Film Preview: The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(November 12, 2023) Original
(December 3, 2023) New Poster (#6)
(October 12, 2023) New Trailer (#3)

Release Date:

December 8, 2023

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Through encounters with his friends and uncle, follows a teenage boy’s psychological development. He enters a magical world with a talking grey heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town.”

Poster Rating: C / C- / C / C / C / C

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Review: (#1, C) Nothing terribly magical here. (#2, C-) A harsh crayon drawing that might speak to the nature of the heron of the film, but without anything exciting to it. (#3, C) A standoff between the titular boy and heron that isn’t very exciting. (#4, C) While the art of the background elements is nice, the foreground details stand at stark contrast and not a pleasant one. (#5, C) A derivation of the prior design plus an element of the standoff design before that. It doesn’t add much at all to the excitement of the trailer.

(#6, C) A lot of empty space in the background overwhelms the detail in the lower third of the design. It really feels like a scene from the film, which is rarely striking.

Trailer Rating: B- / B / C-

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Review: (#1, B- & #2, B) The distinction between the first and second trailer isn’t just in the language used. The first is in Japanese while the second is in English. That alone isn’t reason to like the second trailer better. The second improves on the first by giving more information about the film itself, showcasing more scenes and highlighting the beauty of the animation better.

(#3, C-) Rather than being a trailer for this film, it seems to be a pro-Miyazaki tribute, which undermines the purpose of a trailer and that’s to get audiences to see your film. Without those details and relying entirely on nostalgia is a poor choice.