Film: Princess Mononoke
Release date: 27th March 2006
Certificate: PG
Running time: 133 mins
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura
Genre: Anime
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
During the release of Princess Mononoke, it is very likely that a lot of cinema fans would not have heard of Studio Ghibli and their tremendous output into the world of animation. That all changed with the release of Spirited Away, which brought acclaim and audiences tired of the usual Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks fare. The Oscar buzz that came totting along with the infamous Spirited Away assured Studio Ghibli’s recognition, but this was a few years too late.
Princess Mononoke begins in a small quiet village that is home to our protagonist, Ashitaka. When this cosy environment is threatened by a beast, a giant hog with a bad case of the worms, Ashitaka is called upon by the village elders to traipse into the surrounding forests and discover, and hopefully solve, the reason for this wild attack. Naturally, he does, but, in the process, a plethora of other threats are raised as our allegiances are thrown back and forth between the colonising humans and the forest creatures that are under attack from the tree cutting ventures of the humans. Of course, violence is greeted with violence, and the age old battle of man vs. nature commences.
During his mix up between the humans of Iron town, and the animal packs of the forest, Ashitaka meets our leading lady, Princess Mononoke. They form a complicated friendship that is initially rooted in mistrust, but Ashitaka is eventually invited into the clan of the wolves that Mononoke is a part of, and therefore becomes the man stuck between the two warring worlds…
Princess Mononoke came a few years before Spirited Away, and was set to become Miyazaki’s swansong, the film that would effectively signal his goodbye to directing as he planned to quietly fall into retirement. As we all know this didn’t happen, with the follow-ups of Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo filling our imaginations with yet more enchanting characters and worlds. Maybe it is because of the fact that Princess Mononoke was going to be his final film that it is imbued with everything that makes Studio Ghibli so magical and inspiring. From the vibrant animation to the twisting plot and the epic musical score, everything manages to fall into place to create a truly awe-inspiring fantasy that still manages to ground itself within reality and modern day issues.
The film’s true strength lies in its narrative and plotting. At 134 minutes, it is one of the longest-running animations ever made, yet it still manages to hold the viewer’s attention throughout as everything unfurls.
The quality of the animation is top-notch, filling the world with luscious fields, eye catching characters and mind searing action set pieces. This is no surprise, as allegedly Miyazaki drew 80,000 of the 144,000 stills. It must be said that the animation does not match the sheer beauty of more recent titles such as Ponyo, but it stills showcases a stepping stone in the world of hand drawn animation.
Switching to the voice acting, many Ghibli films are viewed in the English dub, and things are somewhat lost in this American translation, but it still makes for a highly entertaining film, with the translated script being penned by famous fantasy scribe, Neil Gaiman. Of course, Princess Mononoke should be viewed with its original Japanese casting.
Outside of the narrative and the voice acting, the score is the third factor that propels this film from being just a children’s animation into a fantasy epic, rounding everything off wonderfully as the music brims with emotion.
Princess Mononoke stands toe to toe with more famous Ghibli productions, such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. As exciting and entertaining as the rest of the studio’s back catalogue. JCH
