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Princess Mononoke by O.R. Polk 10.04.01 |
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The Facts: • Princess Mononoke • DVD released by Miramax Home Entertainment • Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki • Featuring the voices of Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton and Billy Crudup • Rated PG-13, 134 min. • Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, French Dolby Surround • Video: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs • Subtitles: English (both for the hearing impaired and literal translations) • Extras: “Making of” Featurette, Theatrical Trailer The Skinny: Don't believe the hype you've heard about Princess Mononoke. Don't be swayed by these facts: -Mononoke Hime, as it's called in Japan, is the #2 All-Time Box Office Champion in that country. It was #1 before being knocked out of that slot by your favorite movie and mine, the Cameron/ DiCaprio collaborative classic, Titanic. The #1 before Princess Mononoke came along? A little movie you may have heard of called E.T. And E.T. had been #1 for the previous 15 years. Being in Japan from 97-99, I can personally attest to the popularity of Princess Mononoke. But don't be fooled. Don't let this movie pull you in with the promise of celebrity voice-overs. Who cares to hear Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Minnie Driver, Mr. Angelina Jolie and the like attempt to bring cartoon characters to life anyway? It probably pleases you none to know that while obtaining the distribution rights, Miramax had to agree to not remove nor edit a single frame of film from this movie. This, however, was probably music to the ears of writer/director Hayao Miyazaki, who is used to having his work re-dubbed, cut to bleeding in editing and buried in the straight-to-video market by Disney (who owns Miramax). Unfortunately, that's bad news for those of you that know you don't know any better and like your anime sanitized for your benefit. God knows we can't be trusted nor are we intelligent enough to judge what's too violent or too sexual for our own tastes in the privacy of our own homes. And that hack Neil Gaiman (DC Comics' "Sandman") probably didn't do a faithful translation of the source material for American audiences, either. Who really cares about state-of-the-art foreign animation so rich, so lush and so alive that you would swear you can smell the cherry blossoms through your television screen? Well, if you're the type that DOES care, at least let me warn you about what you may be getting yourself into. After all, this is 134 minutes of your life that you will never, ever get back. I mean, it's better than Dexter's Lab (albeit barely), but Akira or Ghost In The Shell it ain't. Princess Mononoke takes place in medieval Japan during the infant stages of the Iron Age. When the film opens, a demon (a giant boar covered with a mass of bloody, writhing worms) rampages towards a small village, protected by a young warrior named Ashitaka. Ashitaka manages to stop the demon but in the process contracts a painful and deadly curse. After receiving counsel from the village elders, Ashitaka mounts his red elk, Yakul and sets off in search of a cure. During his travels Ashitaka encounters Lady Eboshi, who has pissed off the Gods of the forests to no end by clearing the woods to expand her ironmaking works. But giant beasts don't frighten Eboshi in the least; she makes guns at her place as well and ain't scared to bust a cap in a forest God if she has to. What, rather who, concerns Eboshi most is Princess Mononoke, a young girl raised by wolves in the very forest that Eboshi wants to destroy. Mononoke makes trouble for Eboshi at every turn, so of course, as a result Eboshi wants her head on a stake. Ashitaka manages to get caught in the middle of all of this when he somewhat befriends them both. Does Ashitaka try to convince Mononoke to take her rightful place alongside the humans and let Lady Eboshi decimate her home in the name of progress or does he side with Mononoke and strive for peaceful coexistence between the humans and the creatures of nature? And don't forget he's still got that nasty curse to think about! IMO: Princess Mononoke is a rare occurrence in the world of animation, or in the world of film as a whole; it's a movie that actually has something to say. Mononoke poses a lot of questions that, although this film takes place in feudal Japan, still have relevance today. Director Hayao Miyazaki has created a mythological epic, where intelligent and opinionated deities roam his visually stunning forests and clash with humans over their socio-economic politics with an emotional violence worthy of the best fantasy fables ever conceived. After seeing it, you will wonder why you haven't heard more praised heaped upon this extraordinary masterpiece. You'll also wonder why it's named Princess Mononoke, since Ashitaka seems to be the central character. The DVD doesn’t have much to offer as far as extras, however. You get the theatrical trailer, a small featurette in which they talk with the American voice over cast and added at the last minute before release (because YOU petitioned for it!) the original japanese language soundtrack. The Verdict: Although it is not your typical violent anime in the same vein as a Wicked City or a Crying Freeman, I still highly recommend taking a look. All of your senses will be pleasantly surprised. |