Hayao Miyazaki’s new and seemingly final animated feature “The Boy and the Heron” is coming to North American shores with the movie’s international premiere to take place as the Toronto International Film Festival’s opening night film on September 7th.
Deadline reports that the hand-drawn animated movie has now sold out in record time, even with Miyazaki not being in attendance at the event. The legendary “Spirited Away” helmer hasn’t done any interviews or appearances for the film to date.
The movie opened in Japan a few weeks ago, without any pre-release promotion or marketing materials except for a single poster, and has already pulled in approximately $48 million in that market alone.
The story takes place during the Second World War and follows a 12-year-old boy named Mahito Maki (Santoki) who is moved to a countryside town with his father and aunt, a place where he doesn’t fit in.
He soon discovers a mysterious abandoned tower in the woods nearby and, with the help of a talking grey heron, enters a fantastical alternate world of magic. The Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Karou Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake.
The film marks Miyazaki’s first feature film in ten years and is the first time that a Japanese title or an animated movie has opened TIFF. GKIDS will release “The Boy and the Heron” in North America later this year.
