As part of its ongoing effort to expand its broad lineup of animated films from Japan, Netflix announced that “The Boy and the Heron,” the Oscar®-winning and Golden Globe®-winning animated film from Japan’s Studio Ghibli, will be exclusively distributed on service beginning October 7, excluding Japan and the United States. (In France, the film will be available in 2025.)
Netflix currently offers 22 Studio Ghibli films to its members around the world (excluding Japan and the United States), through its recently announced partnership extension with Goodfellas and GKIDS. In 2024, Netflix added new animated film titles such as “Suzume, “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK,” and Studio Ghibli’s “Grave of the Fireflies,” which started streaming on September 16, so more viewers around the world will have the opportunity to discover best-in-class animated films from Japan.

“The Boy and the Heron” is an animated masterpiece set in Japan during the war. The story unfolds when Mahito, a boy who lost his mother in a fire, moves from Tokyo to the countryside where his mother’s family lives and is lured into a mysterious world where life and death are intertwined by a talking heron, the seven old women who live in the house, among other fascinating characters.
Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years, this critically-acclaimed fantasy adventure is a hand-drawn, original story written and directed by the Oscar®️-winning director.
Watch “The Boy and the Heron on Netflix” and discover amazing content from Japan.
*Grave of the Fireflies will be available in the United States.
**The distribution of countries and territories differs depending on the title.