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 / Additional Voices (voice)
Claire Danes	...	San (voice)
John DeMita	...	Kohroku (voice)
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Toki (voice)
Gillian Anderson	...	Moro (voice)
Keith David	...	Okkoto / Narrator / Additional Voices (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

Contrary to what some may think, the English-language dialogue in the American version is not a direct translation from Japanese to English. One only has to turn on Literal Japanese-to-English translation subtitles on the region-1 DVD to see that dialogue was paraphrased into comfortable American English.

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Goofs

When Ashitaka first visits the Forest Spirits home, he spots the Spirit's traces (shape of his hooves) underneath the water surface. But later in the movie, the spirit is seen as a walking surface, which is regarded as a goof. It isn't. The spirit, shishigami, can do whatever it pleases.

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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

Although most versions of the film are missing the Toho Company, Ltd. logo (especially home video releases), the version shown in the U.S. on Turner Classic Movies in 2006 had the logo intact, as did the original Japanese film release.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: That's Not All, Folks! (1999)

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Soundtracks

Princess Mononoke Theme Song (Mononoke-Hime)
(English language version)
Adaptation by Neil Gaiman
Translated By Stephen Alpert
Vocals by Sasha Lazard
Lyrics By Hayao Miyazaki
Music composed by Joe Hisaishi

User Reviews

Japanese JEWEL

Fantastic film! It makes me speechlessly. Good dialogs, beautiful soundtrack,incredible animation effects (take a look at the rain, at the movement of the grass, hear the sounds of the steps) and interesting characters,who are everything but ordinary. Ashitaka is captivating (what a strength, what a heart, what a soul!); San (the Princess Mononoke herself) is intriguing; and Lady Eboshi is ambiguous -is she the villain? I don't think so. After all, who can blame her? Don't let the over exploration of themes related to ecology discourage you. Go ahead and watch Mononoke. It's a totally new way of treating the conflict between men and nature, which is far from its ending. Definitely, a jewel among the predictable animations of Disney and Pixar's also predictable jokes. There are no jokes here. TAKE A LOOK AT IT!