Truth be told, it's a Miyazaki animated film that boasts some pretty-looking animation work on the surface with its naturalistic flourishes, but sadly, its fantastical fable loses steam and has almost no emotion. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 6/10 | Apr 23, 2025

Strange, riveting and something only he [Miyazaki] could make.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 11, 2024

I acknowledge that I didn’t understand this movie ... But for me, the experience of watching it the first time wasn’t charming, emotional, or even creative enough to make me want to see it again.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Dec 3, 2024

His latest is about storytelling, legacy, unrealized dreams and, uh, bird poop.

| Original Score: B | Nov 18, 2024

Hardcore Miyazaki fans will get something out of the film and those who have enjoyed previous films may seen some value but, this isn't really for a younger audience and for those just starting to discover Ghibli.

| Nov 13, 2024

The Boy and the Heron restores order in favor of the family institution and harmony, delighting the public through its aesthetics and the music of Joe Hisaishi. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 6, 2024

If this Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature isn’t quite as mesmerizing as many of Miyazaki's past triumphs, it’s still a worthy achievement demonstrating that he retains his ability to create phantasmagorical worlds.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 22, 2024

The Boy and the Heron is another colourful gem to add to the filmography of one of cinema’s greatest contributors.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 19, 2024

Hayao Miyazaki taps once again into one of his favourite recurring themes, and pulls out all the stops to truly immerse us into his vision, indulgent and crowded at times though it may be.

| Jul 17, 2024

The Boy and the Heron is Miyazaki’s most metaphorical animated film to date, a bitter-sweet adventure story that, in a nutshell, portrays a bumpy road in trying to come to terms with one’s traumatic past.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 14, 2024

Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron provides a sumptuous visual feast for the eyes with its gorgeous animation and fascinating creative designs, but unfortunately it comes up a little short in regards to substantial material for its story & characters.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 9, 2024

“The Boy and the Heron” is a stunning return to form for both Studio Ghibli and its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 9, 2024

If ‘The Boy and the Heron’ is Miyazaki’s final work, the movie is undoubtedly an amazing closing to a career that could only be dreamed of.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 3, 2024

If Hayao Miyazaki did conceive it as his last movie, The Boy and the Heron is a stunning closer, where the director looks inward to chart the path to an imminent future without him.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Jul 3, 2024

The Boy and the Heron is a truly visual feast that is a welcome return for Hayao Miyazaki, tackling many themes that we have come to associate him with and a sense of creativity and fun.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 2, 2024

As the best stories inevitably do, the film feels emotionally accessible...

| Jun 28, 2024

It was a graceful summing-up of themes and motifs he’d begun making familiar even before co-founding Studio Ghibili in 1985...

| Jun 7, 2024

In this hauntingly beautiful animation, meticulous attention is given to the intricacies of the characters rather than prioritising the storytelling itself.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 13, 2024

In his 12th feature, Miyazaki seeks comfort in the familiar, assured by the knowledge that even a mildly underwhelming movie from an animation genius has no shortage of enchantment or emotional payoffs.

| May 10, 2024

Hayao Miyazaki's cinema speaks to the budding adult in a child as well as the lingering child in an adult.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 10, 2024