English Dub Review: Princess Mononoke

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Princess Mononoke carefully tells the story of the humble warrior, Ashitaka, who becomes inflicted with an ancient virus. As Ashitaka searches for a cure, he gets caught in the middle of an eternal war between San and the spirits of the forest and a village run by a vengeful tyrant, Lady Eboshi. The film explores the simple theme of nature versus industrialization, yet it injects a flair of fantasy into that premise so that it sets supernatural forest guardians against the neglectful humans who abuse and consume their resources. This is an idea that remains exceedingly relevant even twenty years after the film’s release. Old, traditional values are in conflict here, yet Princess Mononoke is impressively able to make them feel fresh and exciting.

Princess Mononoke rather brilliantly presents the story of this war from the prospective of an outsider, Ashitaka, who just gets caught up in the middle of this. It’s a smart way to properly convey the awe of this conflict and that this struggle feels so much bigger and more eternal than Ashitaka. He’s very much a guest in these proceedings, but even still, he may be someone who’s able to irrevocably help change the status quo. Ashitaka’s outsider status makes him a perfect audience surrogate, but it also turns him into a suitable partner to aid San in her efforts to help her home survive.

 

Our Take:

There are plenty of animated features that make a strong impact upon their initial release, only to the fade into obscurity over the years. It’s a real testament to a film’s staying power if it can still be relevant decades later. The recent Studio Ghibli Fest has largely stood as a celebration of Hayao Miyazaki, but they also allow films like Princess Mononoke to play within a new context to fresh eyes. It’s been about two decades since I’ve revisited Princess Mononoke, but it’s thankfully still an awe-inspiring experience that’s arguably even more effective now.

Part of Mononoke’s charm is in how this could be an incredibly simple story—and there are many films that take that route—but Mononoke gets unexpectedly deep with its material in a way that many live-action dramas don’t often have the patience or clarity to do. It’s easy to see how daunting works like James Cameron’s Avatar can be heavily inspired by this story, while still fail to tap into its soul and successfully bring to life what makes Princess Mononoke such a triumph.

There is very little handholding throughout Princess Mononoke (although this dub does have some inconsequential lines that help explain Japanese culture and customs). The film immediately throws you into danger with an exciting fight scene that helps establish the premise. It’s not only a dazzling way to start things off, but it firmly invests you in the story and effectively proves Ashitaka’s ability as a leader. It gets you to root for him through heroic action rather than exposition.

Princess Mononoke is also a film that takes its time. It’s patient and methodical, but it all feels justified and rarely gets bogged down and drags. This is a movie that’s nearly two hours and fifteen minutes long, yet it basically flies by. The film takes great strides to throw you into both San and Lady Eboshi’s disparate communities and examine the ecosystems that have been built. In that respect, the story is simultaneously huge, but also feels incredibly small and intimate at times, which is a great approach for this kind of tale.

All of the different animals and creatures that appear before Ashitaka are all grounded in reality to some extent (except the Kodama, those creepy-cute rock guys), but then take creative pivots, like they’re creatures from out of Star Wars or Annihilation. It’s a wonderful approach that’s both familiar and exotic and feels more effective than if these were wholly new creations.

The higher entities of this world make an even stronger impression. Nago, the corrupted Demon Boar God that possesses and corrupts various creatures has such an Akira-like look to it. It’s such a evocative design and it subtly meshes 3D animation with the 2D in a way where it actually looks like a virus that’s taking over its subject. It’s an amazing design that features some seriously disturbing images that nicely juxtapose to the beauty of the film’s natural habitats.

Adversely, the benevolent Deer God is a great contrast to Nago and is such a beautiful creature. It’s easy to see precursors to Miyazaki’s later works like Spirited Away through the creature designs and the spiritual angle that some of these entities inhabit. It never moves too far away from nature to fully lose itself in fantasy, but it’s easy to see how pieces of this film would become a blueprint for parts of Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle.

It’s just such a powerful idea to see Ashitaka curry favor with all of these different sects of mythical animals, yet they all feel human. It’s shocking that Ashitaka is really the only “normal” human through this, yet every character is relatable through the pathos of their loss. Even if these creatures didn’t have the ability to converse, their motivations would still be crystal clear and they’d make their respective points. That’s how strong and precise the storytelling is in this film.

It’s so easy to connect with these characters through their struggles, even though they do largely operate as ciphers for bigger themes. The mouth-to-mouth feeding scene San and Ashitaka is so intimate and personal. In spite of all of this big carnage, these moments that completely slow down the story and break it down to these human experiences really work well. They reflect the constant soul of this story. Even though Ashitaka and San spend a lot of this movie apart or one of them is incapacitated, their love is real, genuine, and gives such a heart to the final act of this film, amongst all of the bloodshed and death.

On that note, as stunning as the film’s creatures are, the film is also filled with incredible action sequences that also rope these animals into the mix. There’s such an ornate, complete nature to the fight scenes, both in terms of their choreography, scope, and their animation. The first fight against a rabid San is breathtaking and showcases some glorious bladework, as is the final battle that’s about 30 minutes of pure, thrilling action.

There’s a lot of war and loss featured throughout Princess Mononoke, but it’s appreciated that the film actually takes the time to dwell on these things and process the pain of it all. This is something that’s become prevalent in more recent anime series like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans or Vinland Saga, but Princess Mononoke was ahead of its time in terms of the emotional complexity of its story and characters. These action set pieces also become genuinely frightening and sad during the final act as the demon virus claims more victims.

All of Studio Ghibli’s productions are feats of animation, but it cannot be stressed enough how gorgeous Princess Mononoke looks, whether it’s busy action scenes or serene looks at landscapes or characters in rest. The film’s animation focuses on elegant simplicity, whether it’s the beauty of sunsets, sunrises, the physics of how the weapons fire, or just close ups of hands running through the fur of these animals. There are stunning details that make even the smaller moments shine and turn this film into a constant pleasure to watch unfold. There’s so much work done to achieve authenticity with the animals, battles, and a realistic art style that can dip into fantasy elements without feeling silly.

Now more than 20 years after the film’s original release, this classical hand-drawn look doesn’t date the film, but more so highlights its beauty and how it remains an evergreen piece of animation. Other films of Hayao Miyazaki may get grander or more fantastical, but Princess Mononoke does everything right and presents what’s essentially a perfect story. It effectively marries together action and fantasy, while it also tackles some heady themes about the environment. On top of all of that, it juggles a mature tone that can simultaneously make you feel like a kid again. It accomplishes a lot in a very effortless way.

Aesthetically, as much as the film is a delight to look at, the music involved is equally enjoyable. Frequent Miyazaki collaborator, Joe Hisaishi, handles the film’s score, which utilizes delicate, haunting orchestral pieces. While the film’s original voice actors do memorable work, the film’s dub is also of a reasonable quality. It’s entertaining to hear talent like Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, and Gillian Anderson get immersed in these roles. No new dub of the film has been produced for Studio Ghibli Fest, but the fact that the original still holds up so well is a testament to the work that went into the dub’s performances.

The films of Hayao Miyazaki all tell powerful, emotional stories, but Princess Mononoke remains one of the crowning achievements of his covetous career. This is a story that will touch anyone, child or adult alike, and have them contemplate their own actions. Princess Mononoke is not just a triumph in terms of animation, but it presents an inspiring story that tackles the circle of life and death, plus how it’s impossible to fully save the planet or completely end destruction. However, if we can understand an empathize with our fellow man better and try to create a fairer world for everyone, not just ourselves, then maybe things will slowly begin to improve. Maybe, after time, there can be some meaningful serenity. Princess Mononoke not only posits such a future, but makes it feel possible in a magical way.