Opening today in Aussie cinemas (both in an English dub and in the original Japanese with subtitles at some locations) is the new animated film The Boy and the Beast from Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children).
The film follows a young boy, Ren, who runs away from home after the passing of his mother only to find himself taken into the Beast Kingdom and unable to return. There, he is apprenticed to one of the locals, a beast named Kumatetsu, and it looks like a coming-of-age story — perhaps for both characters — ensues.
The trailer will give you a good taste of what the film’s about:
The Boy and the Beast opened today, Thursday 3 March, and you can find location information on distributor Madman’s blog for the film.