The Brilliant Princess Mononoke

I have never been a huge fan of anime movies or shows for that matter, but Princess Mononoke was visually beautiful. The awe-inspiring animation done by Hayao Miyazaki and his team give the film a unique and mystical look.
The story depicts many moral conflicts that humanity has had and is going through today. Such as the question: How much do we sacrifice to further technology and knowledge? The characters of the movie represent the different sides of the argument, and throughout the movie you get to see all sides of the conflict.
The story opens up with a young man named Ashitaka (voice of Billy Crudup) fighting a massive boar demon. This enormous boar is covered in black, snake like appendages. Ashitaka manages to kill the boar, but gets burned and scarred by the demons tentacles during the fight. The scars give him sporadic bursts of super human strength which he uses to decapitate multiple enemies with a bow and arrow. The town shaman claims he will die and he must leave the village and see the world with “eyes unclouded by hate”. His travels lead him to Iron town, an encampment next to a large lake that produces steal at the expense of the forest. Lady Eboshi (voice of Minnie Driver) is the leader of Iron town, and is responsible for much of the destruction to the forest around it. Moro (voice of Gillian Anderson) is a wolf god who is trying to stop the progress of Iron town because it is destroying the world they live in. Princess San or Mononoke (voice of Clair Danes) is a human raised by Moro and the other wolves. She despises humans and thinks of herself as a wolf and fights for their cause. Ashitaka believes he must go to the forest god so he could possibly be healed of the scars and curse he received fighting the demon. Lady Eboshi plans to kill this god to further her people and town. Ashitaka meets Jigo (voice of Billy Bob Thorton) in the beginning of the story, and he works for the emperor. He plans to join forces with lady Eboshi and take down the forest god. Ashitaka must try to preserve both sides in the equation and prevent the destruction of both of their worlds.
The voice acting in the movie was fantastic. Even though the film was originally in Japanese, the voices were completely believable. Each character had a unique voice to them that fit with there visual drawing. One thing I really liked about the movie was the ambient sounds. The sounds of footsteps, the stretching of a bow string, and other details sounded remarkably lifelike. Other movies made by Miyazaki like Spirited Away also have reached extreme success in Japan. Spirited Away is the highest grossing film in Japanese history, even topping the Blockbuster hit Titanic. Mayazaki’s milieu definitely points towards the preservation of nature. The animation was stunning. Each scene shows great care and effort. One great scene in the movie involves small forest spirits sitting on top of the tree’s while the forest god walks among them. The animation showed that the forest god has the ability to give or take life. The animations also help depict the different sides of the conflict, usually incorporating dark colors associated with evil, and light colors when dealing with life and growth.
In Dann Gire’s review for Princess Mononoke he wrote “Princess Mononoke tells a smart, truly adult, epic tale of struggle between nature and the technological threat of man”. This is probably the biggest theme of the movie. Making us think about how the actions we take effect nature. How far do we go to further our technology at the expense of our environment? We as humans need to find a balance between nature and technology.
The movie Princess Mononoke is a fantastic work of art. Even if you don’t like anime or animated movies, its worth checking out. It has a captivating storyline, and is visually stunning. Princess Mononoke will give you a different view of the constant fight for a peaceful coexistence between humanity and nature.