What is the Metascore for The Boy and the Heron?

The Boy and the Heron has a Metascore of 63 out of 100 on Celluloid.

Where can I watch The Boy and the Heron?

The Boy and the Heron is available on HBO Max. Availability varies by region — check your local streaming guide.

The Boy and the Heron

Item: The Boy and the Heron
Rating: 3.5
Author: Dr. Amara Okonkwo

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · 2023 · Last reviewed July 23, 2026

LLM fact sheet (.md)

Answer Summary

The Boy and the Heron (2023) earns a 71% Celluloid Score — Recommended. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.

Quick Verdict

Averaged from five public sources (critic, audience, Metascore, Letterboxd, IMDb). See how we calculate scores.

71%

Celluloid Score Recommended

Five-source breakdown

74% Critic Score

77% Audience

63 Metascore

★★★☆☆ Letterboxd 3.4

7.4 IMDb /10

Runtime: 2h 4m
Cast: Soma Santoki , Masaki Suda , Ko Shibasaki , Aimyon , Yoshino Kimura , Takuya Kimura , Keiko Takeshita , Jun Fubuki , Sawako Agawa , Karen Takizawa
Streaming: HBO Max

🏆 1 award win — Won Best Animated Feature, Academy Awards 2024

Academy Awards 1W

Official theatrical poster for The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Theatrical release

Where to watch

HBO Max

Why this score?

Majority of critics rated it fresh (74%).
General viewers mostly liked it (77%).
Metascore is generally favorable (63/100).
Celluloid Score 71% averages all five public rating sources — our own composite, not a third-party trademark score.

Best for

Fans of Animation

Not ideal for

Viewers who only watch top-tier, 90%+ rated films

Scores reflect data indexed at build time. Component sources are shown on this page; Celluloid Score is our composite, not a third-party trademark. Scoring policy

Is The Boy and the Heron worth watching?

Yes — The Boy and the Heron earns a 71% Celluloid Score. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.

Critics Consensus

Miyazaki’s late-career fantasy — Oscar Best Animated Feature — layers personal history under surreal adventure.
Celluloid Critics Consensus

Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.

What is The Boy and the Heron about?

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Critic Reviews

critic The Boy and the Heron