Princess Mononoke
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Movie Reviews of Princess Mononoke
Movie Review: One of the great animated films!
Summary: 5 Stars
A fantastic, beautifully done film, Princess Mononoke deserves a spot in your DVD collection. The transfer is very good, the sound adequate, and there is a short, mildly interesting featurette, with comments by the English-speaking actors (Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Crudup, Jada Pinkett Smith) and the Dubbing Director (who states the dominant themes of the film, such as "to explore man's relationship with nature"). The dubbing job is OK, but not great. However, Minnie Driver did a very good job as Lady Eboshi.
Director Hayao Miyazaki (who created the fabulous My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki's Delivery Service) has written and directed a film with a suspenseful story, compelling characters, uplifting music, and beautiful artwork, with misty mountains, scenic countrysides with rice paddies, mossy forests with sunlight streaming through the trees, and dramatic battles in the rain.
The noble heroes, Prince Ashitaka (from a tribe that was "almost wiped out 500 years earlier") and Princess Mononoke (brought up by a gigantic white wolf-goddess in the woods), are courageous, virtuous, respectful of the spiritual world, and want to protect nature--against the encroachments of "civilization." Some of the other characters are greedy or suspicious, but none are evil. Lady Eboshi, for example, wants to kill the Great Forest Spirit, but eventually sees the error of her ways, and also treats lepers well and purchases the contracts of prostitutes, giving them jobs in the iron-smelting works. Her troops also defend Irontown against the samurai army of a voracious lord.
There are a few gory battle scenes and the demons are a bit scary, and you might want younger children to wait until they get a little older to view this film. On the other hand, some of the forest spirits can be quite charming, especially the ones with the revolving, clicking heads.
The story can get complicated. There are numerous gods and human characters, but the theme of "civilization versus nature" is simple. Lady Eboshi wants to cut down the forests and bring more civilization (i.e., mining, industry, agriculture, and towns) to the world. Prince Ashitaka, from an endangered, persecuted people, is a natural ally to the threatened forest spirits. When he is infected by a demon that has possessed a boar god, his quest to cure himself propels him into the battle between the forces of nature and civilization, and he tries to get the humans to co-exist with nature.
The great battle between the boar army and the humans (shown in flashback) is majestic and exciting. The boars are bedecked in white war paint and helped by Princess Mononoke and two wolf cub gods. The concluding scenes, with the Great Forest Spirit searching for its head, are done magnificently.
This is a film that your family will love, and want to see many times. I recommend it highly.
Movie Review: A slice of beautiful complexity
Summary: 5 Stars
It is difficult to be profound about a movie that has been written about so much. Much of which has been written is rather obvious. Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, although it is an adult oriented film in terms of complexity, it has something for everyone. Princess Mononoke is appealing on many levels because much like other anime features like Armitage III, Ghost in the Shell, and Akira, Princess Mononoke also confronts the issue of technology head on. However, what is unique here is that Miyazaki problematizes the duality of man vs. nature really expanding the problem to man within nature and calling for a sense of co-operation. Again, While other movies like Armitage III, Ghost in the Shell, and Akira are a shade darker than most, Mononoke is laced with hope and reconstruction. Based on our epistemological framework we are looking for good vs. evil. We are always trying to set things up in a space of binary oppositions. Most viewers are looking to make things "simple." Juxtaposed against our longing for the simplistic, Miyazaki doesn't make judgements about good or evil. Miyazkai simply asks many questions. It is really unfair to make any direct comparison but the reason this genre is appealing to a wider audience is that this genre and the movies that are produced within it are more "realistic" than the more common Disney animations offerings.
Another sub-theme is the healing power of nature which is superior to the human need to conquer and control. Susan Napier writes: "At a more complex level, films such as Princess Mononoke actually works to resist and even confront certain public stereotypes, inspiring huge numbers of moviegoers to look at some of the myths of modern Japan in a more critical way." The movie zeroes in on ecological issues, a far cry from the stereotypes we have of Japan as a giant impersonal machine. Along this same lines, the big four (listed previously) warn us just as much about the march of modernity and technology. In Princess Mononoke, it seems like Miyazaki is setting up a battle between man and nature. My sense is that it is man in nature.
No doubt, this is a complex movie. The interplay between Asitaka, Mononoke and Lady Eboshi is not a simple one. Within the confines of the story, no one character is all bad or all good. All the characters are multi-dimensional and not one character is a caricature. A pivotal character is Lady Eboshi. Lady Eboshi's involvement with Iron Town is not be dismissed as trivial. How is the viewer going to reconcile Lady Eboshi's agenda and altruism? The beauty and wonder of Princess Mononoke is not so much that it provides answers but that it poses deep questions. For this reason alone (and there are many) Princess Mononoke can be classified as a work of art and it will survive the ravages of time.
Miguel Llora
Movie Review: Miyazaki outshines Disney
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to think that Disney put out truly great animation that touches the souls of those who watch it, that is until I watched this film. Disney has done at least one good thing in the last few years, which is to bring Mononoke and other Miyazaki movies to America. I applaud them for it, even if they don't always appreciate the masterpieces that they are selling.Princess Mononoke is an anime movie, but in many ways it is beyond anime. Although it is steeped in Japanese history and mythology, this is a film that has meaning for people of every culture, dealing with universal themes such as ecological preservation and the often self-destructive ways of human nature. It even comments on the relationship between men and women. All are subjects that American movies have tried to contemplate before but not with nearly as much intelligence or respect for the audience. There are no real villians here, creeping around with their evil intentions; not once does the audience feel that they are being preached to about Right and Wrong. Mikyazaki simply presents characters who are doing the best they can in a bad situation, as all people do in real life. Granted, in real life, raging Forest Gods aren't trying to kill you. But suspension of disbelief is easy to acheive when you have a meaningful story line and characters that people can actually care about.
The animation is simple compared to Spirited Away, but is just as beautiful and fits well with the starker atmosphere of the movie. A lot of it reminds me of old Japanese paintings. I'm glad to say that there was a minimum of computer animation used in this film and the whole movie has a rich hand drawn feel. The score by Joe Hisaishi is simply grand (I'll plug the soundtrack while I'm at it); since I've seen this movie I'm not only a Miyazaki fan, but also a devoted Hisaishi listener.
It's a shame, then, that such a perfect movie would be given such a mediocre dubbing job. Disney did just what I expected they would do. . . they chose actors based on their names and not on how well they portrayed the characters. It's pretty obvious that those in charge had publicity in mind when they cast Billy Bob Thornton, of all people, as a Japanese monk. Claire Danes is too whiny and childish to play the dour San, and Billy Crudup is just dull in the lead role of Ashitaka. I will give credit to Minnie Driver, however, the only one among them who did as good a job as her Japanese counterpart. Driver is a dead ringer for the sophisticated and strong-willed Eboshi.
Regardless, I suggest this movie not only to anime fans but to anyone who likes a good story and strong characters who don't adhere to Hollywood conventions. Take the time to read the subtitles. I should warn that there is some gore and violence, but it is used tastefully and in regards to the plot.
Movie Review: My favorite movie, by far.
Summary: 5 Stars
Princess Mononoke is a great movie for a couple of reasons. The artistry involved in every frame is simply astounding, and some of my favorite scenes are those of Ashitaka simply traveling, for this is when we get to get to see Miyazaki's animation team show off. It is often said that the Disney animators look up to Miyazaki as the absolute master of animation. I can now see why. There are so many scenes which are done with breath-taking beauty. But beauty isn't the only thing that the animators were focused on because many of the creatures are quite intimidating. Most notably of these is a boar demon who's skin is like writhing worms. This cannot be done without the aid of animation, and this is where Miyazaki trumps all.
The music also perfectly matches the film. This is an epic movie, and only an epic soundtrack that conveys power and beauty will do. The soundtrack is simply gorgeous!
Another thing that makes this film great is that good and evil never come into the picture. What I mean is that no one characteror side is purely good or purely evil. Instead, there are simply two warring factions who refuse to back down, and Ashitaka is caught in the middle of it all. The viewer sees that both sides have legitimate reasons for wishing to kill the other, but then again both sides have their faults. Lady Eboshi, the ruler of Iron Town, is set up to be the villain in this movie because she is portrayed as being ruthless. But when we learn that iron town consists primarily of outcasts of society, and Lady Eboshi is the one who took all of them in, we recognize that the survival of Iron Town is essential if these people do not wish to return to their once terrible lives.
One more thing that I would like to point out is that this is not necessarily a children's film. While many children will be able to watch it, this is simply a great story told through the medium of animation. People who are used to animation being strictly for children, namely Americans, might not expect what they're getting into. There are many scenes, like in the beginning when we learn of Ashitaka's fate (SPOILER ALERT "it will cause you great pain, then kill you") that would not fit in a conventional American animated film. However, this film is not so strictly un-American as films like Akira, and this is actually a great introduction for many people into the realm of animation. I showed this film to my mom and she absolutely loved it.
In summary, there is a reason why the entire world, other than America (but even a subculture has developed here!) loves Miyazaki's works. If you enjoyed this film, then I would highly recomdend Miyazaki's next film Spirited Away.
Movie Review: another amazing anime
Summary: 5 Stars
This seems to be Miyazake's most personal work, clearly a serious design. It is set in an imaginary time which blends the time of the ancient gods (Shinto style, gods of place and nature) with the settlement of humans and the coming of metalworking and war. The world is not in balance, and a distant conflict between industry and nature has wounded one of the gods of the forest, which is then killed by a sentry boy as it rampages into farmland he guards. The evil controlling it transfers to him, beginning a slow takeover, and he must journey to the origin of the conflict to find a way to cure himself and incidentally, as he will learn, to try to restore balance. But this is not a simplistic tale, he finds there are other characters in play, and there is good and evil in everyone, and no easy balance. The Princess (Hime) of the story is a mysterious human who has been raised by wolves (which are themselves powerful forest gods, a little reminiscent of the Amerindian Coyote myth), who becomes both his ally and his enemy. The story is not easy to understand. It has many Japanese mythic elements but even then, it is a work of Miyazake's unique imagination, and is not intended to be simple or to have a clean resolution.
The animation is spectacular, and unusual, with new elements even for Miyazake and marks a new departure for style which you can see continued in his next film, Sen to Chihiro - more nature, more wild, more jamming on elements from Japanese myth and folklore. And, continuing the trend to be more personal, concerned with ethics and character, and less sci-fi. There are at least half a dozen well developed characters threaded through the story, and their animation is wonderful in displaying subtle character.
The original Japanese soundtrack has some amazing singing and draws upon some of the best talent available for voices - in Japan, Miyazake is universally known and this was a masterpiece carefully crafted. Japanese television documented a lot of the production. The English translation drew on some good talent but they seem not to have "gotten it" quite so intensely as the Japanese crew.
If you haven't seen Miyazake, give it a try (but maybe look at Sen to Chihiro first, or even Laputa or Kiki's Delivery Service, for easier and lighter introduction to his work). Some say he is the Japanese Disney, but I don't like that. His work has a depth and sophistication that goes beyond Disney cute. There is no other animation like it. This is truly an adult work: children might like some of the visuals, but I doubt that many kids below teen age will have any idea what it is all about, and even adults will get more out of this each time you see it again.