New image revealed for Hayao Miyazaki’s new film THE BOY AND THE HERON

A new photo has been shared Hayao Miyazakithe latest animated film The boy and the heronpreviously titled How do you live? The image comes courtesy of the San Sebastián Film Festival, which announced that Miyazaki’s film would make its European debut at the festival.

The official synopsis of the film reads: “Through meetings with his friends and his uncle, he follows the psychological development of a teenager. He enters a magical world with a talking gray heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town.

The story of the film is described as follows:

The film is set in Japan during World War II and revolves around a boy named Mahito whose mother is killed in a fire. Shortly thereafter, his father, who works in a factory that produces fighter planes, marries his late wife’s younger sister, Natsuko, and moves the family to his large ancestral home in the countryside.

Mahito, resentful of Natsuko for taking his mother’s place, begins to explore the area around the house and discovers a mysterious tower which he is told not to enter. He also meets a gray heron who can talk (as seen on the movie poster) who claims that Mahito’s mother is actually alive and in the tower waiting to be rescued. Mahito dismisses this claim, but when his new stepmother goes missing in the tower he decides to save her.

Once inside, he is transported to an alternate world filled with magic where his quest brings him into contact with new friends and enemies.

The film features the voices of Sum Santoki, Masaki Suda (the stagnation)singer Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura (Confessions), Shohei Hino (As long as we both live), Ko Shibasaki (47 Ronins), Takuya Kimura (Howl’s Moving Castle), and more.

Gkids has acquired the North American rights to the film and it will be released in the United States