After watching this movie again, I'm amazed at what Studio Ghibli can achieve. I still don't understand how they make some of these erratic and chaotic shots possible without using CGI. The music, as always, is just top-notch. Joe Hisaishi is damn good at his job. Most of all, it shows what you can get in terms of story and animation if you do the research, have a good budget, and great production.
I don't think I need to say much about Miyazaki's work here; he's the essential piece, and he pulls off his role incredibly well.
This is a screenshot from the anime.
The amount of research on human and animal anatomy they do for these movies is crazy. In this scene, they could've just done a normal "turn around and close the door," but the way she bends her knees a little to balance the tray is just a nice touch.
The way the heron flies and walks is animated with such precision and as accurately to real life as possible.
Some of these frames look straight out of a painting that someone has put hours, or days, or even months into, and to an extent, that's what they are.
The colors, the highlights, and shadows are handled so well. I can't believe the work it took for each of these frames; it must've been insanely complex and time-consuming.
[source](https://scroll.in/reel/1067653/the-boy-and-the-heron-review-an-animation-legend-rolls-out-enchantment-and-emotional-resonance)These movies are such a work of art, and I can't believe some would rather not watch and dismiss them just because of the animated medium it's presented through.
[source](https://www.sinegang.ph/filmreviews/the-boy-and-the-heron-jju)People watch some weirdly animated ones with bad stories and decide not to watch it. Some even think anime is all about those big-eyed, cute characters, which there are, but also, there's so much more it offers.
