How to Watch Oscar Winner ‘The Boy and the Heron’ at Home
Max’s collection of Studio Ghibli films has a new, Oscar-winning addition.
Hayao Miyazaki’s 2023 fantasy adventure The Boy and the Heron began streaming in the U.S. on Friday, joining existing animation studios My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and moreThe film, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature earlier this year, is a semi-autobiographical story “about life, death and creation,” according to distributor GKIDS. It centers on a young boy, Mahito, who follows a gray heron to another world after losing his mother.
Miyazaki wrote and directed The Boy and The Heron, his first feature film in 10 years, after coming out of retirement to make the film. The English-dubbed version features the voices of Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh and more. Max subscribers can also opt for the original Japanese audio.
When can you watch The Boy and the Heron on Max?
Viewers in the US can Watch the Oscar winner on Max now. Based somewhere else? Netflix will air The Boy and the Heron outside the US, Japan and France from October 7, France will get the film in 2025.
Max costs $10, $17 or $21 per month after the streamer raised its ad-free prices in June. You can also find other ways to get the service. Max With Ads, for example, is free for Cricket Wireless customers with the $60-per-month Unlimited plan. You can opt for a bundle of Max, Hulu and Disney Plus, a student discount or an annual DashPass subscription, which comes at no extra cost with the ad-supported version.
If you don’t want a subscription, The Boy and the Heron costs $10 to purchase from Amazon And Fandango at home (formerly Vudu).
Max also offers an annual fee for all of its tiers. You can save some money compared to paying for 12 separate months, but you will have to pay a larger amount upfront. Check out our review for more information about the streamer.
How to Watch The Boy and the Heron with a VPN
Maybe you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Max while you’re away from home. With a VPN, you can virtually change your location on your phone, tablet, or laptop to access the film from anywhere in the world. There are other great reasons to use a VPN for streaming, too.
A VPN is the best way to encrypt your traffic to prevent your ISP from throttling your speed. Using a VPN is also a good idea if you’re traveling and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and login details when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Streaming TV can be a little smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that has passed our tests and meets our security standards.
You can use a VPN to stream content legally, as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we don’t recommend streaming or downloading content from illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you can also opt for another provider from our best list, such as Surfshark or NordVPN.
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If you’re looking for a secure and reliable VPN, our Editors’ Choice is ExpressVPN. It’s fast, works on multiple devices, and offers stable streams. It costs $13 per month, or you can opt for a deal that gives you 15 months for $6.67 per month if you pay the full amount up front.
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our ExpressVPN review.
Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation and choose a country where The Boy and the Heron will stream on Max. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you are connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream The Boy and the Heron on more than one device, you may need to configure each device to make sure you are logged in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify that you are logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you are ready to open Max to stream.
If you’re having issues streaming, first check that your VPN is active on the encrypted IP address. Double check that you’ve followed the setup instructions correctly and selected the correct geographic area to watch from. If you’re still having issues connecting, you may need to restart your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device, and connect to your VPN first. Please note that some streaming services restrict VPN access.
