Last December, after a nearly 10-year wait since his last movie, Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli released his newest and maybe most successful movie ever winning the Oscar for Best Animated Picture. Yet, the movie received surprisingly harsh criticism, so is it actually bad?

Back in 2013, Miyazaki announced that he would be retiring from his position in Studio Ghibli, so three years later, fans were surprised when he announced he would be coming out of retirement to direct a new feature-length film, “The Boy and the Heron.” This isn’t the first time he’s announced his retirement but then continued making movies. Now at 83, Miyazaki may have just released his final film, so how does it compare to the rest of the Ghibli catalog?

In terms of reception, audiences were split on what they thought of the movie. It is only rated 3.7 stars on Google, a seemingly moderate score. One viewer wrote, “I have never left a Google film review before, but this film left me so baffled, bitter and bamboozled that I feel compelled to write this.” However, on other review platforms, audience members scored the movie higher. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience rated it 88% (and critics rated it 97%). One audience member on Rotten Tomatoes said, “Absolutely brilliant movie–visually stunning and the story is intriguing. This is one of those movies that will stay with you. Will need to see it again.”

This split reaction is quite not just uncommon, but downright unheard of for Ghibli movies directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Of all the Ghibli movies he directed, excluding “The Boy and the Heron,” the lowest rating on Google is 4.8 stars. The lowest. A whole 1.1 stars more than the rating of “The Boy and the Heron.” So what’s the reason for a comparably terrible rating, and is it a bad movie?

The film follows Mahito, an 11-year-old boy who just lost his mother during WWII. Mahito moves into a new house as his wealthy father marries his dead mother’s sister. Throughout the film, Mahito goes on a spectacular adventure through a different world while figuring out how to cope with the death of his mother and learning to love his new one. It’s an interesting and adult-centric plot for an animated movie, yet the consensus between critical reviewers seems to be that the movie is confusing with random or hard-to-follow events, and I can see where they’re coming from.

This movie is described as Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal film, with supervising animator Takeshi Honda saying in an interview with The Ringer, “When he showed me the first part of the storyboard and it was more than 200 cuts, I instantly could tell that it was a very personal story to him and it was very autobiographical.” Many events and characters in the movie are reflections of Miyazaki’s own life, for example, he lived through the firebombing of Japan during WWII that is pictured in the movie, and his father owned an aircraft manufacturing factory just like Mahito’s (the main character’s) father in the movie. Perhaps audience members didn’t understand these personal references, or they seem out of place, which isn’t helped by the fact that “The Boy and the Heron” is also much like a combination of all prior Ghibli movies and shares vibes or themes that can relate to all of them, perhaps offering a whirlwind of elements for the audience to consider. 

Despite negative audience viewpoints, “The Boy and the Heron” is an incredible movie. In terms of 2D visuals and animation, Studio Ghibli has always perfected them and this movie is no exception. The main cast and supporting characters have extreme depth and are emotionally portrayed very realistic, allowing viewers to understand emotions without needing uninspired renditions of them which other movies may need monologing to explain. And, though sometimes random, to me the movie wasn’t confusing. The plot flowed smoothly and let me understand what led up to the events without jumping around or becoming overly complicated. It’s an experience similar to the feeling you get when dreaming. And most of all the plot was interesting and kept me engaged.

But don’t take my word for it. “The Boy and the Heron” is one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most successful and award-winning films to date. It was the first, original anime film to reach the number one spot at the American Box Office, was the first anime film to ever win a Golden Globe award for Best Animated Picture, The second anime movie to win an Oscar for Best Animated Picture, and was the first non-American film to win a BAFTA for best-animated picture. This comes without mentioning the numerous other awards it has won since its release on December 8.

If you get the chance to watch the movie in the future I recommend it regardless of whether you enjoy animated movies in the same genre or not. Sometimes forming your own opinion instead of relying on the opinions of others allows you to learn more and experience new things.