Indie producer and distributor GKIDS revealed the English voice cast for The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki’s hand-drawn animated film. GKIDS is managing the production of the English version in close consultation with Studio Ghibli. With a release date of December 8, 2023, in North America, this movie is an original semi-autobiographical story and Oscar winner Miyazaki’s first feature film after ten years.
The Boy and the Heron was released on July 14 in Japan and the movie was an absolute hit. The title marked its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be presented in IMAX at the TCL Chinese Theatre on October 18 which will mark the beginning of the Animation Is Film Festival.
The English voice cast for The Boy and the Heron
The English voice cast of The Boy and the Heron has been officially revealed and consists of top-notch actors. It includes names like Christian Bale, Florence Pugh, Mark Hamill, and many more. The Studio Ghibli film was considered the final pitstop of animator Hayao Miyazaki’s career.
The English Voice cast features Christian Bale, the film’s lead, who plays the role of the protagonist, Shoichi Maki. Dave Bautista as The Parakeet King, Gemma Chan as Natsuko, Willem Dafoe as Noble Pelican, Karen Fukuhara as Lady Himi, Mark Hamill as Granduncle, Robert Pattinson as The Gray Heron, and finally Florence Pugh as Kiriko.
Most of the talents included in the cast have some sort of experience with voice acting. Christian Bale has previously worked on another Studio Ghibli movie, Howl’s Moving Castle as Howl, while Florence Pugh starred in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Mark Hamill is a well-known name and the iconic voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series needs no introduction!
What is The Boy and the Heron about?
Studio Ghibli described the synopsis of The Boy and the Heron as, “A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.”
The Wind Rises was Miyazaki’s last film ten years ago. It was a historical biopic of Japanese airplane engineer Jiro Horikoshi. The Boy and the Heron goes back to the fantasy elements that any Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli enthusiast will recognize. This includes his previous works like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
