Princess Mononoke (1997) - One of the best products of Studio Ghibli

Review No. : 0017

Title : Princess Mononoke (English dub)

Year : 1997

Director : Hayao Miyazaki

Country : Japan

World’s Verdict : Rotten Tomatoes – 92%; Metacritic – 76 out of 100; IMDB – 8.8 out of 10.0.

My Verdict : 3.6 out of 5.0.

The works of Hayao Miyazaki usually starts with a storyboard and do not have an initial plot.  Unlike other animations, the production of Miyazaki’s works start even without a full storyline. Miyazaki completes the story piece by piece whenever he thinks of a new idea.  It is no wonder that the plots of the works of Miyazaki are unpredictable, odd, out of this world but mesmerizing.

Princess Mononoke (1997) is a story of Ashitaka, a young man who saves his village from a demon-possessed boar.  Part of the demon goes to the arm and torso of Ashitaka, which makes him incredibly stronger and agile but it will eventually spread and kill him.  The village elder tells him to go to a land where he can possibly find a cure.  On his way to find the cure, he meets Lady Eboshi, a woman who runs a town of social outcast and is in conflict with the gods in the forest.  One of the gods that Lady Eboshi is fighting against is a wolf named Moro.  Moro has an adopted human daughter named San also known as Princess Mononoke.  Ashitaka’s adventures evolve in resolving the conflict between humans and the forest gods.

The Good

• Visually stunning – The movie is beautiful and is probably one of the most beautiful traditional animated films ever made.
• English Dub - The vocal actors in the English version of the movie are mostly impressive.  Emotions and feelings can be heard on the voices of the characters.  The voice actors that stand out are Claire Danes, Billy Crudup and Gillian Anderson.
• Underlying theme and the complex characters – The most obvious theme of the movie is the protection environment.  Some says disability and gender are the minor themes of the movie.  I will not argue with those ideas but there is an underlying theme that is apparent but somehow neglected.  Princess Mononoke (1997) is about obsession and collaboration.  Lady Eboshi will do anything to protect her town, Jiko-bo (a wandering monk), a government spy, is willing to do anything for the government.  Moro and Princess Mononoke are willing to kill all the people to protect the forest.  Ashitaka is the only person who tries to weigh the motivation of all the parties and is willing to mediate for all of them.  The characters are not one-faced individuals, they have their good side and their stubborn side.

The Bad

• Unbelievably quick – At the end of the movie the Forest Spirit spreads his nasty slime that anything that touches it withers.  The slime moves very fast but somehow all the people can outrun it.  There are even scenes when Ashitaka is just a meter away from the slime but he barely escapes it and he is not even troubled by it.  It’s just one of the things that a good movie can put you off.

Everyone should like Studio Ghibli’s movies and Princess Mononoke (1997) is one of their best productions.  This is a must watch.