‘The Boy and the Heron’ Cinematographer Explains How Film’s Color Palette Reflects Story’s Emotions

Director Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated feature, “The Boy and the Heron,” centers around themes of loss, grief, death and the afterlife through the eyes of Mahito, a boy who finds maturity and acceptance after traveling to a fantastical world.

In Tokyo during World War II, Mahito watches a hospital burn with his mother inside. Throughout the animated film, Mahito is haunted by visions of fire while futilely trying to rescue his mother.

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When his industrialist father uproots the family to a new town and introduces Mahito to his new stepmother, the boy gets in trouble at school and acts out at home.

The muted color palette at the beginning of the movie “matches and reflects Mahito’s interior and his repressed feelings,” according to DP Atsushi Okui.

The crew balanced the darkness of change and war — always implied, never seen — with the fantastical world Mahito travels through after following a talking heron (which disguises itself as a grotesque man). This world is filled with vibrant creatures and characters, including the Warawara, sweet, marshmallow-like beings that float through the sky. The explosion of color “was intentional,” says Okui.

Some of the film’s humor comes from the bustling group of little old ladies that live in Mahito’s new home — and are based on women from Miyazaki’s childhood years. “These seven elderly women serve a purpose because you can’t get too dark, and we needed some characters to bring a certain levity to the film. That’s why they’re supporting him in the real world as well as the fantastical world,” he says.

In the fantasy world, they’re Russian nesting doll-like characters that Mahito carries around with him to watch over and guide him. “I think there are ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ in there,” Okui says. “I’m sure it’s a reflection of that.”

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