Studio Ghibli Gets First-Ever 4K UHD Blu-ray Release Date With Miyazaki's The Boy and The Heron
After a legendary win at this year's Academy Awards, it seems like The Boy and the Heronis 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.
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.
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.
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