Is The Boy and the Heron scary?

Only a little. The Boy and the Heron has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is The Boy and the Heron?

No gore and some violence. Squeamish viewers are fine here.

What is The Boy and the Heron rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated PG-13, and mild for one: no sex or nudity and mild language.

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Film · 2h 4m · Rated PG-13 · In Japanese

Animation, Anime, Drama, Fantasy, Foreign (non-English)

A grieving boy navigates a surreal, dreamlike world where whimsy and melancholy intertwine after a family tragedy.

A late-night trip at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.

Streaming on Max.

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The Boy and the Heron parents guide

No sex or nudity and mild language, about what a PG-13 should carry.

Rated PG-13, but by what is on screen our estimate is fine from about 7.

Scare: Mildly scary; A few tense or eerie moments.
Jump scares: A couple; One or two sudden jolts.
Gore: No gore
Violence: Some violence; Some fighting or peril.
Sex and nudity: None noted
Language: Mild; Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Boy and the Heron scary?: Only a little. The Boy and the Heron has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
How gory is The Boy and the Heron?: No gore and some violence. Squeamish viewers are fine here.
What is The Boy and the Heron rated, and is it OK for kids?: Rated PG-13, and mild for one: no sex or nudity and mild language.

What is The Boy and the Heron about?

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

It leaves the ending open to interpretation.