after The Wind Rises, Hayao Miyazaki returns with a stimulating film split in two, as teeming as it is scattered.” (Corentin Lê) 4/5
According to IGN France:
“Emotions, perplexed looks, questions, exchanges of points of view… There is no doubt that you will experience these kinds of situations when you leave your screening of The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki’s new film within Studio Ghibli, a small event – or no event for hermetics.” (Erwan Lafleuriel) 4/5
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According to Le Journal du Dimanche:
“The power of his visual universe is intact, irrigated by a gentle melancholy. Once again, Hayao Miyazaki attempts to make peace with his past through this cathartic adventure which lacks a little emotion, but which overflows with magic and of poetry.” (Stéphanie Belpêche) 4/5
According to Première:
“Far from any renunciation, the filmmaker leaves us free to interpret the last shots of this dazzling work. We expected no less from the great master of animation, who seems here more peaceful and inspiring than ever.” (Damien Leblanc) 4/5
According to La Croix:
“Very freely adapted from a 1937 pacifist novel addressed to the youth of Japan then at war, the last (and final?) feature film of the 82-year-old filmmaker is a disconcerting and mysterious sum film, evoking, through the fantastic quest of a young adolescent, the question of mourning and transmission.” (Stéphane Dreyfus) 4/5
According to Le Figaro:
“Ten years after The Wind Rises, the Japanese filmmaker directs an initiatory story with a superb aesthetic, but aimed more at adults.” (Françoise Dargent) 3/5