Princess Mononoke is a movie from Studio Ghibli. Ghibli Studio was founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki. They are celebrated for their high-quality, hand-drawn animation and complex storytelling, often featuring themes of environmentalism and the human spirit. Notable films include My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away (which won an Oscar), and The Boy and the Heron.
In 1997, Princess Mononoke was the highest-grossing film in Japan. This movie gathered international attention for Miyazaki. It was an animated feature film that was not from Hollywood.
The movie starts with a boar turned into a demon attacking Ashitaka’s village. While trying to stop the demon, Ashitaka, one of the protagonists, gets cursed. This forces him to go to the Deer God to find a solution to the curse. Ashitaka then embarks on a journey, and the various challenges he faces and situations that happen during the travel are shown in the film.
He reaches a place called Iron Town, a town where they produce weapons and iron. Humans are clearing the forest to gather raw materials for the weapons. Iron Town is ruled by Lady Eboshi, who is the one that shot the boar and unintentionally turned it into a demon, instilling hatred. A literal war happens there between the humans and the animals in the forest because of the deforestation caused by mining iron.
In the forest, there are mainly wolf gangs, boar gangs, and ape gangs. They fight humans because of their cruelty towards the forest. Princess Mononoke (San) is introduced as someone who tries to kill Lady Eboshi because she is causing destruction to the forest. San was adopted by the wolf gang as their daughter, so she sees herself as opposing all humans.
Ashitaka is a forgiving, calm, and restrained character. He tries to stop the conflict, but the fighting continues. The movie is not about good versus evil. It’s about characters trying to do what they should in order to protect their own people: animals trying to protect the forest, humans trying to generate iron and weapons to protect themselves against greater powers. The line between villain and hero is blurred.
The movie emphasizes the importance of nature, male-female dynamics, and understanding good and evil. Princess Mononoke and Ashitaka try to understand each other. They have completely different vibes: Mononoke is clouded by hatred, whereas Ashitaka, even though he did nothing wrong, was cursed. Still, he remains calm and tries to live in a diplomatic way. There are no evil sides, just clashing sides who lost their way.
The film consists of good action scenes and breathtaking, beautiful nature. The art team did a spectacular job in this film. The 2D drawings are especially good in the opening scene of the boar. The forest spirits are cute, and the depiction of the gods feels unique. The imagination of the director is distinct.
Overall, I liked the film. I would give it 3.5 out of 5.
