This is one of those movies that when it was finished I just kinda sat there thinking "wow...that was a really weird arse film". The storyline was just kinda odd to me...I didn't like any of the characters in this movie, and was annoyed at the end that three of the characters I wanted to see killed off weren't. I can't say it was a bad movie, it kept my attention for the most part and the story was pretty interesting...just something about it that keeps it at a "ok" level to me. I normally do not care at all for anime, but I found the animation in this film to be ok. I still hated how the animals would talk and it never matched the voice. The music was really nice in it though...that's about all I've got to say on it.

Princess Mononoke is one of the most well-known examples of anime (that is, Japanese animation, for those of you who don't know). The film is a product of the famed Studio Ghibli and directed by the equally famous Hayao Miyazaki.

The story begins with a young man named Ashitaka defending his village against a demonic boar. During the battle, he recieves a cursed wound and sets out to find a cure for it. His journey takes him to Iron Town where he mets Lady Eboshi, a woman trying to make a good life for her friends, as well as San, a girl raised by wolves who wants to save the forest. The movie is about his struggle with wanting to help both sides.

One of the most surprising things about Princess Mononoke is the characters. At the end of the movie, there really isn't one side that is shown as heroic or villainous. Both sides have their virtues and their faults. I found myself liking all of the characters.

The animation in the movie was beautiful. The backgrounds were wonderfully done. The characters all looked fantastic, especially the animal spirits. There was some computer animation in the movie, but it doesn't disrupt the flow of things.

All in all, this is one of the best animated films I've ever seen. It's certainly worth renting, if not buying.

I know I am in the minority here but I found Princess Mononoke boring.

I know the animation was a work of art and the music was beautiful but thats all that this movie has going for it.

The charectors are flat and boring especially Ashitka who i felt didnt show enough emotions for me to feel anything for his plight.

This movie was also to preachy for me with its violence dosent solve anything message shoved down my throat

My least favorite of Miyazaki's films but it's still well worth watching more then once because there is so much there you HAVE to watch it again just to catch everything.

I think the thing that makes me not enjoy it as much as say... Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro is not that the story is sub par but that I think it lacks the charm and overall FUN atmosphere of Miyazaki's other films.

So yeah, it's not my favorite Miyazaki film but it's definitely worth watching at least twice. Miyazaki has an INCREDIBLE imagination and it SHOWS in the artwork and overall storytelling.

I will say this though: SKIP the horrible English dub and just watch the Japanese. Normally the Miyazaki dubs are fine but this wasn't.

3/4 stars for the Japanese version and 2/5 for the English dub.

“Princess Mononoke” can be described as beautiful, grotesque, enchanting, horrifying, but above all amazing. Everything just works so perfectly in the movie, the score, the characters, the animation, and the neutral look at the opposing sides.

This movie allows you to think, and decide your position yourself. Although it is difficult to view this movie with complete neutrality, as Ashitaka lived through it, it is not impossible. During the whole movie I felt as if I was being swayed from one side to another constantly. Granted, the pull of the forest was more powerful.

The animation is beautiful, and the character animation fits perfectly with the background. The score is breath-taking and sometimes conveys more emotion then the animation.

I have not seen the Japanese version, but the English dub was fine for me. Each character seemed to have a fitting voice, which now brings me to the characters.

Ashitaka is a very good character to view the story through. Even though Ashitaka has a lot of anger and grief in him, he only wishes for a compromise, for the “forest and the humans to live in peace”. Eboshi and San are the two polar opposites. San defending the forest, and Eboshi defending humanities right to grow, but both are equally brutal in their plights to defend their position. I suppose it is difficult not to pick the forest animals' side, especially when they have characters like the wolf-God, Moro, and the boar-God, Lord Okato. The animals’ personalities shine above the humans, especially Okato's unflinching ways, and loyalty to his people.

What makes Mononoke superior to Miyazaki’s other films is not the animation, not the score, not even the plot or the characters, but the message. "Violence and hate solve nothing." This movie reminds me of the "Eco-terrorists" a large movement that blew up buildings, and SUVS and such. All though they were careful not to injure anyone I don't see how dirtying the air helps the environment. I also don’t see why they are called terrorists, and why now, so many of them are sitting in prison. If kept in eye on, and with some direction, I believe these extreme environmentalists could add a lot to our world. If the forest and the humans are to live in peace, in fact if anyone is to live in peace, we all must move past hate and violence.

Fantastic. Though I would not recommend it to small children because of the bleeding, and big war. This film is FANTASTIC!!!! After I watched it on TV I wanted to watch it over and over again! WOWEE! If you like this film then you will thoughly love other ghibli studios propudtions!

"The Star Wars of Animated Features!" Roger Ebert's quote on the Princess Mononoke DVD case caught my eye one evening as I was killing time at the local Media Play (now out of business). I had never really given anime a chance, though I had seen Akira, it was so weird. But I was bored and decided to give this film a chance. It opens with Ashitaka fighting a crazy boar covered with nasty worms. While the boar is defeated, Ashitaka is mortally wounded and spends the rest of the movie seeking a cure for his ailment. Along the way, he meets the savage Princess Mononoke. I was blown away by many parts of this film. My mouth dropped open when Ashitaka let fly an arrow so powerful that it dismembered its target. To this day, the little bobble-headed tree spirits continue to bring a smile to my face when I see them. I was disgusted by the blood vomiting boar, confused by the oddness of the forest spirit, and moved by the gorgeous score. The animation is beautiful, especially the lush forest environments and the fast paced scenes when Ashitaka is riding atop his trusty elk Yakkul. There is a true resonance about this films depiction of man and nature. But most engaging in this film is the story. There is definite conflict though no clear cut villain. The film really affected me, and I was saddened that I had never heard of it before. I wanted to see everything this Miyazaki chap had ever made, and a whole world of amazing animation was opened up me when I discovered Studio Ghibli.

Mononoke made $159 million world wide, but sadly only $2.3 million of that in the US. As it turns out, I'm not sure about the Star Wars connection other than that this film is genre defining. Along with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, this is one of my very favorite movies and scores a definite A+.

Iam always very sceptical of movies that have a strong political message behind them,they tend to show both sides in a one-dimensional view. "Princess Mononoke" is a film that has it's message of saving the enviroment but is so much more then that.

Most of the characters are shown in great depth.San,AKA Mononoke,was raised by a wolf god and commits her life to protecting the animals of the forest in the film.Unfortunetly, she has an enormous grudge agianst humans that she will kill any person if it means protecting the forest,sometimes innocent ones. She isn't evil, but simply mis-guided. Lady Eboshi is the leader of a small town in the same forest that wants to be free from oppressive rule. Lady Eboshi wants to the expand the town into an empire, and she will destroy the forest to do so.With this in mind,you understand that both sides are right but blinded by violence and hate.

There is also tons of beautiful visuals and great animation in this film that is the icing on the cake. Since I never brought it up before in my other Miyazaki reviews,I have always loathed the way Miyazaki animates expressions on someone's face.To give one example,I can't stand that stupid rasing of the hair he dose to animate when someone is angry,he obviously knows he can't make a covincing angry face.

This film is almost perfect,but then comes Atakashi.Aatakshi was nothing more then a one-dimensional hero,obssessed with doing the right thing and has no sign of a personality.You think that he whould be devastated by the fact he had not long to live and was exiled from his home village, but he simply left because he knew it was it was the right thing to do and his "goody goody" nature allowed him no emotion. Despite him,this film is definetly a classic which will stand out as one of Miyazaki's best works.

Dizzingly grand in an almost operatic way, Princess Mononoke is probably the movie that made anime mainstream. Or it's probably the movie that drove naysayers even further away. Everything in this movie is very rich and detailed. Miyazaki has a wonderful ability to paint gorgeous landscapes and narration and show that characters can be multi-sided, not just heroic or villainous. When all is said and done, though, Princess Mononoke is nothing more than an environmental message and a confusing string of interlocking themes that many westerners will have a hard time making sense of. It's also a shame that Ashitaka, the main hero, couldn't have been more in depth beyond his preachy heart of gold. For my money, Miyazaki's older works and Spirited Away are far more satisfying and uplifting. Even still, you'd be hard pressed to find another animated movie as complex as Princess Mononoke except for another movie by Miyazaki.

I'll keep the compliments short, because there are plenty of excellent points made in the reviews below. Great animation, great characters, great idea. Great movie.

My one issue: In most of the movies I've seen by Miyazaki Hayao--especially Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle--he has a habit of ending the movie very optimistically. The conflicts mysteriously disappear. All the characters seem to forget everything they previously believed in and suddenly like each other. I suppose I'm making it sound harsher than it is, but this is really the only reason I'm not giving this film four stars. However, this was less noticeable in Mononoke than in Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, so I personally recommend this movie over most of Miyazaki's other works.