Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke
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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Billy Bob Thornton, Hisaya Morishige, Jada Pinkett Smith, Yoji Matsuda, Yuko Tanaka
Cinematographer: Atsushi Okui
Composer: Joe Hisaishi
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Subtitled); English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-12-19
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Miramax
Accessories:

Movie Reviews of Princess Mononoke

Movie Review: Good movie...
Summary: 4 Stars

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.

Summary of Princess Mononoke

This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here.

Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature.

Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. Recommended for ages 12 and older. --Sam Sutherland


Claire Danes (THE MOD SQUAD), Minnie Driver (GOOD WILL HUNTING), and Billy Bob Thornton (ARMAGEDDON, SLING BLADE) head a cast of hot Hollywood stars who lend their talents to this exquisitely animated, overwhelmingly acclaimed adventure epic! Inflicted with a deadly curse, a young warrior named Ashitaka (Billy Crudup -- WITHOUT LIMITS) sets out for the forests of the west in search of the cure that will save his life. Once there, he becomes inextricably entangled in a bitter battle that matches Lady Eboshi (Driver) and a proud clan of humans against the forest's animal gods, who are led by the brave Princess Mononoke (Danes), a young woman raised by wolves! Also starring Gillian Anderson (THE X-FILES) and Jada Pinkett Smith (SCREAM 2), this monumental struggle between man and nature will have you transfixed as stunning artistry blends with epic storytelling to create a uniquely entertaining motion picture!

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