Short answers, pulled from the story.
Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement from feature animation on the 14th of September 2013 during a press conference in Tokyo. He stated he was serious about this decision despite having made similar announcements many times before.
The Boy and the Herion follows Mahito Maki who loses his mother Hisako during a hospital fire while the Pacific War rages outside. Mahito encounters a peculiar grey heron that leads him toward a sealed tower where he enters an oceanic world filled with creatures like pelicans and Warawara spirits.
Production spanned approximately seven years including delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Miyazaki's slowed animation pace. The timeline included two and a half years for pre-production activities plus five years for actual production phases.
Toho declared the film would release theatrically in Japan on the 14th of July 2023 without any traditional marketing campaign. No trailers promotional stills cast details or synopsis appeared before its premiere except a single poster.
The film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards and Japanese Academy Film Prize. It became the sixth highest-grossing Japanese film of all time after earning over eight billion yen domestically.