Review of Princess Mononoke

Introduction

Typically, I`ve discovered the world of Studio Ghibli animation completely out of chronology. My first visit into this rich and imaginative world was with the spell-binding `Spirited Away`. Like a Disney movie without the cliché`s and boasting a narrative like a dream-world tapestry, it frankly knocked my socks off.

I`d heard a lot about Princess Mononoke before reviewing this disc. How could it live up to the promise made by the earlier viewing of the (later) `Spirited Away`?

I was also intrigued to see what kind of a job they`d made with the dub amongst other things.. After all, `Spirited Away`s US dub was first-class, and the animation itself simply breath-taking.

I`m pleased to say that it all stands up pretty well. The story, whilst being somewhat less `Alice in Wonderland` than `Spirited Away`, and possibly a little bit more `worthy` and serious, is nonetheless completely bewitching. Re-penned by Neil Gaiman, no less, for the US market, this is something more than just a translation.

The movie starts out with a youth called Ashitaka taking on a murderous Boar-shaped demon that has rampaged his village. He finally kills it though he`s wounded by the Boar in the process, and now bears the Boar`s curse. Forced to leave his village, he embarks on a journey to try to save himself from almost inevitable death as a result of the curse.

He arrives in `Irontown` which is ruled by the feisty Lady Eboshi who has the knowledge to create crude firearms from the town`s iron. The mining is eating into the mountain which in turn is eating into the forest. And here lies the films key ecological theme…man`s destruction of the natural environment.

Key amongst the opponents of Irontown`s is Moro, a giant wolf god (this picture`s full of gods and demons), and her adopted `daughter`, San. She`s like a wild animal, and fearlessly attacks Irontown, behaving like a feral wolf, in an attempt to drive the humans away from the forest.

Strangely, only Ashitaka seems able to see both sides of the argument, a position that he maintains throughout the film, drawing together the two sides towards harmony. It`s an unusual approach with no out and out evil. There`s compassion and merit on both sides.

The tale is a complex and many-layered one that at times is difficult to keep up with. Lady Eboshi, for example, voiced perfectly for the US by Minnie Driver (doing her Jane`s voice from Disney`s `Tarzan`), seems intent on destroying the forest, and yet seems compassionate in other ways, allowing women from inner city brothels to make a new and respectable life in Irontown, and employing Lepers.

Princess Mononoke is full of mythical forests, magical happenings and ferocious battles. (Think Narnia Japanese style) and is beautifully animated. This is no standard minimal-movement Manga adapted anime.

Video

An absolutely stunning transfer is provided here with as high a level of detail as I`ve seen for animation on DVD, as well as a richness to the colours and hues that really do the piece justice.

Audio

I chose to view this with the English dub which is rather good. The 5.1 works well too with plenty of effects passing from the rears to the front and vice versa (horses hooves galloping past for example), as well some highly effective left to right panning.

You can opt for original Japanese too though this would mean enduring subtitles which on such a visual movie would be disappointing. It`s worth noting that the dub is really quite superb with voice-artistes (Billy Bob Thornton, Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson and Minnie Driver) and engineers taking great care to match up lip-synch with no small amount of precision.

Features

Not as many extras as you might like or which the film may deserve although the `Storyboard to screen` function (using the `angle` button) is superb. This allows you to toggle between original boards and final edited film throughout, providing an animation master-class for film students.

Apart from that, there are a small number of Studio Ghibli trailers that seem edited together almost at random. Strangely, the audio slipped synch on my viewing of the trailers (happened twice) so that I was hearing about `Kiki`s Delivery Service` whilst watching images from `Porco Rosso`. Finally there are some cinema spots (that are really suffering from some serious artefacting) and trailers for `Princess Mononoke`.

There`s no sign of the promised `Behind the Scenes` featurette so maybe this appears on a second disc on the retail set.

Conclusion

I`ve seen some great anime over the last year or so, and the Studio Ghibli releases have been no exception. Whilst `Princess Mononoke` may not quite touch the sheer mad brilliance of the later `Spirited Away` it is, nonetheless, a very impressive piece of work.

With it`s ecological theme, as well as its elaborate and highly imaginative narrative, superbly realised animation and its excellent English 5.1 dub, this edition is nothing less than essential for those who have an interest in the genre.

Studio Ghibli has, deservedly, won a reputation as the `Japanese Disney` though its output is far more complex, far less formulaic, less predictable and, generally, less cliché-ridden than its American counterpart. Ironically the US release schedule, as well as the first-class dubs are all a result of Disney`s acquisition of the western rights to these movies. `Princess Mononoke` may prove to be a bit challenging for under-tens, as well as being a little violent, though anyone over that age owes it to themselves see this movie.