‘The Boy And The Heron’ Returns To Theaters March 22
by Erik Amaya
While the move from film to digital is still a hotly-debated topic among filmmakers and fans, it makes re-releasing movies to theaters a much easier process. Take, for example, the upcoming return of The Boy and the Heron to movie houses next week.
The film, director Hayao Miyazaki‘s purported final tale — although his claims of retirement are something of a running gag now — just won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. To celebrate, North American distributor GKIDS will give the film a second run starting March 22nd. The re-release will also feature bonus material, including an introduction by composer Joe Hisashi and a “recorded drawing session” with supervising animator Takeshi Honda.
Centering on Mahito (voiced by Luca Padovan in the English voice dub), the film sees him moving to his family’s countryside estate after losing his mother during the war. He soon makes his way to an old tower, the home of a gray heron with plans all his own. Soon, the two enter a fantastical world shared by “the living and the dead” in search of Mahito’s new stepmother. There, the young man must unravel the truth about this other plane and, perhaps, discover a deeper truth about himself. Other voices in the English dub include Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.
Quick re-releases are a growing trend among distributors like GKIDS. Godzilla Minus Zero is also enjoying a second run in IMAX theaters and, although inspired by a joke on social media, Sony attempted to change Morbius‘ fortunes last year with a release following its disappointed first run. For critical darlings and awards winners like The Boy and the Heron and Godzilla Minus Zero, the added acclaim could easily turn into bigger box office returns — and theater owners no doubt appreciate the increased foot traffic from the films suddenly receiving a greater spotlight. Of course, it probably helps that both of these particular films are visual masterpieces.
The Boy and the Heron returns to theaters on March 22nd.