I grew up on "Castle in the Sky," "Kiki's Delivery Service," and the rest of Studio Ghibli's impressive library of animated films. So when I heard the studio's legendary director Hayao Miyazaki was coming out of retirement for one final film, "The Boy and the Heron," you can bet my butt was in a theater seat on opening night.
It was an ... interesting watch. Don't get me wrong, it's still every bit the stunning visual delight and poignant storytelling we've come to expect from Miyazaki. I can understand why it earned him his second Oscar for Best Animated Picture. But as someone who went in expecting the same sort of clear, if winding, throughline of Miyazaki's previous works, I felt slightly dazed after leaving the theater, in a "What did I just watch?" kind of way.
