November 26, 1999, Friday

Princess Mononoke

By Marc Savlov

“Akira Kurosawa meets Walt Disney on the deck of the Rainbow Warrior” is as good a peg as any to hang on this remarkable film, but let's not simplify things too much. Princess Mononoke is the most successful piece of Japanese animation ever (grossing over $150 million dollars in Japan alone, making it not only the most successful anime but also the most successful film released in Japan ever), packed with an enviromentally aware storyline, breathtaking animation, and clever dialogue penned for this American release by none other than Brit fantasist Neil Gaiman (The Sandman). As if that weren't enough, Miramax wisely decided to forgo the usual dubbing nightmare in favor of employing a group of American actors whose voices and abilities were perhaps more up to speed than the usual anime voiceover hackwork. The plot is a seemingly boundless thing, encompassing samurais, forest spirits, and traditional Japanese mythology, though, as complex as this all seems, it manages to come together to create a truly original work of art. [...] What's amazing about the film, though, is its vast palette; Princess Mononoke is filled to bursting with epic battles, gorgeous, jaw-dropping animation that will have the hairs on the nape of your neck rising, and a solidly pro-earth message that's rarely as heavy- handed as you might think (FernGully this isn't). All this is thanks to director Hayao Miyazaki, a legend in Japan and a veritable unknown everywhere else. [...] Princess Mononoke's only fault may lie in its epic-for-animation length; at two hours and 20 minutes, it's far too long for most younger children and a bit of a stretch even for some adults. Calling this film a “kid's film,” however, completely misses the point. It is instead a film for the young at heart and those who still appreciate honor, valor, love, and the earth. (Fans of spectacular forest gods will not be disappointed, either.)

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135). Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.desnews.com/cgi-bin/libstory_reg?dn99&9911260179

November 26, 1999, Friday

Artwork, story make 'Mononoke' stand out

By Jeff Vice

You can think of "Princess Mononoke" as the "anti-Pokemon."

Not only is this animated Japanese feature lacking the cutesiness of that other cartoon, it also carries with it a message that's much more heartfelt and sincere. (And it was the biggest box-office sensation in that country's history.)

However, that's not to say that this film is for all ages. Ironically enough, for a movie that preaches against violence (among other things, including environmental abuses), it is extremely violent and gory.

In fact, if it were not animated, the excessive gore probably would have earned "Princess Mononoke" an R from the Motion Picture Association of America's ratings board.

But then again, it's not being directed at children. And the beautiful, vivid artwork and rich, thought-provoking story both go to show that the United States certainly doesn't have a corner on the animated film market.

[...]

British fantasy writer Neil Gaiman (the "Sandman" comic books) has done an excellent job preserving the concepts and philosophies of the original Japanese-language version and translating them into English.

His script also relies heavily on Japanese lore, and his characterizations are solid --few of the characters fall into easy stereotypes.

Credit voice cast director Jack Fletcher (who co-wrote some of the script with Gaiman) for part of that -- and the fact that Fletcher is coaching an excellent cast. Some of the choices may seem unusual (particularly Billy Bob Thornton and Jada Pinkett), but that just makes the characters more distinctive.

But obviously the real star here is the artwork, which was spearheaded by director/lead animator Hayao Miyazaki ("My Neighbor Totoro," "Kiki's Delivery Service"), Japan's foremost maker of animated film.

The film's backgrounds are rendered in beautiful watercolors, while the animal characters look like animals and not the usually adorable, anthropomorphic creations. (And the few instances of digital animation here are done to enhance effects only.)

[...]

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136). The Edmonton Journal (Canada)

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/stories/991126/3205720.html

November 26, 1999, Friday

Mononoke's colours are bright, but script is dim
Japanese animated film overly long and hard to figure

By Marc Horton

There is no denying that director Hayao Miyazaki has created a special world in his long-awaited Princess Mononoke, often hailed as the epitome of Japanese animated film.

[...]

And it is a unique creation. The characters, all with the huge round eyes typical of Japanese animation, are vividly coloured. The action sequences are superbly presented and work as set pieces.

Alas, Miyazaki's world is also a confusing and even dull one. The colours may be bright, but the script is dim indeed, although more forgiving critics might suggest that much has been lost in the translation.

A revamped screenplay in English was written, and English-speaking actors retained to provide voices for Miyazaki's crowd of characters, but it's not enough.

The story is set in the Iron Age and is apparently based on a series of myths famous in Japanese folklore. It was a time when gods contended with man on a very personal, and a very violent level, and Miyazaki gives us a fantastical array of forest gods who play major roles in the life of the people.

While it's clear that the story focuses on the conflicts that occur between nature and man as civilization encroaches on pristine forests, there are no clear-cut good guys or bad.

And it's not that ambiguity is necessarily a bad thing at all. In fact, ambiguity is good, it's inconsistency that is bad, and Miyazaki's characters are all inconsistent.

As various groups make and break alliances to fight off the gods, who are at times friendly and at other times murderously and purposelessly angry, the whole film becomes Byzantine and boring.

[...]

[...] balance and peace is restored, I think, although in all the gobbledegook, it's hard to tell.

And, to be completely honest, after 135 minutes, I had long since ceased to care.

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137). Anime Digital

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.anime.org.uk/digital/rmononoke.html

November 29, 1999, Monday

Review: Princess Mononoke the Theatre Experience

By Amber R. Weller

The anticipation during the one and half-hour car ride to the Boston movie theatre was intense. I had waited quite a long time for this moment and wanted to get there as fast as I could. Although I had already seen the original Japanese version of Princess Mononoke almost two years ago, I was overwhelmed and excited that I was finally going to see Mononoke on the big screen. Upon arriving at the theatre, I was thrilled to see the theatre completely full, forcing me to take a side seat in the corner where I had to view the screen from a side angle. This was unfortunate, but didn't dampen my enthusiasm. Finally, after months of waiting, I sat in the darkened theatre with Mononoke before me. The mist... the mountains... Miyazaki's magic began pulling me into the world of Princess Mononoke.

[...]

[...] the English dub of Mononoke does not take away from the film and makes it available to a larger body of film viewers, who might otherwise avoid subtitled films. This is probably the only way Anime will work in the mainstream American market. All in all, this dub is not painful to listen to as it is a decent representation and is not worth the time to pick it apart. It works.

This experience of seeing Mononoke in the theatre was something I only dreamed about and I was happy to finally see it in the art house theatre. But to really capture the sheer size and power of this magnificent film, to do justice to the artistry of Miyazaki, it deserves to be in the biggest theatres with stereo surround sound and all. This would envelop the viewer and give the full experience of the story. We have to be grateful that it finally made it to the theatre, and now, because of the success of the limited release, it has been opened to more markets- 120 additional cities in the U.S. Hopefully, this will create more opportunities for theatrical viewing of other Anime titles.

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138). The Daily Texan (University of Texas at Austin)

The following are representative quotes only; the full review may be found via an archive search at: http://mac31.tsp.utexas.edu/Interconnect/INDEX/SEARCH.HTML

November 29, 1999, Monday

Japanese 'Mononoke' is okey dokey in English translation

By Matt Anthony Wilson

It's hard to argue that the visuals of Tarzan and The Prince of Egypt aren't amazing, but both were bogged down in tradition and formula. The more computer animation pleases the eye, the more it seems to emphasize the lack of mental stimulation. Where exactly did the sheer magic of animation go?

Most of it appears to reside within the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Most Americans were introduced to his work through the hit video releases of My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. Picking up on this scent of success, Miramax decided to take his latest work, and in the process Japanimation as a whole, to the next level: theatrical release.

Those expecting another family classic from Miyazaki should be warned that Princess Mononoke, with its decapitations and complex plot, is not for all ages. Thankfully, it hasn't been tampered with. Contractually, no frame could be cut or altered, and every word of the adaptation -- wonderfully written by Neil Gaiman (best known for his graphic novels, Sandman and Death) -- had to get approval from Miyazaki.

[...]

Without fancy computer animation, the visuals are still impressive. The landscapes are lush and the critters are overflowing with imagination. While most were derived from Japanese mythology, their actualization was entirely the genius of Miyazaki.

Of course, this is all ruined whenever the voice work goes bad. It's not just minor characters either; the film stops cold every time Billy Bob Thornton's character utters a line. Watch A Simple Plan to see what a wonderful actor he is; watch this and come away with the feeling that he was miscast and perhaps not cut out for animation voice work.

There's also a certain inevitability that hangs over the movie. Thus, Mononoke doesn't quite surprise the way Miyazaki's other work does. It does, however, continue his tradition of having female characters worthy of role model status. In a genre that offers few, Eboshi and San are refreshingly strong women. Yet the key difference between them and say, Mulan, is that their power isn't confined and defined by the traditional, superficial masculine norm. Too bad more filmmakers aren't following the example, not just of worthy female leads, but also of rich, imaginative storytelling.

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139). Upcomingmovies.com

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.upcomingmovies.com/princessmononoke.html

November 30, 1999, Tuesday

Princess Mononoke

By Greg Dean Schmitz

There's always been a bit of irony to the fact that it is Disney that is bringing Anime to mainstream American audiences through their distribution of master Hayao Miyazaki's films, because Anime is so contrary to the kind of animation that Disney is known for. On the other hand, "only Nixon could go to China", and so maybe it is the clout that Disney has that allows them to market Anime in a way few other companies could. And so, the #2 box office hit in Japan (after Titanic) comes to America, complete with an all-star voice cast, and it's one of the most entertaining fantasy epics to reach these shores in years.

[...]

The voice talent varies from clear and effective (Crudup, Driver) to kitschily funny (Thornton, Pinkett) to best-overlooked (Danes is the most miscast voice talent as San; she comes across as whinier than Mononoke would be). Some scenes are notable in the pace the actors have to take to match the Japanese mouthing, but for the most part, the script seems to blend fairly well. What Neil Gaiman does with his words, though, is to match the dialogue seen in any many Anime translations, but remove anachronisms and make the mythos easy for novices to follow (those, like myself who don't know much about Japanese legends).

Princess Mononoke is a film about how man relates to his environment, but it's not preachy in its message. As a fantasy epic, the emphasis on action is never far away, and when the action does stop, it's usually replaced by either jaw-dropping visuals or dialogue that fills in the many subplots of the epic. This is a movie that's going to be a big hit for anyone who likes other similar epics, and then some... the animation allows Miyazaki to show things most filmmakers would be find their budgets preventing them from realizing.

[...]

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140). Apollo Leisure Guide

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=1737

December 1999

Princess Mononoke

By Brian Webster

Princess Mononoke is a two-hour and fifteen minute-long, violent, animated Japanese movie set in the 14th Century. If your first inclination after hearing that description is something other than to rush out and see it, then read on. This is an unusual and richly rewarding film that will surprise anyone who’s open-minded enough to give it a chance. This is Japan’s highest-grossing film of all time, infused with Japanese legend and animated in the distinctive Japanese style. It’s been brought to North America with a big-name cast lending their voices to its characters.

Princess Mononoke is a remarkable blend of fantastic imagination and relevant moral questions. It focuses on environmental issues and human honour; it argues for sanity, balance and decency. The characters are remarkably well rounded. [...]

The mostly American cast in the English-language version has done a credible job with the voices, which have been skilfully dubbed. However, it is the visual images and the themes that are most memorable. Don’t expect this to be a family film, as there is extreme violence – with heads and limbs lopped off on several occasions – although this is highly stylized. And don’t expect a traditional ‘Hollywood’ style ending – this is a Japanese film, after all.

Although it might have been more effective if it was about 15 minutes shorter, Princess Mononoke is still a fascinating experience. Screenwriter Neil Gaiman has done a credible job of translating the Japanese story into English. He has maintained a fine balance between making the film understandable to a North American audience while also preserving its exotic, mystical qualities.

You might not see a movie like Princess Mononoke more than once in your life. It would be a shame to miss it.

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Reviews 141 and higher

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