Princess Mononoke (1997)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
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15 films that influenced Princess Mononoke
What critics say influenced Princess Mononoke
Pixar's John Lasseter, director of Toy Story and A Bug's Life, is an admirer of the film; and directors as diverse as Tsui Hark, Guillermo del Toro (Mimic), and the late Akira Kurosawa have weighed in as Miyazaki fans.
According to the NewYork Times, Toy Story animators screened reels of his work when their imaginations flagged, and writers for Star Trek named an alien species after one of his features.
An example of computer animation at its crudest, this charming study in bringing two desk lamps to life also illustrates that what makes the "Toy Story" franchise so extraordinary has less to do with gimcrackery than with Lasseter's gift for creating empathy and quiet humor in otherwise inanimate objects.
While it's true that there have been animated fantasy movies before, they have either been hampered by poor production values (Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings) or aimed at a less mature audience (Disney's The Black Cauldron).
This is an epic on the scale of Gone With the Wind (1939) or Glory (1989).
Not that I want to commit the sin of suggesting that all Japanese filmmakers are equals, but it calls to mind more than anything the jidaigeki (period films) of Kurosawa Akira, especially the ones where the paranormal is given free reign, like Throne of Blood ; or maybe I'm just being unduly influenced by how much Princess Mononoke quotes visually from Kurosawa's depictions of historical warfare.
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If other works of Japanese anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell showed how animation could bring stunning sci-fi visions of the future to life better than most live action films, Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke was the studio’s attempt to create a classical, old-fashioned epic that rivaled the likes of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Ran, or even Hollywood-produced fare like Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur.
Even if you don't make it to Princess Mononoke, I can't urge you enough to check out two of Miyazaki's previous films available on tape here in the U.S. -- My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service -- both of which mix timeless, youthful themes with sly, wholly original animation and a decidedly outre sensibility.
I’ve already been over these themes in my Nausicaä and Castle in the Sky pieces, but even films like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service have a genuine love for the natural world.
Princess Mononoke, the latest Japanese anime export from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki (Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro) is neither a bad film nor the masterpiece so many are making it out to be (Roger Ebert, why have you forsaken us?).
Princess Mononoke is the latest film by the great Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, who also made My Neighbor Totoro (1988, released here in 1993) and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989).
A box-office phenomenon in its native country, Miyazaki's epic, visually sumptuous Princess Mononoke may come as a shock to fans used to the quirky, idiosyncratic comic touches abundant in his My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service.
The first Miramax/Miyazaki title, Kiki's Delivery Service, was released direct-to-video; Princess Mononoke will have a theatrical run before taking its place on Blockbuster shelves.
This is an epic on the scale of Gone With the Wind (1939) or Glory (1989).
If other works of Japanese anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell showed how animation could bring stunning sci-fi visions of the future to life better than most live action films, Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke was the studio’s attempt to create a classical, old-fashioned epic that rivaled the likes of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Ran, or even Hollywood-produced fare like Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur.
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While it's true that there have been animated fantasy movies before, they have either been hampered by poor production values (Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings) or aimed at a less mature audience (Disney's The Black Cauldron).
It’s the “Star Wars” of animated features, a haunting, beautiful film that holds your attention despite its length and its complex plot, which is rooted in Japanese folk tales and animist mythology.