‘The Boy and the Heron’: How to Watch the Oscar Winner on Max

The next time you explore Max’s trove of Studio Ghibli movies, you might notice a new Oscar-winning inclusion.

Hayao Miyazaki’s 2023 fantasy adventure The Boy and the Heron will begin streaming in the US on Friday, joining the animation studios’ existing My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and more. The film, which won the best animated feature Academy Award earlier this year, is a semi-autobiographical tale “about life, death, and creation,” according to distributor GKIDS. It centers on a young boy, Mahito, who follows a gray heron into another world after losing his mother.

Miyazaki wrote and directed The Boy and The Heron, his first feature in 10 years. He also came out of retirement to make the movie. The English-dubbed version, which includes the voices of Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh and more, will hit Max on Friday, according to a press release. CNET has contacted the streaming service to confirm if the Japanese-language version will also be available.

When to watch The Boy and the Heron on Max

Viewers in the US will be able to watch the Oscar winner on Max on Friday, Sept. 6. It’s typical for Max to make new titles available at 12:01 a.m. PT (3:01 a.m. ET), and CNET has reached out to confirm The Boy and the Heron will follow that timing.

Netflix will carry The Boy and the Heron outside of the US and Japan on a yet-to-be-announced date.

Max costs $10, $17 or $21 monthly after the streamer raised ad-free prices in June. You can also seek out a different way to get the service. For example, Max With Ads is free for Cricket Wireless customers on 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 plan, which comes with the ad-supported version at no extra cost. 

If you don’t want a subscription, The Boy and the Heron costs $20 to buy at Amazon and Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu).  

Max also offers an annual price for all of its tiers. You can save some money over paying for 12 individual months, but you’ll have to pay a larger amount upfront. For more on the streamer, check out our review.

How to watch The Boy and the Heron with a VPN

Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Max while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to access the movie from anywhere in the world. There are also other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming.

A VPN is the best way to encrypt your traffic to stop your internet service provider from throttling your speeds. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and log-ins when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s 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 advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may 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 dependable VPN, our Editors’ Choice is ExpressVPN. It’s fast, works on multiple devices and provides stable streams. It’s $13 a month, or you can opt for a deal that gives you 15 months for $6.67 per month if you pay the total amount up front.

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our review of ExpressVPN.

Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation and choose a country where The Boy and the Heron will be streaming on Max. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you’re connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream The Boy and the Heron on more than one device, it’s possible you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you’re signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you’re ready to open Max to stream. 

If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services will restrict VPN access.