This is an incredible movie

(Note: The content filter on Epinions won’t let me mention the main character’s name, which means I have to use As___aka. I leave it to you to figure out what the missing letters are.)

Anime is an underrated genre. I suppose one could say that I really never outgrew Saturday-morning cartoons, but that would be too simplistic. I think it would be more accurate to say that my taste in animated features has grown. Granted, I still enjoy movies like Ice Age, but people seem to assume that all animation is meant solely for children. Princess Mononoke would prove otherwise.

It’s difficult to discuss a movie without getting into too much detail, but the plot here defies simple explanation. The movie is about As___aka, who is infected by hatred, literally. A boar-turned-demon enters his village, covered in worms. In an attempt to stop the boar, As___aka becomes infected. He is forced to leave his village, mostly to protect the other residents. He has a slow and painful death to look forward to, but the risk of him infecting someone else is too great.

He comes across a village run by Lady Eboshi, who has populated her village with all sorts of people. Lepers and former call girls help maintain the city. Lady Eboshi is encroaching on the surrounding forest, which gets the attention of several animal gods. There are three main groups: Apes, Wolves and Boars. (The aforementioned boar was one of these animal gods.) Among the Wolves is the title character, Princess Mononoke. As___aka has to decide where his loyalties are.

I would absolutely love for my mother to see this movie, but she’s part of that group that would never want to see animation unless there was little else on or there were children present. Part of it is that I like the director, Hayao Miyazaki. (He also directed Spirited Away, another movie I’d like my mother to see, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.) One thing that you really notice in his work is the detail. This isn’t just animation; it’s art. When you watch this movie, you have to see the hard work that was put into it.

As with Nausicaä, Princess Mononoke has an environmental theme, which it doesn’t really shove down your throat. It’s basically industrialization versus nature. Neither side is really good or evil; both simply want to survive. You might think that environmental themes don’t make for great movies, but you’d be wrong. It is possible to craft a good story from an environmental theme and this is a great example. This isn’t your average epic.

It seems that I’m getting more into the dubbing than subtitles, especially since a lot of Miyazaki’s films seem to be attracting major stars for the English versions. In Princess Mononoke, we have Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup and Minnie Driver among others. It’s not a big problem to have to use the subtitles because you don’t have to worry about the lips being out of sync.

From what I’ve read, the special features seem to vary widely. However, I’d definitely recommend watching them, whatever they happen to be on your version. The version I had came with an behind-the-scenes clip, however others have reported other features which I definitely didn’t have.

I’d give this movie five stars. I think I’ve stated why above. If you come across it in your local rental place, get it. You may even find that the movie is worth buying.