Princess Mononoke
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Movie Reviews of Princess Mononoke
Movie Review: A Great Anime That I Would Recommend To Anyone
Summary: 5 Stars
INTRO: 4/5 people like this movie usually. Out of all the people I have ever met that watched this movie, I can count the people who didn't like it on one hand. Its a great fantasy movie that depicts Japanese culture, great fight scenes, awesome storytelling, and a lot of nature. I know a lot of people are already thinking that a nature movie can't be that cool...well, this movie definitely proved even me wrong! First of all I would like to mention that even though this movie is rated PG-13 and depicts some scenes of violence, I wouldn't hesitate to show this to a younger kid. There are like 2 scenes I would question, but they aren't even that bad. This movie has so much beauty that a lot of people just look at the violence and immediately call it mature, when in reality its far from that. Take a look at a lot of supposed "kid-aimed anime shows" and you'll notice a lot more fan service and violence than this movie. I shake my head at those sad souls that say this should be an R movie.
DVD: The DVD is average, but great at the same time just because it is Princess Mononoke. But looking at it unbiased, its just average. You have the basic Chapter Selection, Language Selection, Subtitles, and Extras as usual. But its far from complaining.
EXTRAS: Not too much to keep someone going for a long time after the movie is over. There is a featurette that talks about the dub, and how the actors that dubbed it felt about the movie. Some other extras not really worth mentioning like trailers. But its a nice effort.
AUDIO: Japanese and English audio tracks are included, but this is one of the rare cases when I would have to say the English out-does the Japanese by-far. The English dub was not your typical dub mind you. They recruited many famous actors like Gillian Anderson (X-Files), and Billy Bob Thorton (Switchblade) that play the characters perfectly. They really went all-out on it and there is a lot more "feeling" behind the voices. Watch and compare.
VIDEO: Very crisp and clean. I could eat off of my screen if it weren't so dusty. I didn't expect any less.
OVERALL: This is DEFINITELY a must in any movie-lover's collection... be they anime-fan or not. I hesitated too long to get this movie and was glad when I did. This is one of those movies that you can watch over and over again and get really attached to the characters, its just that good. I can see them re-doing the DVD though in the near-future with more extras and such since this DVD didn't have a lot in that category. Look for "Princess Mononoke Special Edition 2-Disc DVD Set" one day, but until then, do yourself a favor and get this version. You won't be let down.
Movie Review: Great animation and Even Better Story
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a very harsh critic on Japanese Anime. Most of the hub bub surrounding Japanese anime is in part because of the violence in the "cartoon". Normally, at least in my case, the stories don't make sense, the characters have extremely exaggerated features such as huge eyes, tiny or no nose and tiny tiny mouths. Plus it's almost like watching cardboard, with the background moves as the characters are "running" (basically standing still in a running pose). Sometimes in anime they will only have a body part moving, like an arm or a hand picking up a cup of coffee, as if to signify the every day habits of people. Most of the time there is no depth to the characters, they don't cast shadows, the background is your basic squares and circles. The buildings are all the same, side characters are extremely poorly drawn and are mostly baboonish, basically lifeless around the main characters. The stories are illogical and they are missing the connections that get you from one scene to another. Having said all of that... You get none of that in Princess Mononoke. It is by a wide majority not only the best Japanese Anime made, but ranks right up there as one of the top animation films of any country. Not only that it is one of the best films, outside of animation release. This film doesn't try to dazzle you with CGI (Computer Graphics) and it's not out to try to make the characters look as humanly real as possible. This film instead embraces animation and makes it an art. The characters movement are fluent and features are proportional, the background has depth and the story makes sense. Not only that, the filmmaker, knowing that he has a certain freedom with animation, creates these little clicking creatures which acts to the wonderment of this feature. The films is not only beautifully done visually, but the sounds and the music, which normally gets overlooked, are as good as any live-action feature. The director paid so much attention to detail that the best way to see this film is widescreen with a DVD. If you don't see it widescreen, because of the framing, you will be doing yourself a bit of injusted, I think. I don't want to describe what the story is about because I think this is one of those films that every little bit you find out for yourself makes the film that much more enduring to you. It's nice to let a picture without preview, fanfare or story description, unfold before your unknowing eyes. This film is rated PG-13 for images of violence and gore but I think 10 years old and up can handle it. If they can handles films such as Star Wars, Willow or other fantasy movies, they can handle this one. It's worth having in your DVD collection.
Movie Review: Animated Perfection
Summary: 5 Stars
This exemplifies anime at its finest hour. To me this is the perfect anime film that affects the viewer in ways that will stay with him forever. Furthermore this film is appropriate for most ages though some scary images may frighten youngsters. Emotion surges through these characters with such sincerety that the cannot help but have them become a part of you afterwards - a sign of a great animated film. Beautiful colors and awesome music make this a truely compelling film. Forest gods and Kodamas make this story even more magical. This movie portrays a valiant human struggle and will have your eyes glued to the screen.
THIS ENDS MY REVIEW. I WILL NOW PROCEED TO RANT ABOUT DISNEY'S PERVERSION.
Whoever reccomended the emperor's new groove instead of this movie must not understand that this is a movie that is ment to be dramatic and serious. Disney is at times serious, but resorts to bright silly comedy to make its films very child oriented. COMPARING ANIME TO DISNEY IS A SIN! anime and disney are two completely different branches of animated films. Disney is all about the unforgettable songs(the emperors new groove intro theme is a nightmare). The explosive colors and loud music in the emperors new groove reminds me of a bad psychadelic drug trip. Its like watching an army of clowns on crack with all unlimited power of disney effects! aHHHHH!-simply frighening!
The numerous lecherous scenes the perverted Disney artists draw are also an interesting aspect to be considered. You have to scrouge find these scenes, they're not obvious, but with careful inspection you will find that the friendly nature of disney is just covering up for their grand antithesis: subliminal sex messages. There are a few specific examples that the horny artists inserted in some of our most treasured classics. In the Lion King, the letters SEX (in capitals)can be seen in the sky. The letters can only be seen for a second, so have the pause button ready. The word is created out of the dust that the maturing Simba produces when he collapses to the ground probably about halfway through the movie (when Simba has his identity crisis). In Aladdin, at the famous balcony scene right before the magic carpet ride, Aladdin climbs to Jasmin's tower and Raja, the tiger, punces on him. When this happens,if you turn the volume to the max, you can hear Aladin say "Take off my pants". In The Little Mermaid during the wedding of Irsella and Eric, you can clearly see that the priest wedding them has a gigantic erection that moves.
In conclusion, buy princess mononoke and sell all those perverted disney movies like the emperor's new groove.
Movie Review: I'd give this more stars than there are in the universe!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have already written a review on this incredible movie, but I accidentally made it a private review. Over time, however, it made me furious to find 1-star reviews here, and so I decided I should write another review.The theme of this review is that "Princess Mononoke" is NOT an average Disney cartoon by any means. It's very different for a variety of reasons.
1) The storyline. No 5-year-old kid could ever understand the storyline to this film. It's about a young prince who was cursed by a demon that attacked his village. After he killed the demon, the prince discovered that the curse is a curse of hatred that comes from the west. He must go and stop the evil that is going on in the west, to "see with eyes unclouded by hate." Otherwise, the curse will kill him. The rest I leave to you, but the basic point is that the flim is about love and hate, joy and sorrow, and human life and death.
2) The dialogue. The script in this film is truly unforgettable, with quotes like: "You cannot alter your fate my prince, however you can rise to meet it if you choose", and "Now watch closely everyone, I'm going to show you how to kill a god. A god of life and death. The trick is not to fear him."
3) The violence. Yes, there is enough violence in this film to merit a PG-13 rating, and although an arrow doesn't NORMALLY chop arms off, it just goes to show that when hatred takes over someone, it can really make them crazy.
4) There's no real "good guy" or "bad guy". Although San wanted to protect her forest, she and her wolves also killed the husbands of many of the women in Irontown. And although Lady Eboshi wanted to destroy the forest for iron, she also cared for the lepers of Irontown and was very loving to her people. And the prince doesn't side with either one of them, he just wants to make peace so his curse will be removed.
5) The length of the film. It is 134 minutes long.
6) The animation. It is absolutely incredible. It took three years to create this film, and they were not wasted. The Nightwalker is absolutely an amazing sight to behold! And when the prince entered the magical forest, he said, "This place is magical." I said the exact same thing. I forgot I was watching a cartoon. I forgot I was watching a movie. I even forgot my own name. It was that breathtaking! (Oh, and by the way, the dubbing was done along with RE-ANIMATING the mouth movements to match the English language!)
Bottom Line: If this STAGGERINGLY good movie ISN'T so good that it makes you forget everything as you watch it, then my name isn't....uh....uh....uh....
Movie Review: Astounding, magical. A work of art that raises timely questions
Summary: 5 Stars
I had only seen two works by Miyazaki prior to Princess Mononoke. I already knew that Studio Ghibli produced really terrific anime, and that Miyazaki had a knack for presenting film moments that make us sign in that part of us that senses wonder.
This film has, bar none other, one of the most enthrallingly magical sequences I have ever seen: the section in the heart of the forest where we see the forest spirit as NightWalker. These few cinematic moments were, to me as a Christian, almost holy. The film is of a different myth/religion, but it captures that ineffable, that transcendant, that wordless experience where part of you KNOWS that there is truth there, that there is something beyond atoms and molecules, and it is powerful and necessary and benevolent (although it can destroy, as we later see with the Forest Spirit). It is a moment that made me think of 60's psychedlia--a bit--and the special taste of clean night winds in moonlight--a bit--and the way you feel when you've prayed a powerful prayer.
You have to see it to understand. It's the combination of color, music, pacing, editing, expression, and the sheer otherness of this deity (I'm not Japanese, so the Forest Spirit, tree spirits, these things have a strangeness that was exhilirating.) I don't really know how to analyze properly how Miyazaki did it, but he captures a holy moment that transcends the story itself. Amazing.
Anyway, this site has numerous summaries of the plot. I'll spare you mine. I'll simply say that the outworking of this quest story, a story of man vs. nature, man vs himself, and the place of humanity within the natural context, is very powerful and extremely beautiful. Even dubbed, you will be captivated.
There is a moment near the end where there is this pause--many seconds passing when you wait, wait, wait and the screen seems not to change. And you find yourself hoping, praying for a change. And when the first perceptible changes come, it's such a relief. Such an answer to prayer.
This film is like an answer to prayer. It says things we need to listen to, and it can speak to folks outside of the Japanese culture and the nature religions. Good is sometimes supremely good here, and evil is...not always purely evil. Sometimes, it's just ignorant or selfish or unthinking...or somehow motivated by higher motives. And that shows a filmmaker with compassion and understanding of how people work. And of how the larger cosmos works, too.
I can't recommend it too strongly. A work of art.
Mir