Fresh off a historic Academy Award win for Best Animated Feature, the latest and long awaited cinematic masterpiece from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, THE BOY AND THE HERON, will be released July 9 on 4K UHD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray + DVD, and in a Limited Edition Steelbook that includes 4K UHD + Blu-ray, featuring Dolby Vision plus Dolby Atmos for the ultimate home entertainment experience from GKIDS with home entertainment distribution from Shout! Studios. This is the first title from Studio Ghibli to ever be released on 4K UHD.
THE BOY AND THE HERON will also be released in HD on all major on-demand digital platforms, as well as in 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos where available, on June 25. All versions will contain the film in its original Japanese language with English subtitles, as well as in the new English-language version featuring the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.
Special Features on the release include feature-length storyboards, an interview with Golden Globe-nominated composer Joe Hisaishi, an interview with Academy Award-winning producer and Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, an interview and drawing featurette with Annie Award-winning supervising animator Takeshi Honda, the music video for the film’s theme song “Spinning Globe” from global J-Pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu, and teasers and trailers.
THE BOY AND THE HERON is currently available for pre-order on GKIDS.com and ShoutFactory.com. The film is additionally available for digital pre-order from Apple, Amazon (4K Steelbook; 4K Standard; Blu-ray + DVD) and Vudu/Fandango at Home.
THE BOY AND THE HERON follows young Mahito, who, after losing his mother during the war in a hospital fire, moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastical world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world and the truth about himself.
The hand-drawn, animated feature – director Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years – is an original story written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, produced by co-founder Toshio Suzuki, and featuring a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Its theme song, “Spinning Globe,” was written and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
GKIDS released THE BOY AND THE HERON in cinemas and IMAX nationwide on December 8, 2023, marking the first title in the Studio Ghibli catalog to be released in IMAX premium formats and opening at No. 1. THE BOY AND THE HERON made its international premiere at the Opening Night Gala of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Tickets to all five TIFF screenings sold out in record time and the film received glowing reviews, placing in the top three for the TIFF People’s Choice Awards. For Best Animated Feature, THE BOY AND THE HERON has won the BAFTA Award, the Golden Globe and several prestigious critics awards including the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association honors. It was also recognized by the National Board of Review as a Top Film for 2023 and won two Annie Awards in 2024. In addition, THE BOY AND THE HERON Composer Joe Hisaishi garnered Best Score nominations from the Golden Globes and the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and was celebrated at the Annie Awards with the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Boy and the Heron Special Features
- Feature-Length Storyboards
- Interview with Composer Joe Hisaishi
- Interview with Producer Toshio Suzuki
- Interview with Supervising Animator Takeshi Honda
- Drawing with Takeshi Honda
- “Spinning Globe” Music Video
- Teasers & Trailers
