Set during the Muromachi period in Japan, the film revolves around a young prince whose encounter with a demon-infested boar that would curse his right arm with imminent death as he travels west to find a cure only to be caught in the middle of a conflict involving a lady who is creating iron by destroying the forest and a mysterious princess who lives in the forest. It is a film with a simple premise, yet Hayao Miyazaki creates a film that is about the wonders of nature and its power with a young prince encountering the wonders of nature but also what happens when humanity destroys it. The protagonist in Prince Ashitaka (Yoji Matsuda) is part of a tribe that in decline as a wild boar covered by a strange and demonic substance tried to wreak havoc only Ashitaka to kill it but the substance has wounded part of his right arm with a curse that will eventually kill him as well as give him unexpected strength to kill. Traveling to find the source of its substance in the hope to find a cure, Ashitaka travels west he would meet a monk named Jigo (Kaoru Kobayashi) who tells him about a mysterious spirit known as the Deer God who becomes another god in the Nightcrawler at night.
Upon entering a mysterious forest and watching a battle unfold between a mysterious young woman riding with two gigantic white wolves and an army led by a royal figure in Lady Eboshi (Yuko Tanaka). He saves a couple of Lady Eboshi’s soldiers and bring them back to her fortress where she and the people in the fortress are making iron as well as muskets as they are also in conflict with another lord. Lady Eboshi is not a traditional antagonist since she has freed prostitutes who help make the iron as weapons and as shields while they also can be open to say things. Upon an attempted attack on Lady Eboshi by this mysterious young woman revealed to the film’s titular character (Yukiro Ishida), Ashitaka subdues the attack though he is seriously wounded upon his escape with Princess Mononoke who lives in the woods and has been raised by a giant white wolf in Moro (Akihiro Miwa). Ashitaka learns why Princess Mononoke is fighting Lady Eboshi as it relates to the forest and what it offers as well as where the source of the substance that is cursing him is coming from.
Miyazaki’s direction is truly wondrous in the world that he creates where he is aided by supervising animators Yoshifumi Kondo and Kitaro Kosaka in the design of the characters as well as the animals and mythical figures that is created for the film. Along with the contributions of art directors Satoshi Kuroda, Kazuo Oga, Yoji Takeshige, Naoya Tanaka, and Nizo Yamamoto in designing the forests, mountains, and landscape to recreate the Muromachi period in Japan that includes small towns and villages. Miyazaki’s usage of wide and medium shots capture so much attention to detail in the depth of field of the world that Ashitaka encounters along with the chaos that he would observe and reluctantly get himself involved in. Even as Miyazaki’s close-ups highlight the sense of fear and anguish that Ashitaka and Mononoke would go through in their own struggles. Notably as the former is also afflicted with this curse that would eventually kill him unless he finds a cure.
Along with the contributions of cinematographer Atsushi Okui, Miyazaki would create unique lighting schemes to help create a mood for scenes in the fortress and in the woods. Even in some of the action scenes where Miyazaki and his animators would create a sense of speed in some of the actions while there are some violent moments in the way Ashitaka would perform through his cursed arms in which Miyazaki would use digital computer animation that also has a hand-drawn feel to it. Notably with limbs being severed or heads being decapitated though there is nothing graphic that Miyazaki would do in his approach to violence. Still, he does manage to be a bit playful in the way he presents some of the women living in the fortress as they wear robes showing off a bit of cleavage. The film’s climax as it relates to Lady Eboshi hunting the deer god believing it would end her conflict with Mononoke is intense in not just the stakes but also in the outcome of a world being consumed with evil as it relates to the importance of nature. Overall, Miyazaki crafts a rich and intoxicating film about a prince trying to settle a chaotic conflict between a royal and a mysterious princess of the forest.
Editor Takeshi Seyama does brilliant work with the editing in creating unique rhythmic cuts to the action scenes as well as knowing when to slow things down and allow shots to linger for some of the dramatic and mystical moments. The sound work of Kazuhiro Wakabayashi is amazing in the way creatures would sound as well as gun fire and other elements in the sound as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Joe Hisashi is phenomenal for its rich and bombastic music score with elements of sumptuous string and brass arrangements along with some somber themes with the usage of strings and percussions as well as some vocal performances by Yoshikazu Mera.
The film’s wonderful ensemble voice cast feature some notable small roles from Hisaya Morishige as the giant boar Okkoto, Mitsuko Mori as Ashitaka’s priestess Oracle, Akihiro Mira as the giant wolf and Mononoke’s adopted mother Moro, Makoto Sato as the cursed boar Nago, Tetsu Watanabe as one of Moro’s wolf pups, Akira Nagoya as Lady Eboshi’s lieutenant, Tsunehiko Kajimo as a wounded soldier that Ashitaka saves in Gonzo, Sumi Shimamoto as Gonzo’s wife Toki who helps run the iron mill in the fortress, and Kaoru Kobayashi in a superb performance as the monk/tracker Jigo that Ashitaka meets on his way to the forest as he also helps out Lady Eboshi in trying to track the Deer God. Yuko Tanaka is excellent as Lady Eboshi as this royal figure eager to bring iron to Japan and gain power while also dealing with her feud with another lord as well as her desire to kill the Deer God to become more powerful.
Yoji Matsuda is brilliant as Prince Ashitaka as a prince from a small village tribe who goes on a journey to find a cure for his cursed arm that gives him unexpected killing powers as he deals with the chaos around him as well as becoming fascinated by the world of nature. Finally, there’s Yukiro Ishida in an incredible voice performance as the titular character as a young woman who has been raised in the forest and by a giant wolf as she is trying to defend her home as she is also mistrustful towards humans while finding some understanding from Ashitaka as it is a great voice performance from Ishida.
Mononoke-hime is a magnificent film by Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring a great voice cast, gorgeous visuals, spellbinding animation, riveting set pieces, a compelling story of nature and war, and a beautiful music score. It is an animated film that does more than is expected as well as create an exhilarating story that is filled with wonder and imagination. In the end, Mononoke-hime is an outstanding film by Hayao Miyazaki.
Hayao Miyazaki Films: (The Castle of Cagliostro) – (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) – (Castle in the Sky) – My Neighbor Totoro - Kiki's Delivery Service - (Porco Rosso) – Spirited Away - (Howl’s Moving Castle) – (Ponyo) – The Wind Rises - (The Boy and the Heron)
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