Princess Mononoke [Blu-ray]

Bottom Line First: To get the less than good news out of the way, Miyazaki’s Princes Mononoke is not for the very young. The violence can be graphic and bloody. The themes are not as clear cut as might be found in bed time stories. There is no sex or bad language making this movies acceptable to those who screen for such. And that brings me to the good news. Princes Mononoke combines complex storytelling, adult level plotting, the fine art work of Studio Ghibli and the casting power of the Disney Studios to produce a wonderful movie. Highly recommended and a star even among my other Miyazaki movies.Princes Mononoke could have been another man versus nature and the world out of balance movie we have seen too many times. Instead we have man and nature in conflict but with a near absence of obviously evil industrialists and purely motivated united forest spirits. Gods can become demons, and seen as evil by humans and nature. The tribes within the world of nature are not natural allies and can have their own selfish motives. The human who is supposed to embody evil, Lady Eboshi (Voice acted by Minnie Driver) is a fierce warrior and hard nosed business woman but she is also good to her people and makes a point of finding better lives for people who would be cast offs and shunned in the larger world.On the subject of voice overs, Disney deserves credit having assembled a cast that included Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup. Made too clear to us in the included specials is the extra effort made by the voice actors and Disney to insure that the American dialogue fits with the animated Japanese speaking characters.As for the work of the director and his studio. What struck me most about Princes Mononoke was the balance between artistic detail and the flow of the story. Hayao Muyazaki has a tendency for story lines that can drag. I prefer to say they speed of motion can be stately. The Wind Rises remains among my favorite HM movies, but like The Wife says it is slow. Even the action movieLupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (Collector's Edition) can drag, usually when the Studio is highlighting it's artwork. In Princess there was no lag in the story line. Scene action and plot development move logically forward even in the moments when the viewer is invited to enjoy the scenery.But what artwork it is! Studio Ghibli is always at its best drawing the sky and aerial views. Ghibli is also the master of fields and forests. Sometimes at the cost of foregrounds, manmade and human details. In Princess all of the elements view together in harmony. It may be that some level of detail has been lost, but if so, only to produce a more balanced picture. Studio Ghibli movies can be fine visual art at the expense of movement, I never felt that watching Princess Mononoke.

Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 film, “Princess Mononoke,” tells a work of historical fantasy set during the Muromachi period in Japan, following Prince Ashitaka as he becomes embroiled in a conflict between the gods of the forest and the humans consuming its resources. When a demon poisons the prince, he must travel to find the source of the poison. Along the way, he encounters the monk Jigo, who wants to hunt the Great Forest Spirit. They see a wolf pack with a human girl, San, among their number. When the wolves attack, Lady Eboshi and her men repel them and bring Ashitaka to Iron Town, a fortress on a mountain that the inhabitants have stripped of its trees to build and contain their massive forge. San and the wolves come to kill Eboshi for hurting the forest, but Ashitaka prevents the humans and forest gods from killing each other. He is injured and San brings him to the Great Forest Spirit for healing. Even as he recovers, the boar gods plan an attack on the humans. Jigo enlists Lady Eboshi to use the boars to find the Great Forest Spirit, which he succeeds in beheading, throwing the world out of balance. The story is a lovely metaphor for environmentalism and balance, recalling other films that addressed those themes in the 1980s and 1990s. Further, while some characters may act as antagonists, there are no true villains. Lady Eboshi may harm the forest, but she cares for people that society would normally stigmatize. Jigo may want to hunt, but he can also admit when he’s wrong. The wolf gods, boar gods, and ape gods may be scary at times, but they act under duress from industrialization. In “Princess Mononoke,” Miyazaki crafted a particularly great film worthy of both casual and scholarly attention.

Well, February has seen the first announcements that Princess Mononoke will get a DVD release, and it is apparently more than a rumor, but I'm not holding my breath. As to the movie itself, I must admit I purchased a DVD player just in anticipation of this film (I figured if Castle of Cagliostro was getting a DVD release, so would Mononoke). So as to the movie itself, no amount of praise would really be adequit. Somewhere in the back of my brain is some idea I formed as a child as to exactly what a powerful and moving film should be--but it is an idea that came to be discarded because let's face it, Star Wars or Disney after puberty doesn't live up to the magic it had at 5 years old. Surprise, surprise, at age 27 I've seen something that reminded me of what it was like to be 5 years old again. Miyazaki has been able to do this consistantly not just because he is a master storyteller (something so many american films could desperately use) but because his films immerse you in a world that in a very short time you fail to notice is a cartoon. As advanced as Disney animation is, all it's marvels seem bent on impressing, not on immersion, such that while impressed we cannot help but remember (sometimes painfully) that we are watching a cartoon. Mononoke on the other hand will win the audience over with the still beauty of its settings long before they've even grasped the fantastic story line. I must also mention that Mononoke has a simply amazing soundtrack that is free of upbeat musical numbers or pop songs. With what to my ears sound like a few bows to Rimsky-Korsakov, Hisashi's score to this film is as delicious as the film itself, standing well on its own merit, but in conjunction with the film it is utterly unparalleled. Very rarely does it seem that a film solidly hits on every count, and even when it does happen, the force of the film in it's totality is often not so great. Mononoke however is not just a solid film but a very strong film as well. If there is a weak point here it is the english dub, and yet I for one found the dub very enjoyable and convincing...yet in a film where everything is perfect, this will no doubt be the point which will earn the most criticism. Anyway, I've said enough. If you havn't seen this, you must. Worth buying a DVD player for this movie alone if they'll just get around to releasing it.

Excellent movie. Came in perfect condition.