Reviewed by Ashitaka23 Category: Movie
Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Released: 1997
Studio:Studio Ghibli Publisher:Disney
In my humble opinion, Hayao Miyazaki is a genius. His characters are rich with both physical and emotional detail, his storylines are epic and deep, and his imagination knows no bounds. It is for these reasons that I love Mononoke Hime. The film begins with a brief history telling of a time and place in which animals are giants and are considered to be gods. It is at this time that we meet our hero Ashitaka (yes, my name-sake). Ashitaka is a prince of the Emishi people, a dying race that was forced into hiding by that of the Shogun long ago. Ashitaka is seen riding his Red Elk, Yakul, to the scout tower of the village where he and the village's lookout spot a demon-god. The demon-god seems to be made of worms surrounding a giant boar. Ashitaka, in his attempt to defend the village, kills the god, but is also touched by it and thusly "cursed" in the form of a scar. He learns from the village medicine-woman that the scar will prove to be fatal unless he seeks the healing power of the deer god in the west, so Ashitaka sets out to cleanse from his body the scar. This quest leads him to Lady Eboshi's Ironworks, a place that is at war with the nature and animals surrounding it.
Review The Good, the Not-So-Good, and the Very-Low-Quality-With-Little-Or-No-Redeeming-Social-Value-Whatsoever...
I could spend a lifetime going on about the various merits of this film, but I'm content to summarize. While it's tempting to say that everything in the movie is perfect, that would require me to overlook a significant flaw or two. Anyway, one major plus of the movie is the music. Composed by Joe Hisaishi, it is my favorite score of all time, including any non-movie related music. The feeling of the music is so strong that it sometimes brings tears to my eyes, just listening. It is definitely my favorite part of the film. The story, while epic, is still the aspect that possesses the greatest, let alone any, flaw(s). Quite possibly the largest annoyance of the movie was the ending. Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers here, it's just that I didn't feel that the ending was complete or that it tied up all the loose ends or even just the fact that it felt somewhat anti-climactic. The thought running through my head was along the lines of "That's it?" You can say whatever you want about why Miyazaki had to end it the way he did, or that it was the only way that it could end, but that just means that Miyazaki painted himself into a corner. I love the movie, don't get me wrong, it's my favorite, but I felt somewhat under whelmed, and then the music started again and I forgot all about any qualms that I had. As for the ugly, there's none of that in sight. Miyazaki's character styles are my personal favorites, and the backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous. Also, one thing that I notice as I watch this movie is that items don't tend to "lighten" before they are activated or used. Anyone that knows what I'm talking about will notice the difference, and the movie is better for it.
DVD Features
The DVD features are very light, especially for the hard-core Miyazaki fan, such as myself. The DVD features the staples of subtitles, multiple language tracks (Japanese, English, French) and scene selection. It also features your standard behind the scenes/making of featurette(s). As for the language dubbing, the English language track features such talented stars as Billy Crudup, "The X-Files" Gillian Anderson, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Billy-Bob Thornton. The translation is decent, the only real changes being idioms and such (the description of rice as "tasting like donkey piss" in the American version comes to mind). Personally, I still like the Japanese with English subtitles.
Overview
Mononoke Hime is a fine anime film with especially good music. I love this movie and I was slightly let down by the lack of DVD features. If someone gives you $25 dollars to spend on this movie, buy the soundtrack and rent the DVD, that way, you see the movie and you can continue to enjoy the music which is, by far, the movie's best aspect. However, I can't fault the movie for its poor DVD, so I give the movie a 5/5.
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