Mononoke-hime (1997)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay) and
Neil Gaiman (English adaptation: US version)

Release Date:

26 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Fate Of The World Rests On The Courage Of One Warrior.

Plot:

On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest and Tataraba, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.

Plot Keywords:

Asia | Warrior | Sword | Mutilation | Transformation

Awards:

11 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Yôji Matsuda	...	Ashitaka (voice)
Yuriko Ishida	...	San (voice)
Yûko Tanaka	...	Eboshi-gozen (voice)
Kaoru Kobayashi	...	Jiko-bô (voice)
Masahiko Nishimura	...	Kouroku (voice)
Tsunehiko Kamijô	...	Gonza (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto	...	Toki (voice)
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Yama-inu (voice)
Mitsuru Satô	...	Tatari-gami (voice)
Akira Nagoya	...	Usi-kai (voice)
Akihiro Miwa	...	Moro-no-kimi (voice)
Mitsuko Mori	...	Hii-sama (voice)
Hisaya Morishige	...	Okkoto-nusi (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Adlon	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Pamela Segall)
Gillian Anderson	...	Moro (voice: English version)
Lewis Arquette	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Corey Burton	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jennifer Cihi	...	Tatara's Women Song (voice: English version)
Billy Crudup	...	Ashitaka (voice: English version)
Claire Danes	...	San (voice: English version)
Keith David	...	Okkoto / Additional Voices (voice: English version)
John DeMita	...	Kohroku (voice: English version)
Debi Derryberry	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
John Di Maggio	...	Gonza / Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Minnie Driver	...	Lady Eboshi (voice: English version)
Alex Fernandez	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jack Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Julia Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Julia DeMita)
Pat Fraley	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Patrick Fraley)
Takako Fuji	...	Woman in Iron Town
John Hostetter	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Leslie Ishii	...	Tatara's Women Song (voice: English version)
Yoshimasa Kondo	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
John Rafter Lee	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Sherry Lynn	...	Iron Town Woman / Emishi Villiage Girl (voice: English version)
Tress MacNeille	...	Iron Town Woman / Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	Tatara's Women Song (voice: English version)
Matt McKenzie	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael McShane	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Matt K. Miller	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Marnie Mosiman	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Adam Paul	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Toki (voice: English version)
David Rasner	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Dwight Schultz	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Tara Strong	...	Kaya (voice: English version)
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Jigo (voice: English version)
K.T. Vogt	...	Complaining Wife (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Princess Mononoke (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for images of violence and gore.

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:PG-12 | Iceland:L | Mexico:B | USA:TV-14 (TV version) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Italy:T | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Spain:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia)

Company:

DENTSU Music And Entertainment

Trivia:

Around 550 colors were used in this film

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie, Lady Eboshi mentions iron for "Lord Asano and his samurai," however Lord Asano lived 1667-1701 -- well after the Tokugawa shogunate seclusion laws that banned firearms.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiances to the Great Forest Spirit, for those were the days of gods and of demons.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

Allegory on the balance between humans and nature

This seems to be Miyazake's most personal work, clearly a serious design. It is set in an imaginary time which blends the time of the ancient gods (Shinto style, gods of place and nature) with the settlement of humans and the coming of metalworking and war. The world is not in balance, and a distant conflict between industry and nature has wounded one of the gods of the forest, which is then killed by a sentry boy as it rampages into farmland he guards. The evil controlling it transfers to him, beginning a slow takeover, and he must journey to the origin of the conflict to find a way to cure himself and incidentally, as he will learn, to try to restore balance. But this is not a simplistic tale, he finds there are other characters in play, and there is good and evil in everyone, and no easy balance. The Princess (Hime) of the story is a mysterious human who has been raised by wolves (which are themselves powerful forest gods, a little reminiscent of the Amerindian Coyote myth), who becomes both his ally and his enemy. The story is not easy to understand. It has many Japanese mythic elements but even then, it is a work of Miyazake's unique imagination, and is not intended to be simple or to have a clean resolution.

The animation is spectacular, and unusual, with new elements even for Miyazake and marks a new departure for style which you can see continued in his next film, Sen to Chihiro - more nature, more wild, more jamming on elements from Japanese myth and folklore. And, continuing the trend to be more personal, concerned with ethics and character, and less sci-fi. There are at least half a dozen well developed characters threaded through the story, and their animation is wonderful in displaying subtle character.

The original Japanese soundtrack has some amazing singing and draws upon some of the best talent available for voices - in Japan, Miyazake is universally known and this was a masterpiece carefully crafted. Japanese television documented a lot of the production. The English translation drew on some good talent but they seem not to have "gotten it" quite so intensely as the Japanese crew.

If you haven't seen Miyazake, give it a try (but maybe look at Sen to Chihiro first, or even Laputa or Kiki's Delivery Service, for easier and lighter introduction to his work). Some say he is the Japanese Disney, but I don't like that. His work has a depth and sophistication that goes beyond Disney cute. There is no other animation like it. This is truly an adult work: children might like some of the visuals, but I doubt that many kids below teen age will have any idea what it is all about, and even adults will get more out of this each time you see it again.