Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron now has an English-dubbed trailer featuring Hollywood stars

Bollywood November 5, 2023

Near-simultaneous releases have become the norm for anime TV series, but overseas fans still have to be patient when it comes to theatrical animated features from Japan. This is especially true when it comes to Studio Ghibli films, as the animation house itself and its licensors tend to have the most polish when it comes to the most prestigious releases in the animation industry.

So, while “The Boy and the Heron” (or “How to Live,” as its title translates in Japanese), the latest film from director Hayao Miyazaki, debuted in Japanese theaters in the middle of summer, it was shown overseas . Limited to film festivals. That will change next month, when The Boy and the Heron finally opens in theaters in the US, and to help build excitement even further, there’s now an English-dubbed trailer, which also shows off some new features. Clips from the anime that have not been seen outside the shows yet.

As we talked about when it was first announced, the English dub of “The Boy and the Heron” is particularly star-studded, with many Hollywood stars joining what may become Miyazaki’s last anime. That’s Mark Hamill saying “So, you’ve made it. Sit down,” early in the trailer, adding a touch of rumble to his performance as Granduncle, as Dave Bautista declares “We must protect this world ourselves,” as the Parrot King, In short, Christian Bale shouts the name of the protagonist, Mahito, while his father, Shuichi, waves a sword at a flock of birds.

▼ Is “The Boy and the Heron” Miyazaki’s best film ever? It’s a debate we’ll likely hear a lot more in the coming months, but there’s absolutely no debate that it’s his most passionate.

Photo: Studio Ghibli

However, the most striking performance in the trailer is Robert Pattinson’s voice for Gray Heron. He’s the exact opposite of the sullen and/or suave characters the 37-year-old “Twilight” star is known for, and Gray Heron almost seems to be choking on the words he says, which is entirely appropriate given his taste. The identity is eventually revealed. Gray Heron’s Japanese voice actor, Masaaki Suda, steals almost every scene the character appears in, and it looks like Pattinson may eventually do the same.

Additionally, the video also gives us our first listens to Luca Padovan as Mahito, Gemma Chan as his Aunt Natsuko, Florence Pugh as the adventurous, bandana-wearing Kiriko, and Karen Fukuhara as the fiery Lady Hime. We also got our first audio preview of the group of elderly women who work as housekeepers in Natsuko’s traditional Japanese mansion, though it looks like we’ll have to wait until a second trailer, or the theatrical release itself, to hear Willem Dafoe as the noble swan.

Distributor GKIDS Films will hold special premieres in Los Angeles and New York City on November 22, with The Boy and the Heron’s general release, in both subtitled and dubbed formats, on December 8.

Source: YouTube/GKIDS Films via Anime News Network/Alex Mathieu

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