After years of secrecy, Studio Ghibli is slowly sharing a glimpse into Hayao Miyazaki’s vibrant new film, The Boy and the Heron.
Ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, the studio has unveiled a series of stills that introduce several characters, including a young boy, a man with bird legs, a swashbuckling bird king, among others. The latter seemingly rules over an entire underground kingdom — not unlike Ghibli’s secret cat-filled dominion in Baron: the Cat Returns — as two parakeets behind him cart away a glass coffin carrying a small girl.
The imagery arrive after Studio Ghibli made known plans to keep information and marketing under wraps. “No images, trailers, synopses, advertisements, or other information about the film have been made available to the public prior to the release in theaters in Japan,” read a past press release. With The Boy and the Heron now prepping to screen across the film festival circuit, fans of the storied animation house can finally see and learn more about what’s in store.
Other images feel reminiscent of Miyazaki’s 1997 film Princess Mononoke, with one highlighting a heavily injured heron and another featuring an entire gaggle of smiling marshmallow-like spirits that appear reminiscent of Mononoke‘s Kodama. A woman, who appears to run an all-female nursing home, as well as several men are also revealed.
We’ve also got a brief teaser made up of text and audio that serves as an “introduction” to the film. “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,” the teaser says, describing the film as “a semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki”.