Recently dropped first-look images from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's upcoming animated film The Boy and the Heron, said to be his final animated project, show scenes featuring an open-beaked heron and a huge floating rock, hand-drawn by the 82-year-old.

The four stills, released by animation studio Ghibli via the ticketing website Fandango on X (previously Twitter) on Tuesday, are reminiscent of Miyazaki’s art style in previous Ghibli films such as A Whisper of the Heart (1995) and Castle in the Sky (1986).

Miyazaki, known for hand-drawing every animation frame in his movies, has relied on traditional techniques for the upcoming film as well. Taking its title from the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino, the story follows a boy named Mahito Maki, who discovers an abandoned tower in his new town and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.

Miyazaki won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002 for his film Spirited Away, which garnered an overwhelming global response. In 2014, he was granted an honorary Oscar for his remarkable contributions to the film industry.

The Boy and the Heron is set to debut in the Toronto film festival on September 7. Following this screening, the film will have its European premiere at the San Sebastian film festival in Spain on September 22.