The Boy and the Heron

After losing his mother in a wartime Tokyo hospital fire, twelve-year-old Mahito Maki relocates to a country estate where a mocking gray heron lures him inside a mysterious meteor-tower world of life and death. Eighty-two-year-old Hayao Miyazaki delivers his most personal meditation on grief, legacy, and letting go of creative control. Won the 2024 Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature. Opens with a arresting expressionistic hospital-fire sprint animated by Takeshi Honda and Shinya Ohira. Blends eerie folklore creatures—from bubbly Warawara spirits to militaristic giant parakeets—with painterly calm. Pairs Joe Hisaishi's minimalist piano motifs with Kenshi Yonezu's closing ballad Spinning Globe.