Surprise! Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and The Heron’ is a Taut Liam Neeson Revenge Thriller

Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and The Heron has secured a UK release date of December 8^th, but fans of the animation master’s work may be surprised by the film when they finally get to see it.

Instead of the detailed, intricate animation and fantastical stories that Miyazaki is famous for, The Boy and The Heron is actually a taut revenge thriller that stars Liam Neeson.

Opening in rural Ireland, a young boy plays with his heron. Some gangsters from a nearby city arrive to hide some loot from their crimes and one of them laughingly stamps the boy’s heron to death. That boy vows revenge. He grows up to be Liam Neeson who then embarks on a globetrotting orgy of vengeance-fuelled violence.

“I have long admired the revenge thrillers of Mr Neeson,” explained Miyazaki at a press conference to announce the UK release of his film.

“When it came to The Boy and The Heron, I saw my chance. The studio were looking for another whimsical fantasy with magical characters in a wonderous and imaginative land, but I put my foot down and said that this would only work as a Liam Neeson revenge thriller.”

Liam Neeson picks up the story.

“When Hayao called me, I was initially sceptical. I said I’m not getting involved with a load of bollix about magic and fairies and the like. I’d had enough of that with Star Wars. But then he explained that my character would be a taciturn man flying round the world to mete out bloody violence, I was on board right away.”

There had been an expectation that The Boy and The Heron would be Miyazaki’s final film, however, he has reportedly enjoyed the experience so much that he is now investigating the possibility of making a wacky Adam Sandler gross-out comedy.