Princess Mononoke (1997)

On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki, Neil Gaiman (adapted by: English version)

Stars:

Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka

Top Rated Movies #63 | 13 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crudup	...	Ashitaka (voice)
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Jigo (voice)
Minnie Driver	...	Lady Eboshi (voice)
John DiMaggio	...	Gonza (voice)
Claire Danes	...	San (voice)
John DeMita	...	Kohroku (voice)
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Toki (voice)
Gillian Anderson	...	Moro (voice)
Keith David	...	Okkoto / Narrator (voice)
Corey Burton	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Tara Strong	...	Kaya / Additional Voices (voice) (as Tara Charandoff)
Julia Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Julia DeMita)
Debi Derryberry	...	Hii-sama / Additional Voices (voice)
Alex Fernandez	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jack Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

While protecting his village from rampaging boar-god/demon, a confident young warrior, Ashitaka, is stricken by a deadly curse. To save his life, he must journey to the forests of the west. Once there, he's embroiled in a fierce campaign that humans were waging on the forest. The ambitious Lady Eboshi and her loyal clan use their guns against the gods of the forest and a brave young woman, Princess Mononoke, who was raised by a wolf-god. Ashitaka sees the good in both sides and tries to stem the flood of blood. This is met by animosity by both sides as they each see him as supporting the enemy.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | anime | curse | princess | studio ghibli | 

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Taglines:

The Fate Of The World Rests On The Courage Of One Warrior.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for images of violence and gore

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

12 July 1997 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Princess Mononoke

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 2,400,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$144,446, 31 October 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,375,308

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$159,375,308

Company Credits

Production Co:

DENTSU Music And Entertainment,Nibariki,Nippon Television Network (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (English-language version) Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the last major animated motion picture to be filmed on plastic animation cels.

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Goofs

While Eboshi and Jigo are speaking to each other in Irontown, Captain Gonza is seen standing directly behind Eboshi. The next scene shows a close-up of Jigo. The scene after that pans back to Eboshi and shows Gonza has been replaced with a man in a hat.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiances to the Great Forest Spirit. For those were the days of gods and of demons...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Alternate Versions

Extra dialog was inserted in the English-dubbed version to explain that Ashitaka was dead to his village when he cuts off his top knot.

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Connections

Featured in JesuOtaku Anime Reviews: Princess Mononoke (2012)

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Soundtracks

Mononoke-Hime/Princess Mononoke Theme Song
(Japanese vocal version)
Lyrics By Hayao Miyazaki
Vocals by counter-tenor Yoshikazu Mera
Music composed by Joe Hisaishi
Music performed by Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Hiroshi Kumagai

User Reviews

A true work of art that takes animation to an entirely new level

I saw Mononoke Hime on its USA release back in late December 1999 under its U.S. title Princess Mononoke. I had read quite a bit about this film and its director but was still totally overwhelmed by the beauty and brutality of this movie. The complexity of this movie is something never seen in the United States in an animated movie and even exceeds that of most live action movies as well. It combines love and hate, war and romance, nobility and deception in ways rarely seen in movies today. Lines of good and evil are anything but clear cut and in the end is hope but no guarantees, no promises. This is truly an adult movie but my children, ages 12 to 15 all loved it and talked about it for days later. Even my wife who holds a strong prejudice against Japanese animation enjoyed this movie.

Go and see this movie. You won't be disappointed.