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he Boy And The Heron, the first feature-length film in a decade from Hayao Miyazaki, has just received a UK release date: the new animation will be landing in cinemas on December 26.
It’s a major moment for fans of the Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli, as the 82-year-old celebrated director and Ghibli co-founder came out of retirement in order to make the film.
Miyazaki is the mind behind some of the studio’s most beloved movies, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Oscar-winning Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004).
Thrillingly, The Boy And The Heron remains a bit of a mystery, as the studio chose not to roll out a marketing campaign for the film.
“As part of company operations, over the years Ghibli has wanted people to come see the movies we’ve made,” explained lead producer Toshio Suzuki in an interview with Japanese magazine Bungei Shunji (via The Hollywood Reporter) in June. “So we’ve thought about that and done a lot of different things for that purpose — but this time we were like, ‘Eh, we don’t need to do that.’”
While there are still a couple of weeks to wait until The Boy And The Heron opens in the UK, there are as many as 21 Studio Ghibli films on Netflix to enjoy.
Back in 2020, The Standard spoke to Jake Cunningham and Michael Leader – the co-creators and hosts of the Studio Ghibli Ghibliotheque podcast – who shared their love of the studio, and named their top five favourite films on the streaming platform. Their insights are below.
Five of Ghibli’s best, according to Jake and Michael
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
Isao Takahata’s final film is his most ambitious, adventurous and wise. A quietly experimental adaptation of a 10th-century Japanese folktale that develops into a crushing meditation on life, death and rebirth, all told with a breathtaking visual style that looks like a watercolour painting come to life.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Obvious, but timeless. This magical masterwork about two young sisters and their friendship with a local forest creature is a firm contender for the greatest animated film of all time. Miyazaki’s cuddly creation became an icon: gracing the Studio’s own logo and fuelling a cottage industry of merchandise that has filled Ghibli’s coffers for decades.
Only Yesterday (1991)
Isao Takahata’s nostalgic reverie travels between a young woman’s present day and recollections of her school days. Its bold formal approach is perfectly paired with the story’s relationship to memory, images drifting into frame, dissolving as half-remembered watercolours at its edge.
Porco Rosso (1992)
Obsessed with drawing planes from a young age, Miyazaki’s tale of a porcine flying ace is an adventure tale in the spirit of Indiana Jones; it’s also Ghibli’s most quotable script, featuring fan favourite “I’d rather be a pig than a fascist”.
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Put simply: Ghibli’s unsung masterpiece. The only directorial credit from legendary animator Yoshifumi Kondo, this teen romance infuses the humdrum suburban life of a young girl with an overactive imagination with that undeniable Ghibli magic. Curiously notable because a shot of young Shizuku working at her desk now graces scores of ‘lofi hip hop beats’ YouTube channels.
Listen to the Ghibliothequepodcasts and follow them on Twitter here
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