Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke

Japanese theatrical release poster
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by Toshio Suzuki
Written by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring Yōji Matsuda
Yuriko Ishida
Yūko Tanaka
Kaoru Kobayashi
Music by Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography Atsushi Okui
Editing by Takeshi Seyama
Studio Studio Ghibli
Distributed by Japan Toho
United States Miramax Films
Release date(s) Japan:
July 12, 1997
United States:
October 29, 1999
Canada:
November 26, 1999
Running time 134 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Budget ¥2,135,666,804.93
($23,500,000)
Gross revenue ¥14,487,325,138.75
($159,375,308)

Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫 Mononoke-hime?) is a 1997 Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. The film was first released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999, in select cities and on November 26, 1999, in Canada.

Princess Mononoke is a period drama set specifically in the late Muromachi period of Japan but with numerous fantastic elements, and concentrates on the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans who consume its resources as seen by the outsider Ashitaka. "Mononoke" (物の怪?) is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster.

Roger Ebert placed the movie sixth on his top ten movies of 1999.[1] Mononoke also became the highest grossing movie in Japan until Titanic took over the spot several months later.[2] Overall, Mononoke is the third highest grossing anime movie in Japan, next to 2001's Spirited Away and 2004's Howl's Moving Castle, both also by Miyazaki.

Contents

Plot

The last Emishi prince, Ashitaka, engages in battle with Nago, a giant boar demon attacking his village. During the fight, Ashitaka is wounded on his arm. After the boar is killed, the village wisewoman tells the prince that the wound is cursed and will spread to the rest of his body, eventually killing him. Ashitaka resolves to journey to the boar's origin, the lands to the west, and find a cure for the curse. He cuts his hair, signifying his permanent departure from his village,[3] and leaves on Yakul, his red elk. Some time later, Ashitaka passes by a village being attacked by samurai. Some of the men attack him, forcing Ashitaka to defend himself. His cursed arm displays supernatural powers, causing his arrows to remove limbs and even the head of one man. In a nearby town he meets Jigo, a wandering monk who aids him in buying rice. That evening, the monk tells Ashitaka that the god of the forest in the mountains of the west may be able to help him.

A nearby town in the mountains of the west, called Iron Town, continually clears the nearby forests to make charcoal to smelt ironsand, leading to battles with the giant forest beasts attempting to protect their diminishing forest. In one such battle, three giant wolves, led by the wolf god Moro, attack villagers transporting rice. They are accompanied by San, a human girl adopted by the wolves whom the people of Iron Town call "the Wolf Girl". In the attack Moro and several villagers are injured. The day following the battle, Ashitaka finds two injured villagers near a river. While rescuing them, he sees San treating Moro's wounds, and she disappears quickly. He returns the villagers to Iron Town passing through a forest full of bestial gods, including diminutive tree spirits called kodama. Also in the forest is the Forest Spirit (Shishigami in the original Japanese), described as a "god of life and death", who takes the form of a deer-like kirin during the day and a large shadowy "night-walker" (Daidarabocchi) at night.

Ashitaka is given a warm welcome when he reaches Iron Town. He learns from the leader of Iron Town, Lady Eboshi, that the giant boar which cursed him was once a forest god called Nago and that Eboshi had shot the boar, driving it to madness. On hearing this, Ashitaka is filled with rage and must restrain his right arm from killing Eboshi. He is dissuaded from doing so by lepers whom Eboshi has taken under her care and employed as gunmakers. She also employs former prostitutes in her famous ironworks in order to free them from brothels. Iron Town is then infiltrated by San, who attacks Eboshi. Ashitaka intervenes to stop the two sides' fighting and takes San back to the forest, but is severely wounded when he is shot through the chest. With his curse's power, he manages to open the gate and leave the town, but collapses soon afterward. San presents Ashitaka to the Forest Spirit, who heals his wounds but does not remove the curse.

San soon learns that the boars, under the leadership of the boar god Okkoto, are planning another attack on Iron Town. Eboshi prepares for the assault and sets out to destroy the Forest Spirit. The head of the Forest Spirit is believed to grant immortality. Jigo, who is now revealed to be a mercenary-hunter, plans to give the head to the emperor; in return the emperor promises to give Iron Town legal protection against the envious daimyos coveting the town's prosperity. Eboshi, however, suspects (rightly) that the emperor's agents are also assigned to take control of Irontown at the most opportune moment. Meanwhile, Ashitaka recovers and falls in love with San. However, Moro, who is poisoned by the bullet Eboshi shot into her, warns him that he cannot save San.

In the ensuing battle, Iron Town and the Imperial agents set a trap for the boars, devastating their army, while Jigo's hunters corrupt Okkoto with a poisoned iron ball, the same as Nago. Badly wounded, Moro attacks Okkoto to save San, who was trapped on his snout while trying to stop him from turning into a demon. The Forest Spirit appears and kills both Moro and Okkoto, though San is saved. While Ashitaka cleans the demon worms from San, Eboshi shoots off the Forest Spirit's head while it is transforming into the night-walker and in turn loses her arm to Moro, who revives long enough for one last strike against her sworn enemy. Jigo collects the head as the Forest Spirit's body turns into a "mindless god of death" that begins covering the land in a lethal black ooze that kills everything it touches. The hunters scatter and the population of Iron Town is forced to flee to the surrounding lake as the god destroys the town in search of its head.

Ashitaka and San chase down and take the head from Jigo and return it to the Forest Spirit. It collapses into the lake, and the land becomes green again and all the lepers and accursed, including Ashitaka, are healed. Unable to give up the life each of them is used to, Ashitaka and San part but vow to see each other as much as possible. Ashitaka decides to live at Iron Town, which a reformed Eboshi vows to remake as "a better", much simpler village. The film ends with a Kodama appearing in the rejuvenated forest, signifying that life begins again.

Cast

Additional Voices by Pamela Adlon, Lewis Arquette, Corey Burton, Keith David, John DeMita, Debi Derryberry, John DiMaggio, Alex Fernandez, Jack Fletcher, Julia Fletcher, Pat Fraley, John Hostetter, John Rafter Lee, Jessica Lynn, Tress MacNeille, Matt McKenzie, Michael McShane, Matt K. Miller, Marnie Mosiman, Adam Paul, David Rasner, and Dwight Schultz

Production

It took Miyazaki 16 years to fully develop the story and characters of Princess Mononoke. Familiar themes and visuals can be found in his 1983 manga, The Journey of Shuna. The story and characters changed drastically several times during the planning stage. Princess Mononoke finally came together after Miyazaki visited the ancient forests of Yakushima island, but he didn't fully complete it until well into production. The final storyboards of the film's ending were finished only months before the Japanese premiere date.[4]

3D rendering was used to create the demon worms and composite them onto a hand-drawn Ashitaka.

Princess Mononoke is mostly hand-drawn, but incorporates some use of computer animation during five minutes of footage throughout the film.[5] The computer animated parts are designed to blend in and support the traditional cel animation, and are mainly used in images consisting of a mixture of computer generated graphics and traditional drawing. A further 10 minutes uses digital paint, a technique used in all subsequent Studio Ghibli films. Most of the film is colored with traditional paint. However, producers agreed on the installation of computers in order to successfully complete the film prior to the Japanese premiere date.[4]

Miyazaki personally checked each of the 144,000 cels in the film,[6] and is estimated to have redrawn parts of 80,000 of them.[7][8] This is one of few films directed by him that does not feature a flying sequence, his well-known trademark.

When released, Mononoke was the most expensive anime ever made, with production of the film costing ¥2.35 billion (approximately US$23.5 million).[8][9][10][11]

Miyazaki did not want Ashitaka to be a typical hero:[12]

Ashitaka is not a cheerful, worry-free boy. He is a melancholy boy who has a fate. I feel that I am that way myself, but until now, I have not made a film with such a character. Ashitaka was cursed for a very absurd reason. Sure, Ashitaka did something he should not have done - killing Tatari Gami. But there was enough reason to do so from the humans' viewpoint. Nevertheless, he received a deadly curse. I think that is similar to the lives of people today. I think this is a very absurd thing that is part of life itself.
—Hayao Miyazaki

He stated that Lady Eboshi was supposed to have a traumatic past, although it is not specifically mentioned in the film. She had a strong and secure personality, evident in the fact that she let Ashitaka move freely through the settlement unescorted, despite his unclear motives. She also almost never acknowledged the Emperor's authority in Irontown, a revolutionary view for the time, and displayed an atypical attitude for a woman of that era in that she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself or those around her for her dreams.[12]

When director Miyazaki was creating the Jigo character, he was unsure whether to make him a government spy, a ninja, a member of a religious group or "a very good guy." In the end he decided to give Jigo elements of all of the above groups.[12]

The landscapes which appear in Princess Mononoke have been inspired by the ancient forests of Yakushima, of Kyūshū, and the mountains of Shirakami-Sanchi in northern Honshū.[13]

Release

The film was extremely successful in Japan and with both anime fans and arthouse moviegoers in English-speaking countries. In those countries, it was widely interpreted as a film about the environment told in the form of Japanese mythology. Disney's Miramax subsidiary purchased U.S. distribution rights, but wanted to cut the film for American audiences (and for a PG-rating). However, Miyazaki balked at this, and the film was instead released uncut with a rating of PG-13. Miramax also chose to put a lot of money into creating the English dub of the movie with famous actors and actresses, yet when they released it in theatres there was little or no advertising and it was given a very limited run, showing in only a few theatres and for a very short time. Disney later complained about the fact that the movie did not do well at the box office. In September 2000, the film was supposed to be released on DVD in the U.S. but Miramax announced that only the English dub would be included on the disc. Outraged fans demanded the Japanese track be put on the disc as well and the threat of poor sales prompted Miramax to hire translators for the subtitles, holding the DVD release back by almost three months. When the DVD was finally released it sold very well, due to no limitation in availability.

Translations

The US and UK DVD releases have both the English and Japanese soundtracks, together with subtitles for both the English dub and a more literal translation.

At Miyazaki's insistence, the film was uncut for the English release,[14] so that only the soundtrack was altered. The English dub of Princess Mononoke is a translation with some adaptation by Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman. The main changes from the Japanese version are to provide a cultural context for phrases and actions which those outside of Asia may not be familiar with. Such alterations include references to mythology and specific names for groups, such as Jibashiri and Shishigami, that appear in the Japanese version, which are changed to more general terms, such as Mercenary and Forest Spirit, in the English version. The rationale for such changes is that the majority of non-Japanese viewers would not understand the mythological references and that the English language simply has no words for the Jibashiri, Shishigami and other terms. However, some critics (Michael Atkinson, Mr. Showbiz) have said that the translation from Japanese to English and the alterations in which it has resulted have weakened the film somewhat.

The English dub received mixed reviews from critics.[15] While most of the reaction was positive, others criticized the dub for most of its casting choices,[16] notably Billy Bob Thornton as Jigo and Claire Danes as San, claiming that they detracted from the experience. Despite this love-hate atmosphere, the dub has been hailed as one of the best ever done[17] alongside Spirited Away, which has been met with the same criticism.[18]

The film has also been dubbed in Mandarin, Cantonese, Czech, French, German, Italian, Korean and Spanish.[19]

Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics and currently garners a 93% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Leonard Klady of Variety wrote a positive review of an early release of the picture.[20] On Roger Ebert & The Movies, the film received two thumbs up from Harry Knowles and Roger Ebert.[21] Ebert also gave the film four out of four stars in his print review and has added it to his 10 best movies of the year list.[22]

Princess Mononoke ranks 488th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[23]

In January 2001, it was the top-selling anime in America, but despite this the film did not fare well financially in the United States. It grossed $2,298,191 the first eight weeks.[24]

Awards

Soundtrack

References

  1. ↑ Roger Ebert. "Roger Ebert's Top Ten Lists 1967-2006". http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/ebert.html. Retrieved 2007-12-22. 
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1999-10-24). "Director Miyazaki draws American attention". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.industrycentral.net/director_interviews/HM01.HTM. Retrieved 2009-08-27. 
  3. ↑ "Mononoke Hime Annotated Script with Japanese Text". http://www.mv.com/users/ctwilkes/MH-text-j/mononoke1.html#Haircut. Retrieved 2007-05-07. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Toshio Uratani. (2004). Princess Mononoke: Making of a Masterpiece. [Documentary]. Japan: Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 
  5. ↑ "The Animation Process". Official film site. http://www.princess-mononoke.com/html/production/animation/01.html. 
  6. ↑ "Transcript on Miyazaki interview". Official film site. http://www.princess-mononoke.com/html/chats/dp_991104_transcript.html. 
  7. ↑ "Mononoke DVD Website". Disney. http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/studioghibli/princessnews.html. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Wettbewerb/In Competition". Moving Pictures, Berlinale Extra (Berlin): 32. 11–22 February 1998. 
  9. ↑ Princess Mononoke (movie) - Anime News Network
  10. ↑ Movie-Vault.com
  11. ↑ Articles about Mononoke Hime
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Miyazaki on Mononoke-hime". Nausicaa.net. http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/interviews/m_on_mh.html. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
  13. ↑ "http://loca.ash.jp/info/1997/s1997_mononoke.htm" (in Japanese). http://loca.ash.jp/info/1997/s1997_mononoke.htm. 
  14. ↑ Brooks, Xan (September 14, 2005). "A god among animators". London: The Guardian. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1569689,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  15. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes. "Reviews of Princess Mononoke (1997)". IGN. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/princess_mononoke/. Retrieved 2006-10-08. 
  16. ↑ Blackwelder, Rob. "Lost in the Translation". SPLICEDwire. http://splicedwire.com/99reviews/mononoke.html. Retrieved 2006-10-08. "Leaden English dialogue from miscast voice talent diminishes the power of 'Mononoke'" 
  17. ↑ Fortier, Marc. "Princess Mononoke (1997)". Reel Review Critics Roundup. Reel.com. http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=46143&Tab=reviews&buy=open&CID=13#tabs. Retrieved 2006-10-08. "Thanks to some savvy casting choices, Mononoke's voice crew realizes one of the best English dubs in the history of imported anime." 
  18. ↑ Bertschy, Zac (2002-08-22). "Spirited Away: English Language Analysis". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature.php?id=20. Retrieved 2006-10-08. "I personally felt that Miramax’s dub of Princess Mononoke was well-done. Probably the best dub I’ve ever seen. Spirited Away follows in that tradition." 
  19. ↑ "Video List: Mononoke Hime". nausicaa.net. http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/video/mh/. Retrieved 2009-08-27. 
  20. ↑ Leonard Klady review
  21. ↑ Roger Ebert & The Movies review
  22. ↑ Roger Ebert's print review
  23. ↑ "The 500 Greateste Movies of All Time". Empireonline.com. http://www.empireonline.com/500/3.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
  24. ↑ "Anime Radar: News". Animerica (San Francisco, California: Viz Media) 9 (2): 32. March 2001. ISSN 1067-0831. OCLC 27130932. 

Further reading

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Shall We Dance?		 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
1998		 Succeeded by
Begging for Love
The works of Hayao Miyazaki
Films
Director, screenplay & storyboard
The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) • Castle in the Sky (1986) • My Neighbor Totoro (1988) • Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) • Porco Rosso (1992) • Princess Mononoke (1997) • Spirited Away (2001) • Howl's Moving Castle (2004) • Ponyo (2008)
Screenplay & storyboard
Panda! Go, Panda! • Whisper of the Heart
Screenplay & planning
The Borrower Arrietty
Chief animator & concept artist
Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon • Hols: Prince of the Sun • Puss in Boots • Flying Phantom Ship • Animal Treasure Island
TV series
Director, screenplay & storyboard
Lupin III • Future Boy Conan • Sherlock Hound
Scene design & layout
Heidi, Girl of the Alps • 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother • Anne of Green Gables
OVAs
Lupin III's Greatest Capers
Manga
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • The Journey of Shuna • Hikōtei Jidai • Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Data Notes • Tigers Covered With Mud
Miscellaneous
On Your Mark • Mizugumo Monmon • Styles and themes
Studio Ghibli films
Pre-Ghibli films
Hols: Prince of the Sun · Panda! Go, Panda! · Future Boy Conan · The Castle of Cagliostro
Theatrical feature films
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind · Castle in the Sky · My Neighbor Totoro · Grave of the Fireflies · Kiki's Delivery Service · Only Yesterday · Porco Rosso · Pom Poko · Whisper of the Heart · Princess Mononoke · My Neighbors the Yamadas · Spirited Away · The Cat Returns · Howl's Moving Castle · Tales from Earthsea · Ponyo · The Borrower Arrietty
TV feature special
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Short films
Nandarō · On Your Mark · Ghiblies · Ghiblies Episode 2 · Imaginary Flying Machines · Mei and the Kittenbus · The Whale Hunt · Looking for a Home · The Day I Harvested a Planet · The Night of Taneyamagahara · Water Spider Monmon · Iblard Jikan
Studio Kajino feature film
Shiki-Jitsu
Studio Kajino co-production
Satorare (Tribute to a Sad Genius)
Ghibli Museum Library films
Le Roi et l'oiseau · Kirikou et la sorcière · Princes et princesses · Les Triplettes de Belleville · Moya lyubov · Azur et Asmar · Snezhnaya koroleva · Panda Kopanda · Cheburashka · Animal Farm · Lupin Sansei · A Matter of Loaf and Death · Mr. Bug Goes to Town · Konk-Gorbunok · Akage no Anne · Wallace and Gromit · Shaun the Sheep
Video game co-production
Ni no Kuni
Related articles
Hayao Miyazaki · Toshio Suzuki · Isao Takahata · Joe Hisaishi · Ghibli Museum · Ghibli Museum Library · Studio Kajino · Nausicaa.net
Neil Gaiman bibliography
Novels
American Gods · Anansi Boys · Coraline · Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett) · The Graveyard Book · InterWorld (with Michael Reaves) · Neverwhere (novelization of his television series) · Odd and the Frost Giants · Stardust
Single author collections
Angels and Visitations · Fragile Things · M is for Magic · Smoke and Mirrors
Other book-length fiction
A Walking Tour of the Shambles (with Gene Wolfe)
Picture books
Blueberry Girl (illustrated by Charles Vess) · The Wolves in the Walls (illustrated by Dave McKean)
Short fiction
"Murder Mysteries" · "Snow, Glass, Apples" (adapted as Two Plays for Voices) · "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale" · "A Study in Emerald" · "I, Cthulhu"
Books edited by Neil Gaiman
The Sandman: Book of Dreams
Comic books and graphic novels
Angela · Black Orchid · "Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" · The Books of Magic · Creatures of the Night · Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man · Death: The High Cost of Living · "Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame" · Harlequin Valentine · The Last Temptation · Death: The Time of Your Life · Eternals · Marvel 1602 · Midnight Days · Marvelman · Neil Gaiman's Only the End of the World Again · The Sandman · The Sandman: Endless Nights · The Sandman: The Dream Hunters · Signal to Noise · Tekno Comix · The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch · Violent Cases
Screenplays and films
Babylon 5: "Day of the Dead" · Beowulf (with Roger Avary) · Princess Mononoke (English adaption) · Stardust · Neverwhere · MirrorMask · A Short Film About John Bolton · Death and Me (unproduced screenplay) · Coraline · Statuesque
Non-fiction
Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion