One of the best films of 2023 is coming to Netflix for the first time

In February, one of the best and most beautiful films of 2023 will be released online on the Netflix streaming platform. This feature film even received an Oscar.

There are films – and directors – that we know in advance that we are going to see in cinemas and watch them again when they are then broadcast on television or in streaming. So get ready to enter a whole new magical world and it’s not just any world since it’s that of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of the acclaimed animated fairy tales My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away or even The Wind risesa biopic about someone close to the cult director, and Studio Ghibli. On February 1, the streaming platform Netflix welcomes into its catalog The Boy and the Heronreleased in 2023, ten years after the director’s last film. The story features Mahito, a young 11-year-old boy, who after the disappearance of his mother in a fire, must leave Tokyo to live in the countryside in the village where she grew up. He settles there with his father and meets a gray heron who helps him understand the world around him and unravel the mysteries of life. A film acclaimed by unconditional fans of the Japanese director, but also by professionals since it received the Oscar for best animated film, but also the Golden Globe and the BAFTA in the same category.

The Boy and the Herona semi-autobiographical story

The Boy and the Heron is Hayao Miyazaki’s 12th feature film and the first to be described as “semi-autobiographical”. In an interview given to Entertainment WeeklyHayao Miyazaki’s longtime producer Toshio Suzuki explained what that meant. The young protagonist, Mahito Maki, is based on the young Miyazaki, while the Parakeet King is his elder. The other characters are homages to important people in the filmmaker’s life. “He wanted to pay tribute to them and express his gratitude to them for their support throughout his career”he indicated.

The Boy and the Heron : why didn’t Hayao Miyazaki accept his Oscar in person?

At the 96th Academy Awards in 2024, The Boy and the Heron became the second film directed by Hayao Miyazaki to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and for the second time, the director was not present to accept the award. The advanced age of the filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki at 83, would be the reason why he did not go to Los Angeles, and not because of political reasons as was the case in 2003 for Spirited Away. Internet users are delighted to see the film arrive on Netflix. “Wow, that’s it, FINALLY! Thank you Netflix, can’t wait to see this masterpiece”, “So good! I’m going to see him again, he was magnificent”, “Look forward to seeing him again” or even “We’re waiting for that”rated some of them on X. Only a few days left to wait.

Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias