Is Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron coming to Netflix? It's complicated.
For international fans of Studio Ghibli, they can catch The Boy and the Heron on Netflix outside of the United States and Japan. The streaming service announced that Netflix, Goodfellas, and GKIDS have extended their worldwide streaming rights for Studio Ghibli.
In the announcement, it's also announced that 22 other films will continue to stream on Netflix around the world. These include Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service.
When does The Boy and the Heron stream in the United States?
As for fans in the United States, they will be able to catch The Boy and the Heron on Max. Earlier this month, it was announced that Max and GKIDS extended their own US licensing deal.
This means that their Studio Ghibli library, including their latest film, will continue to stream exclusively on Max. The streaming service has been home to the catalog since 2020, which was the first time the films were available to stream.
An official release date for The Boy and the Heron on Max has yet to be announced. But the press release said it will be “made later this year.”
“Our subscribers are always looking for unique stories, and we are happy to continue to offer these award-winning, critically acclaimed films and to add The Boy and the Heron to our deep and rich Max content offering,” Warner Bros Discover's VP of Content Acquisitions, Elizabeth Bannan Atcheson, said.
What is The Boy and the Heron about?
Hayao Miyazaki is an icon. His Studio Ghibli films have cemented him as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In 2013, he released The Wind Rises, which was thought to be his swan song.
A decade later, Miyazaki is back in action. Over the past decade, he made The Boy and the Heron. He wrote and directed the film and brought back composer Joe Hisaishi to score the film.
His latest film's Japanese title, How Do You Live? took inspiration from the 1937 novel of the same name. The film follows a young boy, Mahito, who loses his mom in a hospital fire.
In turn, his father marries his aunt, which upsets Mahito. During his stay at his new home, Mahito is tormented by a talking grey heron. This leads him to discover a fantastical world through a tunnel on the estate.
The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan on July 14, 2023. Subsequently, the Studio Ghibli film was released in the United States on December 8, 2023. An English dub of the film was recorded. The star-studded cast included Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Willem Dafoe, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, and Gemma Chan.
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