Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, The Boy and the Heron, has already hit theaters in Japan. For the English-speaking audience, Studio Ghibli and GKIDS brought in a bunch of celebrities for the dub version of the movie.
The Boy and the Heron already premiered in Japan and has racked up great reviews. The story is a mix of fantasy and bits of Miyazaki’s own childhood. It follows 12-year-old Mahito Maki during World War II. Mahito’s beloved mother dies in a hospital fire, changing his life forever. As his father Shoichi moves on with a new wife, Mahito is still lost in grief. When the family must relocate from the city to the country, Mahito meets a heron who takes him on a journey to an alternate world where death works much differently.
On December 8, The Boy and the Heron hits theaters in North America. Although it isn’t officially out yet, we have heard some of Robert Pattinson’s voice work as the Grey Heron in the dubbed trailer. Pattinson goes full-on weird bird and we love him for it. I hope he lived that Grey Heron role in the studio. I can’t wait to see how it works in the movie and the bizarre places he’ll take us. Besides Pattinson, the English dub cast boasts a ton of famous voices:
Luca Padovan as Mahito Maki
Robert Pattinson as The Grey Heron
Christian Bale as Shoichi Maki
Gemma Chan as Natsuko
Willem Dafoe as Noble Pelican
Florence Pugh as Kiriko
Mark Hamill as Grand Uncle
Karen Fukuhara as Lady Himi
Dave Bautista as the Parakeet King
Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori, and Dan Stevens as the Parakeets
(featured image: Studio Ghibli / GKIDS)
