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It appears that Studio Ghibli's previous decision to refrain from creating any promotional materials, marketing campaigns, or trailers for its latest animated film had only applied to its Japanese release, as just recently, the studio unveiled an official teaser trailer for "How Do You Live?", localized as "The Boy and the Heron" in the West.
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary mastermind behind such classics as My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and many others, The Boy and the Heron was launched in Japan nearly two months ago, shrouded in an aura of secrecy and mystery. So far, only a handful of screenshots have been made available to the larger audience, showing some of the movie's characters, including the main character Mahito Maki and an eerie-looking heron with a set of human-like teeth.
The newly released trailer, embedded above, provided an extended look at the upcoming movie, demonstrating its characters, sharing some details regarding the plot, and revealing what seems to be the movie's main musical score produced by Joe Hisaishi, a Japanese Composer and Musical Director who wrote music for all but one of Miyazaki's films.
"A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead," reads the movie's description. "There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
Previously, it was announced that The Boy and the Heron would inaugurate the Toronto International Film Festival, marking the first time an animated or Japanese film has held this distinction. Additionally, the film is scheduled to be showcased at the New York Film Festival. Regarding its theatrical release in the West, The Boy and the Heron is slated to premiere in the United States on December 8, 2023.
In its home country, however, the movie has already reached its eighth week in theaters, earning over $50 million and serving as a source of inspiration for thousands of viewers. Amongst those inspired was 3D Artist Bird Chen, who recently showcased an incredible "3D to 2D" fan animation set up in Blender that pays tribute to the movie that Hayao Miyazaki himself deems to be his last:
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