Princess Mononoke

Okay, so I've just gotten into anime, and have only seen about 30 anime movies, but this is by far the best I've seen to date. I bought Howl's Moving Castle a while back and decided to get everything I could involving Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli and I was a amazed that I liked this movie even better than Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away. I'm a nature lover too, so this movie really hits the right note with me.

I was a little unsure of what to expect from the title of this movie, but it certainly wasn't about a princess. The plot of this film was very good. I have yet to watch it with subtitles and I expect that it will be much better with them. Billy Bob Thornton is terrible, plain and simple. Minnie Driver seems out of place in her role as well. Let's face it, the English voiceovers completely lack conviction. At least some of the other anime films with English dubs that I have seen sound like they actually give a crap about what they are doing. The main character, however was excellently voiced IMO.
As far as the plot goes, it is excellent. You may want to read up on some Japanese tradition/legends before watching as most westerners brush off a plot about nature as hippie rubbish. This film has a good message and should be embraced, with or without the crappy dubs.
The animation is top notch for the time period that it was released. The opening scenes are some of my favorite and I am sure you'll see why.
All in all, the film is like a violent disney movie with an actual message that should be received by most kids 12 and older (unless you cottle your kids and could nag the paint off of the walls, in which case go and sit your kids down in front of Handy Manny or something while you wait for Sex and the City to come out on DVD (if you found that offensive, you know in your heart that it is true, so stop lying to yourself already!)). I would not recommend this film to children that are any younger than this age due to the eerie violence that ensues at some unexpected parts. Oh come on, just pay the 15 bucks and see it. You probably won't regret it. I didn't.

Studio Ghibli had been belting out movies since the early 1980s. They delt with everything from epic fantasy to coming of age films. But, nothing would have prepared the world for 'Princess Mononoke'. Not only is this film the 2nd highest grossing film in Japan, it is also the film that finally gave Studio Ghibili notice in the United States.

'Princess Mononoke' shows the epic battle of man against nature and how the constant motion of human evolution has the ability to destroy the purity of nature. Though there are no physical elements of good against evil the true villans in this film are greed, power and anger. You see characters like Asuyaka, who comes from a race of humans that have strong bonds with nature. Lady Hiboshi who wants to move the human race forward with science and technology only to create the perfect human utopia. Then you have Princess Mononoke, a girl who was tossed by her parents to the wolf gods out of fear, but only to be raised as a daughter of nature and learn the magic of the ancient ways. These characters clash for the purpose of moving forward, but also for the chance to co-exist. I feel that is what makes this film so appealing because of the similariteis in life. The topics of polotics, science and religion always cause a stir in us eventhough there can be ways to have them all work united.

This was a diffenent film for Miyazaki, but you still manage to see the magical elements that make his signature work. It is a film rich in detail and emotion. You get lost in the vast landscapes and the relationships of the characters you sometimes forget you are watching an animated film. Though this movie may not be for everyone because of the PG-13 rating for the epic battles and language, there are still elements that bring out Miyazaki's true colors and this film is a marvel worthy to be seen.

As a huge fan of Miyazaki's work, this was far from disappointing but truly worthy of praise. It excites the mind and the imagination with the story and captures a truly fascinating world unlike any other I've ever encountered in fantasy. It is beautifully animated even if in only 2-D, it is fluid and fanciful all the way through. However, concerning Miyazaki's other pieces, this one is more graffic and includes some more vicious demon work than other so-called demons in other pieces. Creatures and people are slaughtered or wounded and although blood doesn't gush, some might squirm. I felt a tad of revulsion, but not at the story itself. It thrills. It inspires. It's worth watching again and worth every penny. The dubbing is well done and I love it all.

I owned this DVD for 8-10 months before i unwrapped and watched it--I didn'T like "Spirited Away" (you tell me why; I don't know). But I loved "Grave of the Fireflies" from the same studio, and "Whiper of the Heart," which I think Miyazaki had a hand in.
Miyazaki takes the complexities of a simple problem (must the need for mechanization and what we make of natual resourses ruin nature?) and weaves a story of the most glorious creatures one has ever seen, imagined or not had the imagination to imagine. And although there is a hero and a heroine, nobody else is all good or all bad. I loved all the characetrs, from the girls rescued from a brothel to the (GULP!) Night Walker. Move over, Lawrence Olivier in Henry V (sorry; I was just thinking of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen).

There is a problem wih my DVD player, and I couldn't get the original soundtrack. I had no problems with the excellent actors in the English version (I think the Japanese are second only to Bergman in dubbing), but having read the reviews, I will watch it in japanese tomorrow at my friend's house.

LATER: The ENGLISH (dubbed) version is much better---because, first, the actors are all adequate to the task, but second, and more important, there is only so much subtitle you can fit on the screen at one time, and the subtitles to the Japanese version tend to be minimalist. The Japanese language is spoken rather quickly, and while the English-speaking actors could keep up, the subtitle-writers could not (besides, they have to take the reading speed of the audience into consideration as well).. (There have been movies where I have learned things from the subtitles that I hadn't even known were in the movies---this is NOT one of them!)You will learn a lot more of what's going on in the speech and thought of the characters--unless you know Japanese--if you watch the English language version.