A calm village residing in the mountains comes under attack from a demon-possessed boar one
day.
Ashitaka, a young man and prince of the tribe, engages the creature in an attempt to save his village.
During the battle, the boar bites him on the arm, leaving it blackened and cursed. Following his
village's traditions, Ashitaka is exiled and becomes a wanderer, looking for a solution to the curse
before it engulfs him.
Iron Town is a fortress under the leadership of Lady Eboshi. Through the clearing of the surrounding
forests, Iron Town produces large amounts of Ironsand, used for gunpowder and other machinery.
However, because of the forests destruction, nearby animal clans seek revenge led by a human girl of
the Wolf clan called San.
When Ashitaka comes to Iron Town, he discovers the area consumed in battle. Horrified, he attempts to
create peace and befriend the Wolf Clan. However, after the forest's eradication and the ongoing war
between Human and Beast, will the Spirit of the Forest be forgiving and accept Ashitaka's request to
expel his curse?
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Mononoke Hime is a wonderful piece of animation, not only because of its visual beauty or atmospheric seriousness, but because of its ability to connect both grey morality and magical optimistic ambiance. While Ghibli's other works focus too much on either being shallowly pretty or pro-environment aesopish, this one is the fusion of straight themes and charming epicness. After all, if it is animation then animate. Use your visual creativity to convey messages that otherwise wouldn't be able of being conveyed. The story follows a protagonist who's searching for solutions to some sort of illness he happened to acquire while fighting against a giant hatred-possessed boar. Among the people he encountered is a warlord whose purpose is to provide shelter and work to the unfortunate who happens to be in conflict with the Princess Mononoke herself, a wolf-raised girl that fights against the humans' advance towards the forest along with a lot of other entities. Entities that are not very fond of humanity and their greed and disrespect and who're willing to fight back. However, the conflict extends to not only two sides, but three when another warlord decides to request abusive part of profits from the first one and also wants to achieve immortality by obtaining the head of a certain deity, the Great Forest Spirit. So you have this clash between various sides that are in search for their place in a newly established order. Obviously, not your classical and overused 'bad humans, poor forest' since humanity is in fact struggling and at least concerning the Iron City, people are indeed just surviving and trying to fix their problems. Not a mischievous cynical expansion for the evulz, but rather a natural and believable approach on the society, both of humans and animals, that are above everything seeking for their own. Things don't get better with time and by the end a near-apocalipse happens to kill many, destroying the city and all because of irrational hatred and inability of proper communication. The big message of the movie is about the consequences of a conflict rather than its causes, since as it is obvious we never come to know why and how exactly the problems began. By the end, a massive restoration occurs and while I'm not really a fan of this specific way of ending something, it was foreshadowed that the Forest Spirit's healing capacities were enough to solve several human conditions, including the aforementioned protagonist's illness. As always, you can't expect from Miyazaki characters below the line of grey personality, at least not the main ones. However, I also cannot expect a not idealized protagonist from him either. Even the flaws of said characters serve only to emphasize their perfection and sense of justice. Mononoke Hime's protagonist, who's not Mononoke Hime by the way, is a very skilled, just, kind and smart being who always, always do the right thing. While you can see Nausicaa's berserk mode revealing her dark side, this one is just too idealized for me. He's searching for the truth, he gets angry by unfairness and fights back against those who attempt to impede his journey, you know, the basic. You also have the other perfect girl who isn't that perfect and whose moral code is basically 'I hate humans, but I don't kill humans, with exception of that miserable bitch'. She's a very concerned daughter of a giant wolf and isn't afraid of doing some parkour within the city where literally every citizen is ready and loaded to blow her brains out with some "high-tech" machinery. However, as always, my favorite is the anti-ideal and usually only understood through time characters, also known in this series as Eboshi or Mononke's Kushana, call at your will. She's a strong, independent, smart and confident woman that despite appearing at first, mainly due to her naughty glance and suspicious quasi-wicked laugh, your new villainous lady, it is, in reality, the most humane leader of this show. Only a bold charismatic mistress can lead with such success and raise so much loyalty from her commoners. She's the cause of several deaths and immense destruction, but I doubt you can hate her or merely disregard her reasons to do so. Ignorance is something lady Eboshi easily shares with the other sides of this war, but she's maybe the only one you can really relate yourself with, since your alternatives are basically animals who blatantly hate humans, some bland samurais whose only purpose was to attack the Iron City and two protagonists who are just an idealized couple of wild kids that'll not date afterwards. I wouldn't go as far as saying the show is story-driven, but the characters are just and simple what they were supposed to be in order to carry the plot forward, so there's no need for extending on this subject. The animation is beyond just fluid, it's challenging. Situations not commonly seen, like ghost burning worms growing from a boar's skin, curving due sunlight and their interaction when characters met their edges. The combat between peasants and samurais, full of blood and maiming, heads floating, arrows flying, hitting and ripping limbs. Violent, but realistic. Best animated parkour I've seen, weight calculated and balanced by the show's own rules of physics and ingenious choreography that makes sense and whose speed resembles reality. So, as you can see, both through fantastical unimaginable or extremely loyal to reality's situations, the show establishes of seriousness not commonly seen in anime. It's not the only atmosphere they want to establish though. This is a japanese movie that does justice to its origins and represents well enough the environment of a feudal setting from early Japan, the guns are faithful to reality since there were indeed machines just like those at the time of 15th and 16th centuries and even the furnace is perfectly depicted within the boundaries of reality, since it's almost exactly like a real furnace of its time. I'm amazed by their capacity of joining such a realistic approach upon magical phenomenons without losing grasp or charm throughout the entire film. While the soundtrack may not outstand itself that much, it's cool, I gotta praise the sound effects utilized, they're simply gorgeous. I don't think most people are used to the natural sound of an arrow cutting the air and entering gently inside a piece of wood or even the ground, but those who are will notice how faithful and varied is the usage of it in this movie. I don't know if every arrow has its distinct sound effect, but it seems that way. Also, steps on the roof of houses, cannon shots, blades colliding, the furnace in operation, every small thing contains a specific fitting sound and that only demonstrates the amount of effort that was put into this. I honestly liked more the silent moments where everything you can hear are the sounds of nature or heavy machinery or whatever, than the soundtrack. The latter is very good, but the good you are already used to. Nothing earworming like Nausicaa for example, just the classic Ghibli composed tracks of piano and violin, maybe a flute, I don't really remember since I wasn't that captivated by it. So, besides the aforementioned idealization of characters and I must add, the fact Miyazaki really likes beautiful characters and by their beauty you already assume they're or aren't going to die, this movie is enough on its own to easily surpass mediocrity and strides towards the top of animated movies with its clever usage of animation, imaginative and at the same time faithful setting and scenarios, and serious grey story where things are not easily dealt with. As a matter of fact, there're some annoying plot-armor moments and god, the protagonist will dodge every arrow imaginable from whichever angle possible. Also, the goo at the end is apparently simply unable of reaching them unlike everyone else, which is funny. Its conclusion is similar to Nausicaa movie's one in many ways, and that's not actually good since things get easily resolved after all. It's not like Nausicaa's manga for example, where Miyzaki was super inspired and represented so many things in a short amount of time with so much success and whose conclusion is beyond thought-provoking. So overall, great movie and very recommendable.
Going into this movie I had one big fear: A lack of grey morality. Thankfully the movie managed to avoid this problem which many other works regarding environmentalism unfortunately fall into. But let's paddle back a little and start with the animation. On one side it's consistently on the high standard we are used to expecting from Studio Ghibli on the other though we can see a far more expressive and creative style. This obviously favors the movie and its fantastical elements greatly. This is also the reason as to why it's such an atmospheric masterpiece. Animation (and art) always support the circumstances of the current scene leading to a range that encompasses both hectic and calm elements. As we are already on the topic of the contrast between hectic and calm let's tackle the marvelous handling of tone shifts while always keeping a certain basic feeling the movie portrays from start up until the very end. Mononoke Hime is probably one of the studio's most violent works although it never reaches a point where you could classify it as more than the average viewer can handle. The movie places a definite importance to switch between parts that exhibit this more violent nature and parts that are used to further our understanding of the world and its characters which therefore are of a more calm nature. This cycle keeps the viewer on the edge of his/her seat while also giving them enough time to rest and immerse themselves in the world that is presented to them. As mentioned above the movie also manages to keep a steady tone I can only describe as melancholy. A tone that definitely fits the themes and topic of the movie as a whole. On the topic of themes let's tackle the most obvious one first: Environmentalism and the role of humanity in it. Without spoiling too much I can say that the ending really sells this point for me. It portrays realistic consequences stemming from the main conflicts of the movie, which the characters now have to deal. In fact I personally find it multi-layered and thought provoking enough that it manages to be kind of prophetic when reduced to its basic concepts. A huge role in every show's and movie's ending obviously play the characters. These are handled with extreme care in regards to their development and their actions throughout the story. Even so, this is the area I have the most gripes with the movie. As I said my biggest fear was not having enough moral ambiguity. Fortunately for the most part of the movie this is also accomplished through detailed and reasonable character motivation. Our main character Ashitaka for example is the embodiment of the struggle to fit between such opposing viewpoints. And while the first half manages this subject matter really really well, the second half abandons it in favor of escalating conflict. The problems manifest themselves especially in the actions of Lady Eboshi who seems to act just for the sake of the plot later on. This turn of events is most unfortunate as the climax to any story is the part where character actions arguably have the most impact. All is well and back to its realistic roots in the ending though especially in regards to the relationship between Ashitaka and San. Before ending this review I'd like to mention the absolutely amazing soundtrack of this movie that really complements the animation in almost every scene. Just as the visual aspects it never falls prey to exaggeration and therefore adds to the overall wonderfully atmospheric feeling. Overall I'd say this movie is not only one of Ghibli's best works but also one of the best animated movies I've ever seen. It proves that an atmospheric focus can be the best appraoch to selling an idea or themes.
Princess Mononoke is a fantasy anime film directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is a master at directing and writing animated films and I can understand why Princess Mononoke is many people's favourite Studio Ghibli film. This film presents a straightforward story that is engaging and beautiful. Miyazaki is really creative with his scripts and brings it to life in his animated films. It is truly remarkable! The animation is clearly the best aspect of this film. This film was released more than 20 years ago yet the animation is spectacular, even to today's standards! Each frame, like most Japanese animation, is each hand-drawn separately and it's surprising how much effort they put into this film to make the animation look both beautiful and flow well especially during the action sequences. I also love the animated scenery, especially the forest. It's stunning and has an immersive feel to it. The animation is beautiful. Studio Ghibli knows how to animate their films. It is sad that nowadays, especially Western-animated films, animated films are now heavily computer-assisted so animated movements in those films look unnatural and take less effort than animating it by hand. It takes away the creative integrity of animation and it is why watching a film like Princess Mononoke is such a blessing and such an eye-opener. The sound mixing and just the overall use of sound in this film are spectacular. These are masterfully done from the sound effects to the score. The score is great sets the mood of the scenes. I love the score and the individual songs that were implemented in this film. It was pleasing to listen to and worked well with the scenes in this film. There was also a scene which had no sound for several seconds which contrasted with the constant voice acting, sound effects and score being played over the animation. This silence was great as it makes you pay more attention to what was on the screen at the time and it also makes the scenes with sound greatly appreciable. You'll never know the importance and significance of something until it is removed. The sound effects help create an engaging and immersive anime film. The sound design is fantastic. The voice acting is great across the board. The voice actors really helped bring the characters alive and were able to express the characters' emotions in a convincing manner. This film uses sound to maintain and express and engaging story effectively. There are many characters in this film and this is a minor issue I had with this film. Almost all the characters play supporting roles in this film and I thought there were far too many to keep track of. A lot of scenes with the supporting characters just felt brushed off. Despite this, I thought the character development with the two main characters was done superbly. Miyazaki really fleshed out these two characters and made you care for them. Miyazaki also made the few antagonists in this film have a genuine motive that was understandable which the audience can get behind yet still overall root for the protagonists. This effectively created conflict in the film and made for some engaging scenes. Overall, I really enjoyed Princess Mononoke. I love Miyazaki's works and Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli has a lot of great anime under their belt and Miyazaki is one of the best, if not the best, anime director/writer to exist. We don't deserve to have these great films, but Miyazaki delivers us with fantastic anime films made with creative integrity and the end result shows the great effort it takes to make these anime films. Spirited Away is still my favourite Studio Ghibli film, but that's not to say that Princess Mononoke isn't a great film. Princess Mononoke is a great film that is beautifully animated and has a fantastic score and sound design.
__Versão resumida e sem spoilers__: É um filme que utiliza muito bem de seus recursos, conceitos e alegorias, sua trama não peca em nenhum momento, se tornando claramente uma obra prima. É um dos melhores filmes que já vi de fato, o conceito de falar sobre a natureza em si é incrível, ele vai te minando pouco a pouco, fazendo-o duvidar de quem realmente é o "vilão" da historia, apesar de que no fim, não dando spoilers pra quem queira ver o filme, toda a sua conclusão agrada-o. Além disso, a produção em si, é uma das mais competentes que já vi, seu diretor conseguiu torna-lo um filme belíssimo visualmente e conceitualmente, acredito que, de fato, possa até pela minha disposição a temas que envolvam o ser humano, ser o motivo pelo qual fiquei tão facinado pelo mesmo, claramente um filme que me entreteve facilmente e que me despertou curiosidade e reflexão a cerca de nossos hábitos corriqueiros, fazendo-me questionar qual o sentido de certas ações originadas do egoismo a cerca de nossa raça e desprezo pelas demais, incrível, entendo plenamente quem dá 10 e afins, porém, tem certos momentos e acontecimentos perante o filme que me fazem desgostar um pouco do mesmo. em suma, ótimo filme tanto pra quem, procura educar seus filhos, pra quem procura um meio de "salvação", diria eu, e até pra quem quer de fato se entreter com um filme, __recomendo-o demais!!!__ ~Aprofundando melhor a cerca do conceito, já que de fato, aqui posso tomar-me o descuidado de ser bem expressionista a cerca da temática principal, sem me preocupar com spoilers. Acredito eu, que, em suma, a alegoria que Mononoke quer passar é a de que, humanos são realmente seres deploráveis, visto que, de fato, infligem dor a si mesmos e a outros, porém, todavia, temos que lidar e aceitar esse lado frágil que humanidade em geral possui, tomar cuidados a cerca da empatia no geral, sinto que Mononoke Hime quer passar essa mensagem de empatia e de amor e carinho, tanto por si mesmo, quanto pelos outros. Uma das coisas que mais me impressionaram foi de fato a logica de Mononoke. Ele nunca deixa claro qual lado é o certo, e qual é o errado, consequentemente falando, mas, acredito eu, que isso seja uma das maiores qualidades de Mononoke, lhe fazer um questionamento claro e lucido sobre sua condição tanto na natureza, quanto ser humano. Uma coisa que acaba por sair da temática central, porém, ainda está relacionado a alegoria, é a ditadura_ femista _que ocorre em Mononoke; há de se ver que as mulheres tomam papeis principais a cerca da sociedade na qual elas vivem, e, ainda por cima, a própria governanta é uma mulher, isso de fato me impressionou muito, porque, em filmes, ainda mais nipônicos, é comum vermos uma ditadura, capitalista de certo modo, envolvendo os homens como raça superior, e aqui em Mononoke, vemos na refinaria (local central do filme) um claro contentamento das mulheres e dos homens a cerca de uma ditadura do proletariado, de certo modo, visto que tudo é repartido entre os indivíduos, e, tudo de fato culmina para isso. Voltando ao assunto, gostei desse aspecto do filme, apesar de ser secundário. Outro ponto que amei, de fato, sempre ser colocado, tanto a San (a Mononoke hime) e a Eboshi sama em uma ideia clara, tanto de oposição, quanto de ódio reciproco, isso de fato o faz questionar ainda mais quem está realmente certo, visto que você, telespectador, é um ser humano, e ai que ta, você sendo humano, ficaria contra si próprio? Estou em devaneios, perdão, mas espero que tenham compreendido meu ponto reforçado sobre esse dualismo claro em Mononoke. Falando um pouco da trama, achei bem congruente, em suma, e em alguns pontos, incoerente, porém, isso é normal e não vou desconsiderar 3 pontos, por exemplo, por causa disso, porque me agradou, e porque de fato não peca em sua maioria de vezes. O relacionamento da San e do Ashitaka me deixou um pouco incomodado, visto que não há tensão, de fato, romântica entre os dois, porém, como disse anteriormente, pedir isso em um filme de, basicamente, 2 horas, é bobeira. Outro ponto, é o desenvolvimento da San; A San em boa parte do filme odiava humanos, e isso é fato, porém, durante o tempo passado, a San "começou a aceitar" os humanos como igual, indiretamente é claro, a mudança dela se torna visível em uma cena no final, quando ela vai tentar esfaquear o Ashitaka, porém, acaba abraçando-o, e, vendo pelo ponto de vista mais critico, ela não é uma personagem muito bem desenvolvida, porém, de fato, é muito bem construída e, para 2 horas de tela de filme, está de bom tamanho. não quero prolongar, acho que se continuar ficará idiota e incoerente, então, pararei por aqui. __Recomendo-o, se possível, rever o filme!__!~
I've seen countless films now. Too many to count. Watching film is more than a hobby for me, it's my field of study and future career. Out of those thousands of titles not only from anime but cinema as a whole, Princess Mononoke stands out as my favorite. Princess Mononoke is Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece. It is the best expression of his consistent themes of pacifism, environmentalism, duality, moral ambiguity, and more through an epic marked by an engrossing plot and unusually complex characters. Princess Mononoke's strength not only comes from its writing but its visuals as well. I believe that Princess Mononoke represents a peak for the world of animation. This goes beyond the stunningly beautiful landscapes used as backgrounds in this feature. Each character and creature feels incredibly lifelike. This is through the keen attention to detail poured into analyzing and depicting not only how people move, but how that action alludes to the character's personality or emotional state. The most impressive technical aspects of this film are in the little details. The lighting shadow work the most impressive I have seen in any animated film to date. It is in fact easy to miss how high quality it is due to how natural it all comes together. I would not like to write any more at this point, but anilist requires a 2200 character minimum, so I apologize if this gets either rambly or repetitive. Ashitaka and San's romance is the best in any Ghibli production and simply beautifully done even when compared to the wide world of cinema. It is never the central motivation to either character, but so many of their scenes stand out as a highlight of the film. When Ashitaka first tells San she is beautiful when San feeds Ashitaka, and when Ashitaka hugs San after she stabs his chest are all within the top 10 scenes of this already masterpiece of a film. The moments between these characters are intimate and quiet which makes them more poignant when compared to the chaos and violence frequently throughout Princess Mononoke. Additionally, the quiet nature of these romantic moments fills the relationship with a sense of authenticity often missed in cinematic depictions of romance. Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack is one factor that raises Princess Mononoke to the next level. Every track in this film is used perfectly to elevate the scene it is in. Whether it is the rousing melodies of the Legend of Ashitaka or the melancholy mood created by Ashitaka and San, each track is memorable, but not overpowering. The strength of Princess Mononoke's music is accentuated by the insertion of silence. Many scenes, particularly those surrounding the Deer God, are marked by a complete sense of quiet. These moments of quiet only add to the reverence of nature in Princess Mononoke and also add to the otherworldly aura that surrounds both the Nightwalker and the Deer God throughout the film. The standout moment when it comes to music, however, is the ending scene. This scene is simply perfection, but I do not want to delve into it further due to potential spoilers. Princess Mononoke is the most influential piece of art I have ever consumed. This film changed the direction of my life. I can't remember how many times I've rewatched it and how many more times I will see it in the future. I cannot describe how I feel about this film in mere words and feel ashamed at how long it took me to review it.
__Studio Ghibli __ is a beloved anime studio with a large collection of publicly, critically acclaimed films. The director of many of the films, Hayao Miyazaki is considered a genius and the man who shaped up Ghibli to what it is. ~~~img420(https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AP20318695794827.jpg)~~~ I do not know why, but I have not explored the studio as much as I should have when I was child. I remember watching __Spirited Away__ and being blown away at what a beautiful movie it is, for it's premise and execution it was handled fantastically.. and it is generally common that people consider __Princess Mononoke__ to be its equal. So I decided to watch that movie for the first time a couple months ago. Set within the Muromachi period of Japan, the main character, Prince __Ashitaka__, while trying to defend his village from a giant boar, once considered a “god” turned demon due to hatred, the event leaves his right arm infected with a curse. The only remaining option being to search for a possible cure. It is through his journey that he ends up stumbling into a conflict between certain humans and animals. ~~~img620(https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/1692841_orig.jpg?w=780)~~~ For a movie made in the 90s, the art quality holds up today, the animation is fluid, the colors and the atmosphere look great. Lots of great scenery shots and detail within the forest landscapes. The voice acting is relatively solid and the music is good, some beautiful piano OSTs. The themes tackled are a mixture of respect towards nature, animal life and spiritual life. As the animals are considered ''gods'', guardians of the forests, and humans who are trying to gain more resources, lead them to conflict and blood shed. Conflict between man and nature, and no character is explicitly highlighted as good or evil. ~~~img620(https://beat.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Capture3-e1587018323744.jpg)~~~ To me as the viewer, the story was passably/reasonably executed, but nothing spectacular. No, I did not love this movie, neither do I consider it great. I feel people are giving it a 9 or a 10 mainly because it is a considered, “a classic and critically acclaimed”. My main complaint are that the characters are forgettable. I do not like the main characters, nor do I consider them GOOD characters. The only good character is Eboshi Gozen, considered the antagonist somewhat, her characterization I can consider good. While Ashitaka is nothing more than a Gary Stu.. more than any other anime male protagonist I have seen. He is prince, experienced, wise, handsome, young, skilled, strong, caring and he is _THE_ character anyone and everyone should listen to. __San__ despite being the character featured within all the posters, you know _The_ ''Princess Mononoke'', was not very relevant. I was incredibly surprised how little relevancy to the plot she had. I joked about this with my friend that she is comparable to that of Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad, but I'm not sure even now if I am right or wrong about it. Both featured heavily in posters and trailers, only to end up becoming a lot less relevant than you would wish them to be. ~~~img620(https://i1.wp.com/www.otaquest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Princess-Mononoke-Ashitaka-and-San.jpg?resize=512%2C272&ssl=1)~~~ Perhaps this movie just stuck with people more for the time it was released in, maybe if I watched it while growing up I would’ve had a different perspective on it, or developed a bias. Do I think this film is massively overrated? Absolutely. Is it bad? no, it’s a good movie for fuck sake. Thankfully I was still able to enjoy the movie for what it was, and I do think it has a lot of quality aspects. Should you watch Princess Mononoke? Yes, I do think it is an interesting movie to watch, even if the characters are flat. Just try to have an honest opinion for yourself.
_Mononoke Hime_ is a 1997 art film directed by the well renowned _Hayao Miyazaki_ and produced by the equally as distinguished _Studio Ghibli_; the film was the studio's last feature length production to be mostly cel-animated, and was a massive commercial success in Japan, breaking a number of domestic box office records. The film tells the story of a young Ashitaka, the last Emishi prince, who in fighting off a boar-god-turned-demon to protect his village contracts a curse that will cut his life short. Directed to do so by the village elder, he journeys to the west to discover the cause of the demon's emergence, and hopes to also find a cure to his ailment. Without wanting to spoil the film for any considering watching it, I shalln't delve further into the plot - but what I will say is that _Mononoke Hime_ is a very mature telling of a world which clearly has 'good' and 'evil' in it, but wherein neither is well-defined. It won't insult your autonomy of thought, it will simply tell you a story and let you decide for yourself what to think and how to feel about the characters and their actions. _Mononoke Hime_ uses a combination of hand-drawn cel-animation, minimal CGI, and a modest amount of inked-and-painted cel-animation, which would go on to be used in all subsequent _Ghibli_ films. First and foremost, this film is beautiful; there are a number of large-scale landscape shots in the film, all of which have been wonderfully rendered in their mediums, as have most of the backgrounds even in the more action-focused scenes - and speaking of those scenes, the animation quality is consistent for the full run of the film, of a high calibre with a few moments of particularly captivating animation sprinkled throughout. In terms of audio, the sound design of the film is exceptional - the team behind this clearly knew when and where to use ambient sounds to create atmosphere, but almost more importantly, they knew when _not_ to. Most of the sounds in the film go completely unnoticed unless you pay very close attention - which is exactly what ambient sound should do - and this attention to detail only goes to complement the voice acting work done by the cast of the film. If I had to choose a weakness of the film, I would probably say that the score of the film barely doesn't live up to every other aspect of this - but I also know that this would be a very unpopular opinion, and that the _Mononoke Hime_ OST is a favourite amongst a number of fans. And of course, this isn't to say that the OST is in anyway lacking, just that it's an exceptionally good soundtrack accompanying a masterpiece of a film. Score aside, the film is not perfect; there are a sparse few moments in the film where it feels like parts of the animation are rushed, and when the old man Osa speaks (bedridden, in the back of Eboshi's garden), I wish they had given him more time; even though speaking is clearly meant to be difficult for him, his part felt a little rushed, and noticeably so, and I genuinely believe an extra second or two in that segment would provide the impact the scene was surely intended to have. But having voiced my criticisms of the film, I really must stress that they are very, _very_ minor criticisms, and mainly made just to observe that even the best of films are not _perfect_ - after all, films are art, and thus inherently subjective. But as far as my subjectivism goes, it would be very difficult to make this film any better than it already is - and for its most miniscule of shortcomings, I'm electing to abstain one point from a perfect score.
__Princesa mononoke além de ter uma dublagem incrível, música em português e tudo, tem uma atmosfera linda que me pegou muito. O conceito do espírito da floresta e como ele pode ser um deus assustador e incompreensível porém algo que todos os animais querem proteger, o momento em que ele vira algo destruidor e reconstrói tudo recuperando a cabeça, o que ele representa e etcs, realmente incrível... Fora as cenas meio macabras dos animais possuídos pela raiva e as minhocas saindo do corpo deles (em especial do grande javali) que se mostraram impressionantes pela animação, tenho a impressão de que se visse esse filme criança eu teria pesadelos com ele, mas agora eu admiro essa tenebrosidade em relação à misticidade da floresta e os segredos que ela guarda: todo o medo que os humanos sentem dos deuses; "quem entra não sai vivo"; medo do desconhecido e desejo pelo desconhecido. A forma como o protagonista trata tudo isso também é confortavelmente admiradora, e a animação da cena em que o espírito da floresta pisa no chão e nascem matos e flores perto do lago se tornou memorável pra mim, gostei muito desse filme.__ + img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/85/1b/e8/851be81e842f9c0c3f390d9799163ecd.png) _E por ser uma floresta, a animação ganha mais vida: o desenho e o movimento da grama, das árvores, do lago, das flores, o vento... coisa linda de se ver. Fora que ao fazer o design, desenhar e animar um deus, eles tentam projetar ali todo o temor e apreço para com o espírito da floresta, o fato dele ser meio assustador e ter poderes divinos, podendo matar e curar como quiser, ter essa aparência meio "não está ali" e "está ali" (não sei se isso é compreensível) também meio amedrontador - sim eu achei quase tudo nesse filme amedrontador, bizarro, assustador e belo ao mesmo tempo - sem soltar uma sequer palavra é realmente uma obra de arte, a visão que eu gosto de ter de um deus: incompreensível, divino, assustador, poderoso, místico, estranho, 'inalcançável'; é como se ele significasse algo entre vida e morte e fosse um ser à parte, eu realmente gostei desse conceito._ img220(https://cdn.myanimelist.net/s/common/uploaded_files/1448438349-4ff088200e744e1ee75a1dbe449a56a8.jpeg) _Um ponto da dublagem: o nome do cervo (cervo?) do ashitaka é yakul (ou yakkuru) e quando tem br falando soa muito como yakult, eu ri com isso, e quando fui pesquisar uma imagem dele eu digitei "princess mononoke yaku" e logo de cara a primeira opção era "princess mononoke yakult" e eu ri também._ img220(https://cdn.myanimelist.net/s/common/uploaded_files/1448463240-37351386fb1559a14145a317f75bac8c.jpeg) Sobre a música dublada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg7Bn2qDLUo Anyway, vou continuar minha série de ver todos os filmes do ghibli e se eu gostar MUITO de mais outro eu volto aqui.
Ashitaka was the last Prince of Enishi, a small, peaceful tribe living out their days in the Muromashi period of Japan. His tribe was already dwindling when fate struck them with a horrifying encounter. One day, a giant boar, corrupted by some mysterious demonic entity, attacked the village. Ashitaka saved the day, but at a great cost, as his arm was tainted by the demon. Permanently exiled from everything he knew, Ashitaka set out on a quest that would see him caught in the middle of an ongoing war between the deities of the forest and a contingent of humans who wished to claim the territory for their own. With the help of San, a young woman who was raised by wolves from infancy, can Ashitaka successfully quell the hatred surrounding him, or will it doom both sides as his curse dooms him? Princess Mononoke was the last Studio Ghibli movie to be completely hand drawn, and thank God for that, because I don’t want to think about how many visuals in this movie probably would have been relegated to CGI if the movie had been made five years later. You just know they would have used CGI for the forest spirits, and while I could see that approach working(although CGI Ryuk would beg to differ) the thought of the demonic sludge worms being animated that way makes me want to shudder. That didn’t happen, thankfully, and it’s one of the few reasons that I personally consider this to be among the best looking Ghibli films ever made. Sure, as a drawback it wound up becoming the most expensive anime movie ever up to that point, but that money was well spent. The animation itself is pretty much what you’d expect from Studio Ghibli... The movement of characters is smooth and graceful, every bit of motion feels alive and unhindered, and that level of motion lends itself generously to the numerous action scenes. As far as character designs go, they follow a samurai/feudal Japan aesthetic, but they do so with bright, vibrant colors that are thoroughly easy on the eyes. Miyazaki has always had a very large imagination, and while it was on full display with all of the strange and fantastical spirits visiting the bath house in Spirited Away, I like it a lot better here because instead of just cramming scores of random creations under one roof, his imagination largely extends to the forest spirits in this movie, and they all feel like the natural inhabitants of the world they’re living in. No matter how over-the-top some of the design choices get, I never felt like any of it was jarring or out of place, it was all just part of the spirit of the forest, living in their (super)natural environment. Giant animals with strange features might take a little while to get used to on a first watch, but even the weirdest of them grow on you in time. And what an environment it is. It’s fair to say that most Ghibli movies take place in a handful of settings... This street here, this house here, this bathhouse, and so on and so forth. I don’t even know what to call the setting of Princess Mononoke other than an entire region. It’s not just the forest and the human encampment... It’s other villages, it’s different fields, it’s other forests, it’s too many battlefields to count, and as many as there are, none of them feel generic or repetitive, despite the fact that they all do feel related. Every area is intricately detailed, every frame a painting unto itself, and the whole region feels alive, rather than just the backdrop of a story. The setting of Princess Mononoke is an entire world... One that feels immense and invincible in the moment, but one that we know from a modern perspective CAN be conquered and transformed over time with the right resources. Best way I can describe it, this is what vast, untamed wilderness looked like BEFORE humanity had the technology for deforestation. The English dub has a sort of complicated history, as it is technically a Disney effort, but all of the actual dubbing effort was done by Miramax, a company that Disney owned for a seventeen year period up until 2010. This happened sort of as a consequence for the way Disney butchered Nausicaa a few years prior. Miyazaki was rightfully pissed about that, and as a result, he absolutely refused to let Disney edit or cut Princess Mononoke for a family audience. Ever protective of its image, Disney handed the project to Miramax(Which I guess means it was too mature for Touchstone?) and to direct the dub, they hired... No joke... Neil Gaiman, and he took the project as dead-serious as he could. His adaptive script heavily altered the wording of the material to sound more natural in English, and while there are a few moments I personally found cringeworthy... One character’s introduction was far more rambly than it should have been, there’s a line that deliberately makes fun of the Forest God’s appearance before we even see it, there are a couple of shots that were supposed to be silent and subtle, yada yada yada... It is almost entirely for the better. One of the benefits of Disney being hands-off about the dub is that there really weren’t any late-nineties pop culture celebrities thrown in there for marketing purposes, and come on, you know damn well Ben Savage and Melissa Joan Hart would have been the leads otherwise. Instead you have Billy Crudup and Claire Danes playing roles that could have very easily been boring and one note with a stunning amount of charm and sincerity. Minnie Driver rides a very fine line between inspiring leader and fearless sociopath, Billy Bob Thorton adds some very welcome likeability to a character that was previously just kind of soft spoken and sinister in the sub, and the Gods of the forest are granted an unearthly level of strength and wisdom from people like Gillian Anderson and Keith David. There seems to be some confusion over Gillian Anderson’s character, as the wolf Moro had a male voice actor in the sub, but the character is female. The Japanese just have a tendency of applying male voices to wolves, so, yeah, that’s a thing. It’s not a perfect dub, I do think the adaptive script does over-reach at times, but I still highly recommend it. When you think of the average Miyazaki movie, one of the first qualities that comes to mind is that he makes movies for children, but adults can still enjoy them... Well, most adults, but I digress. This sort of puts him in common company with Disney, a studio he does have close connections to. What I find particularly striking about Princess Mononoke is that it seems to be the exact opposite... It’s a film aimed at adults, but one that children can still enjoy. There is a decent portion of violence throughout the film... It revolves around a war, and while they never shy away from the reality of people dying in war, going surprisingly far with dismemberments and blood, it never feels particularly gory or sensational. It’s used sparingly, and at least back in a previous decade, I could see it getting maybe a PG rating... You know, back when that rating actually meant something. And let’s be real, parents will take their kids to see ANYTHING these days as long as it doesn’t contain bare breasts. There is a ton of depth and complexity to the plot that might fly over a kid’s head, but the plot itself is still clear and accessible, there’s a ton of fast and intense action, and most of the characters are likeable and interesting. I’m not going to pretend like the violence wouldn’t have been too much for me when I was really little... I couldn’t watch Alice in Wonderland because I found cards getting their heads cut off off-screen too disturbing, so I’m pretty sure the on-screen decapitations(plural) in this film probably would have scarred me too... But by the age of ten, I’m sure I would have dug the crap out of this. That’s saying a lot, by the way, because when I look at my two over-all favorite Ghibli films, Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday, those two movies mean a lot to me, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t do anything for me if I watched them before my mid twenties at the very least. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not a huge Miyazaki fan. I’m more of an Isao Takahata guy. I don’t really buy into the magic and whimsy of Miyazaki’s work, and while I’ve never really had a good explanation for that, what I’ve kind of been realizing recently is that it just feels disingenuous to me. As much as people call Miyazaki a genius, I can’t help but look at all those stories that have come out about him being a massive asshole who’s really difficult to work with... Who publicly denied wanting to mourn the passing of one of his inspirations, and who can barely manage to even pretend to be supportive to his own son... And compare everything that’s publicly known about this man to the whimsy he keeps producing, and feel a distinct level of disconnect. I’m not sure how to put this, but there was a sort of balance to his work in the 20’th century. He made a few magical children’s movies, and he made a few action movies aiming a bit older, and while Nausicaa is kind of a mixed bag, these films just felt pure, like they were exactly what he wanted to make at the time. Then Princess Mononoke was successful in Japan, but didn’t do so hot over here, only hitting a handful of theaters. And then came Spirited Away, the world-wide smash hit that turned both his name and his Studio’s name into hot commodities, and he’s been making strictly whimsical children’s movies ever since. Sure, The Wind Rises is the exception to this, but tell that to the people in charge of marketing at the time. I realize this isn’t a popular take, but there hasn’t been a single Miyazaki-directed movie since the turn of the millennium that I was able to fall in love with. I didn’t like Ponyo, I didn’t like Howl’s Moving Castle... I’m sorry on both counts... And while I did like Spirited Away and The Wind Rises, I've never loved them or considered them masterpieces like so many others do. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm completely off base, but pre-2000s, it felt like he was making movies fir himself, and post-2000s, it felt like he was making movies for the audience. Modern Miyazaki movies, more often than not, have this cloying quality to them, a level of compromise that would be totally acceptable with most other directors, but with an auteur like Miyazaki, there are plenty of pre-2000’s examples of what his films look like when there’s no compromise involved whatsoever. Princess Mononoke is the prime example of this. For starters, I mentioned in two of my previous reviews how Miyazaki sometimes has a tendency to direct through story-boards, focusing on animation and emotion above the actual story and plot, both of which he largely makes up as he goes along. That is not the case with Mononoke, a film he developed for over a decade before production even began. Unlike a lot of his modern films, Mononoke doesn’t just thrive on magic and animation, it has a tightly written plot, a well thought out story and themes that are explicitly explored not just as loose one-off morals, but with deliberate intent and sincerity. It doesn’t talk down to you, it doesn’t teach you life lessons with the vibe of a parent wagging his finger at you, and solutions to problems don’t just come out of nowhere. Relationships are developed perhaps a bit too quickly, but through understandable circumstances. You could argue the romance between Ashitaka and San isn't the strongest, but there is substance to it. Likewise, Miyazaki has always had a fascination with environmental preservation, and while I don’t think he’s ever done a bad job exploring this topic in his films(although his commentary about polluting the ocean in Ponyo didn’t really go anywhere plot-wise), it’s still a breath of fresh air for any American who had to grow up having condescending shit like Ferngully and Captain Planet shoved down our throats. The plot of Princess Mononoke deals with a conflict between man and nature, and unlike most of the conservationist swill I grew up on, there’s no clear villain. Man-kind needs to grow and prosper in a world with limited space, nature needs to defend itself from destruction and deforestation. Each side has lost a considerable amount of lives at the hands of the other, breeding a blood feud based on both misunderstandings and hatred, and since Ashitaka was cursed as a side effect of this conflict, it’s up to him to find a compromise that you just know HAS to exist, but that neither side believes the other side is capable of. Of course, having a complex conflict wouldn’t mean much if we didn’t also have complex characters, but luckily, that’s another area where Mononoke shines. The most obvious example is Lady Eboshi, the leader of the human city, and she’s presented as benevolent to the core. She hired prostitutes away from brothels and lepers off the streets and gave them far more safe and dignified lives aiding her in her efforts. She cares for her people, she’s aware of mankind’s reliance on nature... And yet on the other side of the coin, she’s a ruthless madwoman who will stop at nothing to dominate nature and trample it underfoot if it gets in her way. Honestly though, nature is no better, with the wolves and boars being just as proud and furious as their enemies. Hell, the men in Eboshi’s army and the wild pigs of the forest are compared to each other in subtle ways throughout the movie. It’s hard to get a read on the God Deer, as it only shows up a couple of times, but it does turn into a raging God of Death at one point towards the end, and the lake it resides in... The one touted as being healing and full of life... Has the bones of the dead scattered along its bottom. If that doesn’t tell you how dedicated this movie is to nuance, I don’t know what will. I’ve heard people refer to Ashitaka as a mary-sue, and while I do kind of get where this complaint comes from... He is the only character who ever really comes off as preachy, being the moral center of the film who’s always screaming about peace and looking past hatred... It’s worth remembering that these aren’t his personal beliefs. He knows first-hand that hatred itself is the villain and he knows the conflict has to be brought to an end, because that’s what he was told was the cause of his curse. He’s not arguing for pacifism because he hates violence, he’s doing it because he doesn’t want to die, or worse, be transformed and corrupted like the boar he slew in the first place. He still gets angry, he’s still willing to kill if he has to, he just has knowledge that the other characters don’t. I guess you could make an argument for San being a bit simpler and less interesting than the rest of the cast, and while it is kind of true that she’s not that complex... I personally see her more as a symbolic character than anything else... She’s still really cool and likeable, she just doesn’t have a strong enough arc to justify being the namesake of the movie. I do like the way her arc is resolved, and no spoilers, but it reminds me of how they changed Mowgli’s resolution in the live action Jungle Book, which is the main reason I prefer it over the original cartoon. There’s no easy answer to this plot. Neither side is presented as entirely right or entirely wrong, as they both have entirely understandable goals to achieve and grievances against one another. Compromise isn’t easy, but sometimes you have to set aside your differences and find a middle ground for the sake of the greater good. The only villain in this situation is hatred itself, which can turn a natural conflict into all out war, and which is destined to carry bloody repercussions. It sort of reminds me of The Lorax, both the original book and especially the old Chuck Jones short, because they presented an argument, told the audience point blank what the conflict was with an undeniable level of respect and honesty, and left it to the viewer to figure out the solution. The movie said ‘fuck that, trees are great, let’s blame everything on an over-the-top irredeemable villain instead of highlighting the real dilemma!’ And I think it’s obvious which approach Princess Mononoke took. In his prime, Hayao Miyazaki respected his viewers, he never talked down to them, and he never compromised his vision, and while that may have resulted in the movie being a bit too long... It’s over two hours long, and it kind of feels like it could easily been cut down to an hour forty five without losing much, but if that’s the biggest complaint I can come up with, that says a lot. Princess Mononoke has been available from many different sources, including Miramax, Disney proper, and now Gkids. It’s pretty easy to find at any level of quality and price that you could possibly desire. If I’m being honest, Princess Mononoke is not my favorite Hayao Miyazaki film. I still slightly prefer My Neighbor Totoro, but when I say slightly, I mean slightly, like they are neck and neck. That bias aside though, this is Hayao Miyazaki’s true magnum opus. It has depth and complexity, it explores important topics with intelligence and respect, and it just generally succeeds in so many ways that countless other films have failed. Its only serious failure is that it came to the United States at a time when Americans just weren’t ready to accept animation as a medium for anything other than children’s entertainment and immature adult comedy, and while it did add some legitimacy both to Japanese animation and the range of animation as a whole, it’s scary to think about how it might have faded into obscurity on our side of the pond if Miyazaki’s follow-up hadn’t busted down the door and turned the Ghibli brand into a house-hold name. There’s always going to be debate between a handful of his films, and there’s an argument to be made for each one, but for me, this is the movie I consider to be his masterpiece, not because it’s perfect, but because it feels like his last genuinely unfiltered, uncompromising passion project. I give Princess Mononoke a 9/10.
~~~**Princesa Mononoke** ~~~img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/910382810882277444/997184518924542033/unknown.png) **Sinopse:** Um príncipe, em busca de uma cura, luta em uma guerra entre a mata e uma colônia mineira. Nesta aventura ele conhece Mononoke. **Crítica:** Filme lançado em 1997, feito por Hayao Miyazaki, fala sobre a ganância do homem, desmatamentos, poluição e algumas lendas japonesas. Também irá destaca o protagonismo feminino de San. O filme começa com um javali demônio atacando Ashitaka. Mais tarde é mostrado que o javali havia sido atingido por uma bala de ferro, fazendo ele virar um demônio. Ashitaka é contaminado no braço, e fica com uma mancha que poderia acabar com sua vida. Após isso, ele sai da vila em busca de uma cura. No caminho Ashitaka se encontra com Lady Eboshi, líder da Ilha do Ferro. A partir desse ponto começa a ter destaque a ganância do homem e sua busca insaciável por mais. É notável a grande evolução que existe na Ilha do Ferro comparado com outros lugares, e desta evolução sai armas e máquinas para guerras. Lady Eboshi tem uma rixa com os deuses da floresta, que são lobos, e com a San, uma humana criada por lobos. Pode-se observar que os vilões do filme não são monstros ou demônios, eles são os próprios homens, aqueles que aniquilam até mesmo deuses. A Princesa Mononoke tem uma renúncia a raça humana, fazendo com que ela não aceite os erros cometidos por aqueles que destroem e matam por poder e ganância. __*"Vejam, todo mundo! É assim que o ódio se parece! Isso é o que ele faz quando te pega! Está me comendo viva e muito em breve vai me matar! Medo e raiva só fazem ele crescer mais rápido!"*__. img220(https://geekymythology.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/princess-mononoke-ashitaka-fighting-the-demon-boar-1.gif) Esta frase remete as maldições e demônios carregados por Ashitaka e o Javali do começo do filme. Nutrimos ódio por aqueles que erram, e é isso o que nos mata aos poucos. img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9d/09/03/9d090352b68cd71d2c681e4802725285.gif) O filme passa uma ótima mensagem sobre desequilíbrio ambiental. Por mais que o filme fosse de 1997, ainda ocorre as mesmas coisas nos dias de hoje. Os desmatamentos e poluições que se viram contra nós. **Lendas:** Vale destacar que os Deuses do anime são animais e espíritos, sendo retratados como protetores da floresta, aqueles que mantém o equilíbrio. **Nago:** Antigo líder do clã dos javalis (citado no começo da review). Ele era um guardião que protegeu a floresta de ser destruída, mas foi tomado pelo ódio, se tornando um demônio. img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/735895670355001366/1003078522149011536/unknown.png) **Okkoto:** Deus javali que se tornou sucessor de Nago. Okkoto é ferido por homens da Ilha do Ferro, e então é tomado pelo mesmo ódio de Nago. img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/735895670355001366/1003076168553070642/unknown.png) **Forest Spirit:** Tem a aparência de uma veado, e seu conceito é bastante interessante. Ele é um espírito que concede a vida e a morte. No fim ele é decapitado e tomado por uma fúria, destruindo tudo por onde ele passa. img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/735895670355001366/1003077328160698429/unknown.png) **Moro:** Mãe de dois lobos e de San. Moro protege a floresta e o Forest Spirit. Em um confronto com Lady Eboshi, Moro saiu gravemente ferida, e após isso achou que seria salva pelo Forest Spirit. No fim, Forest Spirit decidiu acabar com o sofrimento de Moro. img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/904218381694160896/1003080511129919589/unknown.png) **Apes:** A tribo dos macacos tem uma tentativa falha de arborizar o lugar onde vivem, mas são impedidos por Lady Eboshi. São criaturas pacíficas e sem cérebro, e por não terem cérebro, acham que comer humanos irá fazer eles mais inteligentes. img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/904218381694160896/1003083354272444466/unknown.png) **Kodama:** São criaturas sem nomes e significam que a floresta está saudável quando aparecem. Eles começam a morrer após a cabeça do Forest Spirit ser cortada, e reaparecem no fim do filme quando a floresta está crescendo novamente. img220(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/904218381694160896/1003084661179818005/unknown.png)
The one of the all time Anime that is magically made and take you to the time of legends and fantastic creatures. This one always made me feel good and bring a lot of emotions in the plate when you watch it. Highly recommended to re-watch in different times of your life as then you look at some parts differently. This animation is made that all characters are true to themself through all movie and some of them evolve rapidly and you can see the real change. The plot have few twists that is unexpected but most of the time is the easy to fallow the story line. The all information that are showed from very beginning are easy to get into the magical world that you will explore for the next one hour. You quickly get into feelings that you share with main characters and their vision of the world. The side characters bring some light comedy and fresh breeze to quite heavy main story. The creation of animals and nature is breathtaking and is made in the way that in some point you forgot that you are watching animation and it is not a movie. Movements and colors of every scene are made very thoroughly that everything is keeping with the imagination of viewer when watching it. Especially when you don't know much about east legends or believes in this picture you can easily get into the magical world of nature and learn about earth and world spirits. Spirits and high beings are showed in their best and the worst times. You can see how human world is effecting the natural order and how is dealing with spiritual aspects. There is showed both sides of humans who are living with spirits in natural order and ones that stopping believing them, and also the Princess that is on another level somewhere between both worlds. Of course there is time for romance and emotions that are for some characters unnatural and it is not easy to see them. Choosing between right and wrong is not always the straight option and can break heart. Main characters evolve in some part rapidly and you can see how that happens and why they choose that option not other one. Some of the characters you have bad feelings from the very begging but through when story of them is explained, you start to see their point of situation and then you know that every story have two different sides. In this anime there is no bad and good person every person have grey side and all is followed based on their life choices. To not spoil for anyone the story. If you wish to went into magical lands and beautiful places and be part of great story this is anime one to watch. Getting into wild nature, exploring never seen part of the forest and getting to know the all kind of culture and spirits with a note of romance. Don't hesitate and lean into world of Princess Mononoke!
~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/XtvMTKC.png) The amount of talent it takes to get a message across such as environmentalism, without being too “preachy” that it annoys viewers, must be exponential. As an advocate for nature, I personally don’t mind a message that’s blunt and to the point. As long as at least one person gets the intended message. Though that’s not to say that I can’t appreciate a more nuanced approach. In fact, I’d argue that it’s this method that appeals to most and doesn’t turn people off. Leave it to Studio Ghibli to craft a beautiful work of art that harpoons its pro-environmental message into the viewer’s hearts and minds unbeknownst to them. How did Ghibli manage to execute this task so seamlessly, and how much does it stand on its own as a standalone film without my biased opinion of its message? In this film we follow Ashitaka, a young man who’s one of the few remaining Emishi (a well respected tribe of its time) who gets cursed while fending off an angry boar from pillaging his village. An elder of his tribe tells him that this curse will kill him soon. Though there is a possible cure deep in the forest. And during his trek we find out who has the ability to heal Ashitaka, why the boar went berserk, and the various factions of humans, animals, and spirits fighting for control over the forest. I will not spoil every iota detail of the story like I normally do, as I strongly encourage everyone to see this film, but I do plan on touching on some aspects of the story that I feel the need to either commemorate or critique that go in tandem with certain crucial plot points. Though do not fret, I will give a warning when necessary. img220(https://i.imgur.com/7kV8K6s.gif) The flow of the story’s events are phenomenally paced. Having the most gripping opening of an anime film I’ve seen to date. Though the first few shots we see are beautiful, calm, and peaceful, it’s not long before we’re thrown straight into action. With the boar, being controlled by a demon filled with visceral hatred towards humans. Shown not only through his dialogue but also as a physical manifestation), battling Ashitaka as his tentacles (or demon follicles as I like to call them) jitter and reverberate as the sun’s light hits the boar’s body. This opening gets straight to the point and shows Ghibli knows how to make their beauty accentuate both the peacefulness and ferocity of the wild in the exact same scene. The action and animation of this scene (and just about every scene for that matter) is smooth, beautiful, gruesome, and attention grabbing without coming off as trying to over exert itself or the audience, which is something this film as a whole excels at, especially in the message. But more on that in a bit. As with most Ghibli films, the visuals, aesthetic and animation alone are worthy of making this film a 10/10, as there’s not a single frame of this film that’s not worthy of being framed in an exhibit. But it goes above and beyond its visuals to enhance the viewer’s immersion. The score for this film is epic, soothing, and invigorating depending on the scene. That’s no surprise given that the film’s score was composed by one of the most talented Orchestra band’s of all time. The only downside I had with the audio department of the film was the effects used on some of the animal’s/god’s voices such as the apes, boars, and even San’s mom to an extent. As I felt that the effects given to their voices felt cheap compared to how grand their appearance was, I know it was a different time and the technology for editing audio was not as advanced, and that this is a minor nitpick at most, but I could pull off the same vocal effects in audacity in less than 5 minutes. But honestly, that sorta thing adds to this movie’s charm and whimsical nature. img220(https://i.imgur.com/96SHxAW.gif) Another aspect of the film that adds to its whimsical nature are the characters. The protagonist, Ashitaka, is a determined, good natured, well-disciplined and mature young man who places the safety of those around him in front of himself, despite his main goal. The boy is not perfect, as there are many points where the curse of the demon almost gets the better of his temperament and leads him to wanting to inflict pain on those with morals that don’t align with his, namely Eboshi. Speaking of which, Eboshi serves as the main antagonist of the film despite not being shown to be an inherently malicious person, but as someone doing what she considers to be a necessary evil to better the lives of her village. With the help of a shady businessman/self-proclaimed monk, Jigo, she sets out to industrialize her village through gathering iron, which destroys the forest and makes the Mononoke-hime/animals/forest gods despise humans. And the last notable character is Mononoke-hime herself who was raised by the Wolf-god after her parents abandoned her and she now defends the forest from humans, doesn’t consider herself one, and aims to kill eboshi and even Ashitaka. The characters are all well written, and interesting to follow and see develop. The only gripe I have in this department has to do with the character Jigo. This guy is such an enigma for better or worse. It’s never clear cut what his goals are (aside from becoming more powerful I presume?) and or even what he is. Well, he’s a human yes, but sometimes he appears as a mere wanderer and other times he’s commanding an entire fleet of foot soldiers to directly assist Eboshi (one of if not the highest ranking human character in the story). I also wish we got to learn more about the elusive Emishi tribe, Ashitaka’s history, and various other tidbits about the world and characters in this story that aren’t touched on aside from a couple scenes they get. But that’s the case with most Ghibli films. Giving you an amazing world to experience only a fraction of, leaving you wanting more, craving more knowledge. img220(https://i.imgur.com/xgOr29H.gif) Lastly, (minor spoilers ahead) the film ends with the sentiment that we need to treat nature with respect, and if we are to take from the world then we are to give it something good in return to maintain balance. Nature won’t always be graceful, but without nature, both its inhabitants and humans living outside of it won’t survive unless there’s a symbiotic relationship. The film doesn’t expect, or want you to become someone like San(Mononoke-san) who hates humans for how they treat nature and it also wants you to avoid becoming an Eboshi who doesn’t care about the long-lasting impact of her actions. If anything, it’s saying be like Ashitaka who sees the necessity and merit of both sides. And understand that each side needs each other to survive and flourish, through human prosperity with industrialization/technological progression and nature’s ability to keep life on Earth alive and stable. Princess Mononoke is a film that I implore everyone to watch as it’s one of the rare examples of a film that is not only a beautiful film with an amazing message, but executes its message in such a way that makes you have to think. And if you don’t want to use your brain, then feel free to turn it off and let the raw beauty of this film compel you, with its amazing visuals, voice acting, and score. Though there are moments that do feel slow, and there are characters and bits that I wish were explored deeper, that does not take away from the awe-inspiring presentation of this film. img220(https://i.imgur.com/QGHs1fi.gif)~~~
Princess Mononoke is probably Hayao Miyazaki's most ambitious project since his 1984 classic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, showcasing his mastery of large-scale narrative and visual storytelling. Miyazaki has always brought his animated worlds to life in a way few others can. Still, the immersive quality of his films is even stronger thanks to the rich, real-world parallels he draws on. In Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki dives deep into moral complexity, depicting a war between nature and humanity with stunning visual and thematic beauty that highlights the film's depth.
While Princess Mononoke examines the clash between humans and the environment, many critics argue that Miyazaki did not intend to offer a thorough perspective. Instead, the film focuses on coexistence and mutual respect, using allegory to address environmental issues. The multidimensional portrayal of characters encourages reflection on human impact on nature and vice versa, provoking thought and discussion about our relationship with the environment.
Set during Japan's Muromachi period, the story starts with the protagonist, Prince Ashitaka, facing off against a demon. After defeating the monster, Ashitaka's right arm gets cursed, sending him on a mission to discover the source of nature's unrest. Along the way, he meets San, a woman raised by wolves who deeply resent humanity, and Lady Eboshi, a practical village leader whose idea of progress involves exploiting the forest's resources. By placing Ashitaka between these opposing viewpoints, Miyazaki skillfully navigates the moral gray areas. As a director known for his pacifism, Miyazaki's approach makes Princess Mononoke one of his most thoughtful films.
Princess Mononoke explores complex moral ambiguity by avoiding a clear-cut narrative. The film presents conflicting motivations and gray areas, encouraging viewers to grapple with these nuances. The lack of a definitive resolution reflects the ongoing nature of environmental and ethical issues. The film's open-ended format makes for a more thought-provoking viewing experience while recognizing the difficulties in coming up with answers in a society where values and interests conflict.
A major topic in most of Miyazaki's works is humanism, evident throughout his films. Princess Mononoke contains some of his most pacifist sentiments despite being his most violent film. Miyazaki never looks down on his characters for their beliefs; instead, the film's power comes from its nuanced portrayal of the broader consequences of their actions. At its heart, Princess Mononoke is a love letter to nature, with Miyazaki's stunning animation capturing the coexistence of humans and animals. However, Miyazaki's method gives his characters more nuance in motivations and problems rather than oversimplifying them.
In Princess Mononoke, there isn't a clear-cut villain. Lady Eboshi, who comes closest, is portrayed with complexity, adding depth to the film's central conflict. Miyazaki's focus on the lasting impact of the characters' actions turns a familiar story into a powerful exploration of how humanity's skewed desires can lead to environmental destruction. Despite the opposing forces in the film, Eboshi is an admirable character who exemplifies the balance between advancement and preservation. At the same time, Miyazaki's sympathetic take on San's resentment toward humanity deepens the narrative's exploration of the human nature struggle.
Lady Eboshi is portrayed with complexity and sympathy, potentially romanticizing her role in exploiting natural resources. Her intentions to improve lives and progress may involve environmental damage. This portrayal may lead viewers to overlook the serious environmental consequences of resource exploitation. Miyazaki's approach may downplay the gravity of real-world environmental issues by not fully addressing the ethical implications.
Visually, Princess Mononoke showcases Miyazaki's technical brilliance. The film's vast scope is expertly rendered, ensuring that each scene heightens the majesty of the narrative. The film keeps you interested throughout, whether you consider the decisions made by the characters or the expertly choreographed action scenes. The stunning visuals are paired with Joe Hisaishi's powerful score, creating a cinematic experience beyond just spectacle. Miyazaki's story is thrilling and provocative, with suspense that equals that of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Even while Princess Mononoke isn't my favorite of Miyazaki's films, it certainly merits the accolades bestowed upon it over time. It stands out from other animated films by capturing an epic feel, similar to classics like William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959) or John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven (1960), while keeping an intimate emotional touch. Princess Mononoke may be the most violent film in Miyazaki's canon; it does a better job than any other in expressing the pacifist ideas of the director. It's more than just a story about the conflict between humanity and nature; it's also about reclaiming what's been lost to external forces. Few films, animated or live-action, tackle such complex issues with the same level of thoughtfulness that Miyazaki brings to Princess Mononoke, making it one of the most visually and thematically rich films in its genre.