AVAILABLE TO OWN ON DEMAND IN 4K ON ALL MAJOR DIGITAL PLATFORMS ON JUNE 25 

Fresh off a historic Academy Award win for Best Animated Feature, the latest and long awaited cinematic masterpiece from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, THE BOY AND THE HERON (君たちはどう生きるか, Kimitachi wa Dō Kiru ka, 2023), will be released July 9 on 4K UHD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray + DVD, and in a Limited Edition Steelbook that includes 4K UHD + Blu-ray, featuring Dolby Vision plus Dolby Atmos for the ultimate home entertainment experience from GKIDS with home entertainment distribution from Shout! Studios. This is the first title from Studio Ghibli to ever be released on 4K UHD.

THE BOY AND THE HERON will also be released in HD on all major on-demand digital platforms, as well as in 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos where available, on June 25. All versions will contain the film in its original Japanese language with English subtitles, as well as in the new English-language version featuring the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.

Special Features on the release include feature-length storyboards, an interview with Golden Globe-nominated composer Joe Hisaishi, an interview with Academy Award-winning producer and Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, an interview and drawing featurette with Annie Award-winning supervising animator Takeshi Honda, the music video for the film’s theme song “Spinning Globe” from global J-Pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu, and teasers and trailers.

THE BOY AND THE HERON is currently available for pre-order on GKIDS.com and ShoutFactory.com. The film is additionally available for digital pre-order from Apple, Amazon (4K Steelbook; 4K Standard; Blu-ray + DVD) and Vudu/Fandango at Home.

Photo courtesy of Shout! Studios. ©2023 Studio Ghibli

THE BOY AND THE HERON follows young Mahito, who, after losing his mother during the war in a hospital fire, moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastical world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world and the truth about himself.

The hand-drawn, animated feature – director Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years – is an original story written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, produced by co-founder Toshio Suzuki, and featuring a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Its theme song, “Spinning Globe,” was written and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.

GKIDS released THE BOY AND THE HERON in cinemas and IMAX nationwide on December 8, 2023, marking the first title in the Studio Ghibli catalog to be released in IMAX premium formats and opening at No. 1. THE BOY AND THE HERON made its international premiere at the Opening Night Gala of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Tickets to all five TIFF screenings sold out in record time and the film received glowing reviews, placing in the top three for the TIFF People’s Choice Awards. For Best Animated Feature, THE BOY AND THE HERON has won the BAFTA Award, the Golden Globe and several prestigious critics awards including the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association honors. It was also recognized by the National Board of Review as a Top Film for 2023 and won two Annie Awards in 2024. In addition, THE BOY AND THE HERON Composer Joe Hisaishi garnered Best Score nominations from the Golden Globes and the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and was celebrated at the Annie Awards with the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Photo courtesy of Shout! Studios. ©2023 Studio Ghibli

THE BOY AND THE HERON Details

Run-time: 124 min
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Rating: PG-13
Blu-ray Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Surround English, DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Surround Japanese, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Spanish, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English AD
DVD Audio: Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, English AD Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish

• Feature-Length Storyboards
• Interview with Composer Joe Hisaishi
• Interview with Producer Toshio Suzuki
• Interview with Supervising Animator Takeshi Honda
• Drawing with Takeshi Honda
• “Spinning Globe” Music Video
• Teasers & Trailers

4K UHD + Blu-ray

Blu-ray + DVD

• Discs: 2
• Region: A
• SRP: $34.98

Limited Edition Steelbook (4K UHD + Blu-ray)

• Discs: 2
• Region: A/1
• SRP: $44.98

Photo courtesy of Shout! Studios. ©2023 Studio Ghibli

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About Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is one of the most acclaimed and influential animation studios in the world, inspiring filmmakers and audiences alike over the last 30 years with beloved stories and breathtaking visuals. Under the brilliance of visionary animation directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki, the studio’s films are known for timeless classics such as MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and PONYO; and have won countless international awards including an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for SPIRITED AWAY and THE BOY AND THE HERON, as well as five additional Oscar nominations for HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, THE WIND RISES, THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA, WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE, and THE RED TURTLE. Director and studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki was separately given an Honorary Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards in 2014, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures paid tribute to his artwork with a special exhibit when the Museum opened in September 2021.

 

About GKIDS

GKIDS is the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed feature, THE BOY AND THE HERON. The company’s previous nominations include THE SECRET OF KELLS in 2010, A CAT IN PARIS and CHICO & RITA in 2012, ERNEST & CELESTINE in 2014, THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA and SONG OF THE SEA in 2015, BOY AND THE WORLD and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE in 2016, MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI in 2017, THE BREADWINNER in 2018, MIRAI in 2019, and WOLFWALKERS in 2021.

For more than a decade, GKIDS’ influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Mamoru Hosoda (MIRAI, BELLE), Tomm Moore (THE SECRET OF KELLS, WOLFWALKERS), Benjamin Renner (ERNEST & CELESTINE), Makoto Shinkai (WEATHERING WITH YOU), Nora Twomey (THE BREADWINNER), Alberto Vázquez (UNICORN WARS) and Masaaki Yuasa (INU-OH, THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL), among countless others. Also, GKIDS is the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions. www.gkids.com

About Shout! Studios

Shout! Studios is a multi-platform media company specializing in film and TV distribution, development, and production. The company has evolved with the changing entertainment landscape to excel in all forms of content distribution, including theatrical, digital streaming, broadcast and in-flight licensing, physical media, and more. Shout! Studios owns and manages a large portfolio of contemporary and classic feature films, series, animation, and documentaries. The company’s creative acquisition mandate has established it as a leading independent distributor, with partners and properties including Aardman Animations, ALF, THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, Stephen J. Cannell Productions, the Roger Corman New Horizons Pictures Library, GKIDS, Studio Ghibli, ITV Studios, THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW, LAIKA Studios, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (in partnership with creator Joel Hodgson), and SESAME STREET, alongside many others. Shout! Kids focuses on live-action and animated kids and family properties including anime, and the company releases genre and horror films and television shows under the Scream Factory imprint. Shout! Studios also operates the acclaimed streaming service Shout! TV and its family of FAST channels. The company produces, acquires, and distributes new films, including Shout! Studios’ original OLD HENRY (Tim Blake Nelson), LINOLEUM (Jim Gaffigan, Rhea Seehorn), WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (Lily James, Emma Thompson, Shazad Latif), THE KILL ROOM (Uma Thurman, Joe Manganiello, Samuel L. Jackson), DRUGSTORE JUNE (Esther Povitsky), and the upcoming Viggo Mortensen-directed western THE DEAD DON’T HURT (Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen). Shout! Studios is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Studios, visit ShoutStudios.com