The Boy and the Heron is headed to Max.
The streamer announced that it had extended its agreement with GKIDS and will continue to hold the exclusive U.S. film streaming rights for Studio Ghibli. As part of the deal, Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron will stream on Max sometime this year.
The Boy and the Heron, aka How Do You Live?, produced by Studio Ghibli, follows a teenage boy named Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) as he enters a magical world with a talking grey heron (Masaki Suda). Though the film borrows its Japanese title from the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino, Miyazaki crafted an original story about love and familial grief based on his own childhood. The English voice cast stars Luca Padovan as Mahito and Robert Pattinson as The Gray Heron.
The film won Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards, the second anime film to do so since Miyazaki's Spirited Away won the award 21 years ago.
"Our subscribers are always looking for unique stories, and we are happy to continue to offer these award-winning, critically acclaimed films and to add The Boy and the Heron to our deep and rich Max content offering," said VP of Content Acquisitions Elizabeth Bannan Atcheson.
Since 2020, Max has been the streaming home for all Studio Ghibli films including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, and Howl's Moving Castle.
For more, check out our complete list of Oscar winners, or, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond.
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