'The Boy and the Heron' Gets 4K UHD Blu-ray and Steelbook Release Date

The Big Picture

• On July 9, The Boy and the Heron will become the first-ever Studio Ghibli movie released in 4K UHD.
• Fans can expect special editions with bonus materials, including a feature-length storyboard.
• The Oscar-winning movie may be Miyazaki's last film, making the special editions even more significant.

After a legendary win at this year's Academy Awards, it seems like The Boy and the Heron is not done making history. Today, GKIDS and Shout! Studios announced that the Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece will become the first-ever Studio Ghibli movie to be released in 4K UHD. The animated movie is slated to hit shelves on July 9, and it will be released in three special editions: 4K UHD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray + DVD, and in a Limited Edition Steelbook that includes the 4K + Blu-ray combo.

Along with the special editions' announcement, GKIDS also stressed that The Boy and the Heron will be available to own on all major platforms on June 25, as well as in 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos where available. For the bonus material, one of the standouts that fans can expect to see is the feature-length storyboards from the movie, which means that we'll get to see the hand-drawn art come to life at various stages.

Aside from that, the special editions come with thorough interviews with some key members of the production, including Composer Joe Hisaishi, Producer Toshio Suzuki, and Supervising Animator Takeshi Honda. The latter also stars in a featurette called "Drawing with Takeshi Honda," in which we'll be able to learn more details about the techniques that the team used to make The Boy and the Heron's animation look and feel as seamless as it does.

'The Boy and The Heron's Special Editions Are Another Step In The Animated Movie's Historical Run

The milestone was earned: The Boy and the Heron not only is the first Hayao Miyazaki film in a decade, but it also broke a ton of records during its theatrical run. Currently, the animation stands tall as the first anime film and Miyazaki title to reach #1 at the U.S. box office. It raked in almost $300 million across its theatrical run and holds a 97% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes.

There's an additional reason why The Boy and the Heron ended up deserving the best home-release edition possible: the movie may be Miyazaki's last film. The legendary Japanese filmmaker has already announced his retirement a couple of times before, but fans of his work speculate that due to the nature of the story — it's Miyazaki's most personal project yet — and its themes of death and legacy, this might genuinely be the director and screenwriter's swan song.

The Boy and the Heron's special 4K UHD + Blu-ray + DVD and Steelbook editions hit shelves on July 9. The film is now available for pre-order from GKIDS and Shout Factory.

The Boy and the Heron

A young boy named Mahito, yearning for his mother, ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

Pre-Order at Shout Factory

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