Princess Mononoke (1997)

Studio Ghibli is to Japan what Pixar is to the UK and the USA. In fact it’s bigger than that. In my opinion it’s better too. While I love the lush, textured look of the best CGI films (I’m not denying for a moment that Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Up, Wall-E and a load of others aren’t amazing), seeing hand-drawn animation with beautiful, oil-painting backgrounds moving with gorgeous fluidity and grace is a pleasure. Whether watching Studio Ghibli’s films “dubbed” or “subbed” (most of the DVDs offer you dubbed versions, often with well-known “Western” actors, or subtitled (which is preferable if you value the original emotion and intonation of the words)), I’d be surprised if you don’t find yourself wondering just how many hours went into the production of these moving works of art. If the look wasn’t enough, the stories are always excellent, shying away from the usual nooks that cartoons inhabit. 

The “Spielberg” of Ghibli is Hayao Miyazaki who has recently retired, leaving his swansong, “The Wind Rises” largely ignored in the cinemas. Smart parents will let their kids enjoy Miyazaki’s films and decide for themselves whether Buzz Lightyear outranks Totoro (My Neighbour Totoro). Many Ghibli films deal with subjects that US studios avoid, such as death (Graveyard of the Fireflies). Some barely have a story – My Neighbour Totoro has no “bad guy”, no real jeopardy and no great moral. Yet kids and adults LOVE it. Try it for yourself. Bet you like it.

Princess Mononoke has a few threads to its story. Our “hero”, Ashitaka is cursed by a rampaging Boar-God (stick with me – the Japanese “gods” stuff provides for epic imagery, even to a noisy atheist like me) and ostracised by his community, left to search for a cure for his apparently incurable curse. Cutting off his top-knot, Ashitaka sets off alone. Soon, he finds himself embroiled in a battle between a human settlement who are using the forest’s resources to power their iron mining industry and the creatures of the forest, led by San, a warrior girl.

I won’t give away any more of the plot, other than to say you’ll see powerful gods, vengeful creatures, determined men and women of Tatara (the Iron Town) and skilled warriors weave a story that’ll engage from the start until the final seconds.

At times you’ll forget what artistry went into Princess Mononoke, such is the ease of absorption into the narrative. Then you’ll notice the sheer detail level drawn, frame-by-frame and for a moment it’s easy to understand why a 2D cartoon can pull you into a magical world so naturally. Hayao Miyazaki, the director, draws tens of thousands of the frames himself, working alongside the Studio Ghibli team whose work has influenced many many movie-makers

On the dubbed version you’ll be hard-pushed to recognise the voices of Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, Claire Danes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gillian Anderson and others, but they’re there. Imagine a film with such an astronomical cast of stars being as under-known as this if it were a Disney cartoon.

See the trailer here:

By Steve Fair - 2014