The Boy and the Heron
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$37 – 45MM V $47MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
1.04 – 1.26%
Script Score
0.04
The Boy and the Heron is a 2023 hand drawn animation movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The story follows a young boy who learns to cope with the death of his mother after being led into a fantastical world by a heron.
1. The invisible plot structure of The Boy and the Heron
1A. The script of The Boy and the Heron borrows 97% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Mahito’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Mahito are self-centred but have a change of heart and sacrifice their interest.
Mahito’s quest is also driven by the desire for finding and elusive person/object. The quest borrows events from the tale of Jason in Greek mythology. Jason’s desire to find The Golden Fleece is shared by Mahito who wants to find Natsuko.
Heron is driven by the desire to dominate others. Their quest borrows events from the tale of Circe in Greek mythology. Similar to Circe, Heron uses deceit to achieve its objectives.
Himi’s quest is driven by the desire for honour & loyalty. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Himi demonstrate loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Shoichi, Natsuko, Kiriko, Granduncle & the Green Parrot have under developed quests.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 4,332
Tales interweaved
Valmiki, Circe & Hanuman
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of The Boy and the Heron's plot structure: $37-45MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of The Boy and the Heron
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Boy & the Heron uses four universal quests of Accumulation, Power, Expedition & Honour.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Mahito mirrors TWO quests, that of Accumulation & Expedition. Heron mirrors the quest of Power and Himi mirrors the quest of Honour.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Mahito’s character borrows 56% events from the quest of Accumulation & 18% events from the quest of Expedition. Heron’s character borrows 19% events from the quest of Power. Himi borrows 12% events from the quest of Honour.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. None of the quests in Boy & the Heron are interwoven.
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The Boy and the Heron
The Boy and the Heron’s plot structure is disjointed. Even though it borrows from 4 universal quests, the primary quest is inconsistent, other quests are shallow and the quests aren’t interwoven.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.04
Audience appeal
1.04 – 1.26%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of The Boy and the Heron
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Mahito mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Mahito’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect and own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
Quest 2: Mahito also mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Mahito’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an object/person. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 3: Heron mirrors the universal quest for Power
Heron’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 4: Himi mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Himi’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to clan or order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The Boy and the Heron’s plot structure reveals the inconsistency in Mahito’s quest and the lack of interweaving between quests.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The Boy and the Heron’s plot structure is a sub set of Mythosis Plot Structure # 4,332. It interweaves the tales of Valmiki, Circe & Hanuman.
Unlock the potential with Mythosis Plot Structure # 4,332
Tags: Circe, Hanuman, Jason, Valmiki, Expedition, Power, Honour, Accumulation, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Toho, 2023