Hayao Miyazaki‘s “The Boy and the Heron“‘s — Japanese title “How Do You Live?” — North American casting has been announced by GKids. The independent company has been responsible for the distribution of films like “Promare,” “Ernest and Celestine,” and many popular Ghibli titles. With another Miyazaki film on the way, they’re happy to announce their cast for the English dub.
GKids worked very closely with Studio Ghibli to match up the voice talents. So without further ado, here’s our list of who’s who. Christian Bale is returning to the Ghibli fold as Shoichi Maki, father of protagonist Mahito Maki, who is played by Luca Padovan (“You“). Alongside Bale and Padovan are Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh. Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori and Dan Stevens are also part of the extensive list. While other sites might wish to share information about the film, Nerdbot would like to honor Miyazaki’s wish to keep information as little as possible.
“The Boy and the Heron” was an immediate hit this summer in Japan. It was the opening film of the Toronto Film Festival. It was also the headliner for the Animation Film Festival at the historic TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. It sounds like Miyazaki has once again created a gem that will live in the hearts of its viewers for a long time to come.
It will release in North America on December 8th, 2023.
