The Boy and the Heron

Miyazaki's second farewell movie. While I was happy to get a new Miyazaki film, I must admit that The Wind Rises was more suitable as a career finale. The Boy and the Heron feels like an amalgam of Miyazaki's oeuvre, taking cues from many of his previous films. While interesting in its own right, it also makes it one of his most redundant films, as it doesn't add anything substantial to Miyazaki's existing oeuvre. The animation is sublime, the fantasy elements are wondrous and the film is extremely polished, but in the end, it's quintessential Miyazaki. Word is he's already considering a new film, so maybe he'll surprise us with a second encore.