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There comes a point where it becomes impossible to argue with a master. Hayao Miyazaki is just that; a master. A man who has mastered his craft of not just animation, but one that has taken us into a whole new dimension many times and wants us to enjoy the simplicity of life at a large scale. In fact one can argue that everything Miyazaki was building up towards is at display with THE BOY AND THE HERON, an epic look at family, loss, and ego that plays out less like a final narrative and more like a Miyazaki through the years record. Hell one could argue this is (at its most humorous) a “Now That’s What I Call Music” Studio Ghibli style. There have been rumors that this is the final round for Miyazaki who at 82 years old is well deserving of retirement. One that almost came to be with 2013’s “The Wind Rises” which settled on the idea that even a genius like himself would create false and deadly duplicates. THE BOY AND THE HERON however basks more in the ego of Miyazaki almost becoming a “live long enough to see yourself become the villain” eye roll narrative. Miyazaki is far and above any comparison but his delicate and often overbearing THE HERON becomes a prime example of a man who knows his worth and refuses to back down to anyone even if it causes his swan song to become a lesser of his resume.

Maturing as a director Miyazaki wants to take on the home life, something he may be familiar with, but still sees as an otherworldly experience. 12 year old Mahito has lost his mother to the Pacific War in 1943. There is not just a clear impact of losing his mother, but also one of a young boy losing the source of his imagination. After his father remarries his mother’s younger sister Natsuko, Mahito takes up a life of rebellion. One that is not far unfamiliar with Miyazaki’s own life, Mahito becomes the staple of all young boys forced to grow up beyond their imagination and away from the realm of imagination. Normally in these far fetched stories there is an elder that guides our unsung hero back unto the world of imagination, but Mahito is far too based in the reality of his pain to focus himself on other things. This leads him to self-harming himself with a small rock that brings a blunt force trauma to the head that delicately oozes out the blood so wonderfully shown through Miyazaki and Ghibli’s own animation crew. While Mahito is only a child it becomes clear early on that Miyazaki has created this character not just in his image but as an identical replica in all his actions. There has been much said about this being his final film, and THER HERON becomes an embodiment of not just all the beauty he has shown us but also all the frustration Miyazaki carries. The idea that if he is stepping away many more that have been inspired by him will tray and fail to recreate the same emotions he has bestowed upon us.

Mahito quickly sees that his family farm’s heron is not just a bird, but a man inhabiting the body of the bird destined to get out of his own skin. The film quickly takes on the early ideas of “Alice and Wonderland,” something Miyazaki has alluded to for many years. In fact there is some peculiarity to see a man that has invented his own “Wonderland” with “Spirited Away” still choose to make a film that quickly grows into its own parallel dimension that rivals any talking playing cards or mad hatter tea parties. Mahito soon leans that in this bird run world is not just his trapped step-mother, but also a mysterious woman named Himi who may or may not be the mere soul of his creation. But before this film gets all Back to the Future esque, THE BOY AND THE HERON wants to have so much excitement with its erratic characters known simply as the birds. Here becomes the chaos and infrequency that Miyazaki has faced for some many years, And while many viewers will argue over the symbolisms over the birds standing guard, the film removes itself from such affirmative stance and rather choses a playful but dangerous territory. You root for Mahito’s over accomplishments over such creatures, but the film with regards to Miyazaki’s writing (inspired by the story of Genzaburo Yoshino) allows these strange creatures to not just be adversaries but rather protectors of a world unknown to many. Studio Ghibli movies under Miyazaki have always found their way to environmentalism, but THE HERON seems like a final plea not just to keep the land and animals safe, but also a final goodbye to the way we know how to live.

This idea and the ongoing ideas of THE BOY AND THE HERON would not be as hard hitting if not for its ongoing notion that Miyazaki is the only person able to keep up with the practices needed to keep this world alive. As Mahito digs deeper into the problems of the world, Miyazaki unlike his colleagues finds himself being the sole proprietor of a better life. This carries an extreme burden with you especially if your final film does not hit all the key notes as previously stated. Joe Hisaishi’s score may play against the backdrop, but it never reaches the call to action that say “Princess Mononoke” does or even “My Neighbor Totoro” does with its call to land protection. There is zero doubt of Miyazaki’s intentions, but after a thirty plus career is it wrong for the viewer to call ends meet.

By the time THE BOY AND THE HERON shifts its focus onto the next stage in life, you can’t help but see that familiar resistance that existed within Miyazaki long before “The Heron” or hell even “The Wind Rises” ever came into play. There are some that have argued the “phoning” it in method, but at almost ninety years old, if this is phoning it in then Miyazaki please continue to share your wealth of knowledge. THE BOY AND THE HERON might be his swan song or it may not be (editors note* it was confirmed after this review that Miyazaki was not retiring) but no matter what this last goodbye proves he is never truly leaving us.