Princess Mononoke

When I heard that this film was finally coming out over here I was very excited. I'd never seen it before, but had seen other works of Hayao Miyazaki such as Totoro and Cagliostro. I was worried when I heard it had been bought and dubbed by Disney, fearing another mangled and edited poor translation as happened with Nausicaa /warriors of the wind.However, the translation is superb - done by no less than Neil Gaimen of Sandman fame - and the voice acting actually very good, with little of the poor acting and odd characterisation we've come to be used to. Perhaps the translation looses us some of the finer points, but none the less, it's superb.The film - What can I say? This is an epic tale that will draw anyone in who starts watching it, no matter how old they are. I watched this with my father, who's not a fan of animation (especially not Japanese animation), and he was enthralled, loving the beauty and the characters. It's certainly not a children's film, as it becomes quite dark towards the end. Dealing with themes such as mankind's effect on the environment and the destructive power of anger, this film tells the tale of the conflicts between a group of humans and a group of nature gods. Some scenes have echoes of Nausicaa, especially in character designs, and fans of Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood books will find much they like here. Scenes of the Forest Spirit changing from the Night Walker to a multi horned, human faced deer that can walk on water have a strange magical pagan feel to them, and an eerie beauty.I'm trying not to say too much about the story as to give things away would be a crime if you've not seen the film before. I will say this : the ending is spectacular and satisfying - in some ways it reminds me of the finale of Akira - yet it still manages to remain open ended. The viewer and the characters are treated with respect and we're not given a cut and dried "punish the bad / reward the good" ending. Indeed, there are few characters in the film who can be viewed as purely bad. This is a good thing.This package doesn't have too many extras. You can see a nice trailer, a short making of film, and have the option to watch in the original language, which is always nice. You do get Helen McCarthy's excellent book on Hayao Miyazaki, and that is a superb bonus. Let's hope that we start to see more films given this treatment soon!

Possibly the best Ghibli film, for me. It's a choice between this and the excellent Spirited away although this film is more adult and universal, I feel, in content. One could argue that Spirited away is also similar but I think it's more of a childrens film albeit with semi-buried environmental themes (literally) bubbling to the surface from time to time. Everything about this film is fantastical in the true sense of the word. The art is exquisite and the story is both at times exciting and heart rending. There are dark moments so possibly not suitable for young children but I would say it's no more extreme than something like Watership down which also has its dark points but ultimately has the same value for young minds when it comes to illustrating that nature is red in tooth and claw and not everything is "like pokemon". A beautiful and beguiling film that basically has zero wrong with it. Put aside preconceptions about "Japanese cartoons" as this is an extremely strong piece of cinema with an interesting and unifying environmental angle that should appeal to anyone if they can see it without prejudice clouding their thoughts. I have been trying to get my wife to watch this for a long time and she refuses because "it's a cartoon". She genuinely has no idea what she is missing out on and, sadly, almost certainly never will. See this film, you will not regret it !

As a 17 year old i can't say that i am the fountain of all knowledge on film but within the first few minutes of Princess mononoke, i knew i was watching something special by its outstanding score, sublime animation/ design and adult nature.Arguably one of the best studio ghibli movies releases to date, Mononoke encapsulates everything i've come to adore from the studio. It is a sweeping epic filled with beauty, action, complex characters and enough thought provoking themes to completely justify its long run time.Without spoiling anything, Princess Mononoke is primarily about Humanity's relationship with nature (and vice versa), and the animosity between them. I had assumed that being a ghibli film, it was going to stand heavily in favour of nature, however Myazaki instead showed the audience the best and worst of both sides and let us decide who to support. Some of my friends including me supported the side of nature but a few other friends firmly believed the humans deserved their chance to progress, such a divide is a testemanf to handling of such prudent issues presented in this film.All in all, this has become my favourite animated film of all time and i strongly urge you to give it a chance because it may just blow you away.