Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)

Back to the Table of Contents

71). Newsweek

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/issue/11_99b/printed/us/dept/ps/ps_4.htm

September 13, 1999

I'm OK, You're Mononoke: Anime Arrives

(Periscope section)

Pokemania rolled on last week, becoming the no. 1 saturday cartoon. Next import: "Princess Mononoke," an animated film second only to "Titanic" in Japanese box-office history. Pokemon she ain't - but anime isn't all cute little monsters. [...]

Flash in Japan: 'Mononoke' means spirit, but the movie doesn't trans-late as easily. It's an operatic tale of man vs. nature. Despite breathtaking art, it'll be 'a hard sell,' says Scott Mauriello of New York's Anime Crash shop. Miramax, set for an Oct. 29 release, hopes star dubbing power - Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Jada Pinkett - will ease the culture barrier.

72). The Los Angeles Times Calendar

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/MOVIES/t000079957.html

September 8, 1999

The Telluride Menu: Eclectic, Rewarding

By HOWIE MOVSHOVITZ, Special to The Times

What was especially good? "The Straight Story," certainly. "Time Regained" is a remarkable cinematic translation of Proust. The Japanese film "Princess Mano-noke," one of the biggest box-office hits ever in Japan, showed how beautifully animation can render the poetic transformations of mythology.

73). Daily Variety, September 7, 1999

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 7, 1999

TELLURIDE MIXES ELECTRIC, ECLECTIC

By TODD MCCARTHY

TELLURIDE, Colo. --- In a year more laden with popular audience pleasers than with notable artistic achievements, the 26th edition of the Telluride Film Festival unspooled over Labor Day weekend with its patented combo of world premieres, recent hits from the fest circuit, special tributes and outstanding revival programs.
[...]
Also making its Yank debut was the English-dubbed version of the Japanese monster animated hit "Princess Mononoke," which went down very well.

74). The Los Angeles Times Calendar

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/MOVIES/FALLSNEAKS99/buzz.htm

September 12, 1999

Fall Sneaks '99 - Holiday Buzz

Animosity?
When it comes to animated features, nobody sells tickets like the Disney brand. [...]

Now Miramax is trying something different. The Disney-owned "indie" has taken renowned Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's much-loved "Princess Mononoke" (in its native Japan, only "Titanic" was more successfulCK), dubbed it with the voice talent of popular English-speakers Claire Danes, Minnie Driver and Billy Bob Thornton, and repackaged it for a late autumn release. Can Miramax really take on its parent company in the animation arena? We'll see.

75). The Washington Post

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-09/12/052l-091299-idx.html

September 12, 1999

FALL ARTS PREVIEW: Movies

October
29--"Princess Mononoke": Based on ancient Japanese legend, this animated eco-epic pitting the people of a rural village against hordes of forest demons is definitely not for the kiddies. There are simply too many decapitations.

76). The Los Angeles Times

The following are relevant quotes only.

August 8, 1999

What the World's Watching - A check of top international markets finds it's not all guns and ammo

by Tokyo Times staff writer Sonni Efron, with contributions from Hisako Ueno and Chiaki Kitada in The Times' Tokyo bureau

To the Japanese, America has long seemed a dangerous and violent place. Perhaps that is why Hollywood's obsession with guns and gore surprises no one here, and why violence is accepted as a key ingredient that makes U.S. movies so popular and profitable in Japan. [...]

American blockbusters tend to be automatic hits in Japan, with "Titanic," the best-grossing film ever here, earning nearly $131 million. That compares with $94 million for the highest-earning Japanese film ever, the 1997 animated film "Princess Mononoke," which was, perhaps not coincidentally, a strikingly violent fantasy.

77). TIME Asia - Time Magazine International

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://cnn.com/ASIANOW/time/asia/magazine/1999/990823/films1.html

August 23, 1999

From Asia's Film Factories, 10 Golden Greats

by Richard Corliss
By 1920, Hollywood had established the rules of the movie game. Directors in Europe showed how films could be art: visual literature. It took a while for Asian countries to catch up. [...] Here are 10 examples of Asia's worldwide film influence. And since the most influential pictures are not always the most accomplished, we have listed some of the "best" along with the "most." Who says best? An American movie critic, who loves Asian films from half a world away. [...]

AKIRA (JAPAN, 1988) Each year, anime--Japanese animation--is released by the hundreds as features and direct-to-video cartoons. Its Gone With the Wind is Katsuhiro Otomo's startling epic about a bunch of antihero kids in the post-nuclear future. A lot of anime is violent; some is porno. But not all, as the sweetly sublime films of Hayao Miyazaki show. His Princess Mononoke (1997), Japan's all-time home-made box-office champ proves that Disney has no monopoly on kid- friendly animation, and that nice is not a four-letter word.

78). TIME Magazine

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 6, 1999

Fast Forward SKIPPING RIGHT TO THE GOOD STUFF-- TRENDS THAT MATTER

Contributing Writers: Joshua Quittner, Bill Syken, Chris Taylor and Nathaniel Wice; Edited By Anita Hamilton

[...]
COMING ATTRACTION ANIME FOR AMERICA: Will Mononoke have mass appeal? Within the opening minutes of Princess Mononoke, the animated Miramax film due out on Oct. 29, it's clear we're not in Disneyland. An enormous fanged boar infested with worms attacks a village, and flying arrows maim and decapitate warriors on horseback. The first anime film released by a major U.S. studio, Princess Mononoke tells the tale of a wolf princess (think female Tarzan) struggling to protect the forest from evil, polluting iron forgers. While ancient Japanese myths inspired this original tale, the filmmakers relied heavily on state-of-the art technology to bring it to life. Racing scenes in the forest were digitally enhanced for a more realistic sense of 3-D space. Many of the characters were articulated with Microsoft's Toon Shader, which mimics traditional cel animation's sharp contour lines. The film was a hit in Japan. Will U.S. audiences fall for this gory, allegorical tale of man versus nature? Does a worm-infested boar have fangs?
[...]

79). Chicago Sun-Times

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/tell03.html

September 3, 1999

Movie magic in the mountains

by Roger Ebert
The autumn movie season begins for me on the night when the curtain goes up on the first screening at the Telluride Film Festival. After a long summer of special effects, explosions, stabbings, shootings, gross-out comedies, supernatural mystifications, horror stories and movies about the alarmingly sophisticated sex lives of teenagers, September brings relief.
[...]
Also promised this year is the much-anticipated U.S. premiere of "Princess Mononoke," the new film by Japan's master of anime, Hayao Miyazaki. The movie was Japan's all-time box office champ until it was passed by "Titanic," and Miramax grabbed the distribution rights away from its parent Disney, claiming that its specialized distribution strategies will find a crossover animation market. Miyazaki, whose credits include the wonderful animated films "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service," was set to attend the festival but has had to cancel.
[...]

80). Chicago Sun-Times

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/ebert09.html

September 9, 1999

Toronto festival fit for film fans

by Roger Ebert
The 1999 Toronto Film Festival, 11 days and 319 films long, opens today with a quarter of a million moviegoers looking for next year's top Oscar winners - or maybe trying to avoid them. The films come from 52 countries, and 171 of them will be world or North American premieres. People plan their vacations around this festival; at a screening last year of a Vietnamese musical, I sat next to Barbara Strange, who planned to see 45 movies and "exist on bottled water, dried apricots and mixed nuts."
[...]
The big indie distributors like Miramax, Sony Classics, Fox Searchlight and "Blair Witch" beneficiary Artisan Entertainment all make Toronto their roll-out platform. This year Miramax has a big push behind "Princess Mononoke," the wondrous Japanese animated feature, which I saw a few days ago at the Telluride Film Festival.
[...]

81). Variety

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.variety.com/search/article.asp?articleID=1117755574

September 13, 1999

'Menace' passes $100 mil in Japan

by JON HERSKOVITZ
TOKYO - "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" has become the fourth movie in Japanese box office history to top the $100 million mark.
[...]
The other films that have crossed $100 million in Japan are "Titanic," which is the all-time champ for the country with box office receipts of about $225 million, followed by the local animated feature "Princess Mononoke" and "Armageddon."

82). The Village Voice

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/9937/dauphin.shtml

September 15, 1999

Japanimation's All-ages Show

by Gary Dauphin
A world apart from the rapacious, cyclopean tentacle-dicks of Overfiend-style hentai, and from the sugared-cereal-fueled multimedia franchises of Pokemon, the work of Japan's Studio Ghibli has long been anime's artistic gold standard. [...]

The 10-picture survey now on view at MOMA, pegged to Miramax's upcoming wide U.S. release of Miyazki's [sic] Princess Mononoke, encompasses Ghibli's entire catalogue [...] Ghibli's been called "Japan's Disney," but the comparison only reflects stunted, adult reactions to cartoon sentimentality - Ghibli takes risks that would be unimaginable at the House That Walt Built. (Although, between Mononoke's Miramax connection and the fact that Mickey's in- house video distributor Buena Vista has the rights to most of Ghibli's catalogue, the "Japan's Disney" thing does take on a certain ominous, corporate-octopus coloring.) [...]

83). The New York Daily News

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/1999-09-16/New_York_Now/Movies/a-40761.asp

September 16, 1999

JAPAN'S ANIMATION GIANT / MOMA IS SCREENING GEMS FROM STUDIO GHIBLI

by LEWIS BEALE
If it weren't for "Titanic," an animated film you've never heard of would have been Japan's biggest box-office hit. "Princess Mononoke," due out Oct. 29 in an English-language version, was the all-time Japanese ticket-selling champ before the sinking ship came along.

Not that this was anything new: "Mononoke," a two-hour feature about a war between humans and nature, was produced by a Japanese animation studio that is Disney's sole worldwide rival in terms of quality and box-office clout.

[...]

84). The Boston Globe

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.boston.com/globe/calendar/criticstips/

September 16, 1999

Critic's Tip / Celebrate Japanese animation

by Betsy Sherman
Japan's Studio Ghibli, pioneers in the animation genre that has come to be known as anime, will be celebrated at the Brattle Theatre over the next five Sundays. The series opens with two English-language versions of films by director/comic book master Hayao Miyazaki. "Princess Mononoke," which will have a nationwide opening later this fall, is an ambitious adventure parable about man's destructiveness and the attempt to reintroduce harmony in the natural world. [...]

85). The Boston Phoenix

The text is also available online at:
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/listings/movies/filmstrips/PRINCESS_MONONOKE.html

September 17, 1999

Capsule Film Review: PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997)

PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997). This animation from Hayao Miyazaki is reported to be the highest-grossing Japanese film ever in Japan, being one of just two movies to break the $150 million mark there (the other was Titanic). It's set in ancient Japan, where a young warrior sets out to find the source of a curse placed on his people and encounters the title princess, who's been raised by wolves. Neil Gaiman wrote the English text; Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Crudup, Jada Pinkett, and Gillian Anderson supply the voices.

86). Chicago Sun- Times

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 20, 1999

Best films stand out at festival

by Roger Ebert
[...] a selection, by no means complete, of titles I've especially admired [from the Toronto Film Festival]. [...] [First, Princess Mononoke is] a wondrous experience by the Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, an animated epic adventure from the mists of the Iron Age... of strange lands, a forest god and a fearsome tribe of bear-men. [...] a flesh-and-blood movie, which uses animation to create powerful images. [...] This is one of the year's best films. [...]

87). Ain't It Cool News

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=4413

September 21, 1999

Moriarty's Rumblings From The Lab #14: Interview with Miyazaki

by "Moriarty"
[...] I wasn't planning to be on camera, and I would have worn my good glass eye if I had known. Still, all concerns about my appearance vanished when Miyazaki came into the room. A man of medium build, he has a riveting gaze and an easy smile, both of which he fixed on me as we were introduced. We shook hands, took our seats, and dove right in. [...]

She took the book from me and offered it to Miyazaki. I passed over a Sharpie, and watched, eyes agog, as he drew me a quick sketch of Totoro and a dustbunny, then signed his name and dated it. He said something as she passed the book back over to me, and she translated it. "He says Totoro hasn't gotten enough sleep. He looks wild." [...] Here's the Totoro drawing, something special for you to share. [...]

88). The Village Voice

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/9938/nyff.shtml

September 22-28, 1999

PARTING SHOTS

by J. Hoberman
The 37th New York Film Festival / At Alice Tully Hall / September 24 through October 10

Time regained: Lincoln Center sends out the celluloid century with a sophisticated mix of the old and the new, the hot and the unreleasable, the familiar, the outre, and the apocalyptic. [...]

Princess Mononoke  Said to be the most popular movie in Japanese history, this ambitious, impressively detailed anime is set in a world of lava-lamp deities and medieval marketplaces, positing an apocalyptic pantheism in which endangered species turn demonic. Miramax, which dubbed the original into English with stars ranging from Minnie Driver to Billy Bob Thornton, plans a late-October release. September 26. (JH)

[...]

89). The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 22, 1999

Smith's 'Dogma,' others come ashore at N.Y. Film Festival

by Bob Campbell
The 37th annual New York Film Festival, opening Friday night at Lincoln Center with Pedro Almodovar's "All About My Mother," offers a commanding vantage point on the ebb and flow of international film art.

Among the far-flung attractions are N.J. director Kevin Smith's heretical "Dogma," Mike Leigh's Victorian musical "Topsy Turvy," Japan's record-breaking animated hit "Princess Mononoke ," and Emir Kusturica's Serbian shocker "Underground" in full, near-six-hour form.

[...]

90). TNT's Rough Cut

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.roughcut.com/today/hot.button/990923b_thu.html

September 23, 1999

The Hot Button

by David Polland
READER OF THE DAY: [...] And this one from WooTang on Princess Mononoke:

"I saw Princess Mononoke last night. It was an absolutely amazing movie, both visually and thematically, but I have to say that Miramax will be lucky to break $10 million with it. [...]
Unfortunately, the film is so epic and so complex in its characterizations and scope that only true film buffs will be enthralled. [...]
This isn't to say that I didn't like the movie. Far from it -- I thought it was amazing. [...] The visuals are just as stunning as you would expect, and there are many moments that gave me chills.
[...]
PS: And I know I railed against Disney's overmerchandising of their films, but is it so wrong for me to want a little toy of one of the little Kodama creatures? [...]"

91). The Los Angeles Times Calendar

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/CALENDAR/t000085810.html

September 24, 1999

Selectivity Is a Key for New York Film Festival

by CLIFF ROTHMAN, Special to The Times
The last major festival on the circuit, the New York Film Festival is a fascinating anomaly. With dogged, bare-knuckled contrariness--defying an era of bigger-is-better, celebrities-are-gods and cozy studio bedfellows--it caps its lineup at 30 films; this year, only 26 will be shown during the 16-day event that opens today.

[...]

An interesting Petrie dish is the crossover appeal of Japan's animated "Princess Mononoke"--that country's biggest native box-office hit, exceeded only by the American "Titanic." Even if dubbed by hip actors such as Claire Danes, Billy Crudup and Minnie Driver, the mystical, mythical action-adventure/love story/folklore-fable set in 15th century Japan tests whether American audiences will respond to animation without chirpy animals, musical teacups and Eurocentric fairy-tale story lines and quick pacing.

[...]

92). The Los Angeles Times Calendar

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/SUNCAL/t000086211.html

September 26, 1999

These Animators Fly High Over the Bottom Line

by Charles Solomon
Created in 1985 by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and Tokuma Shoten Publishing Ltd., Studio Ghibli has become a major force, not only in Japanese animation and popular culture, but also in world animation. "Studio Ghibli: The Magic of Miyazaki, Takahata and Kondo," a retrospective of the studio's animated features that begins Thursday at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, confirms the excellence and importance of the work of this exceptional group of artists.

[...]

The UCLA retrospective begins Thursday with a sneak preview of the new, English-dubbed version of "Princess Mononoke" (1997), which Miramax will release theatrically in the U.S. later this fall. An epic parable of environmental destruction, "Mononoke" is the No. 2 all-time box-office hit in Japan, second only to "Titanic."

[...]

The programs in "Studio Ghibli: The Magic of Miyazaki, Takahata and Kondo" screen at 7 p.m., except for the 2 p.m. Oct. 10 matinee, at the James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA. Admission: $6 general; $4 students with ID and seniors. Information: (310) 206-8013 or http://www.cinema.ucla.edu.

93). The Chicago Sun-Times

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/answ-man/ebert26.html

September 26, 1999

Movie Answer Man

by Roger Ebert
[...]

Q. You wrote from the Telluride festival that "Princess Mononoke" deserves an Oscar nomination for best film. Does an animated film seriously have a chance?
Pet Danforth, Oak Park

A. Animation, yes ("Beauty and the Beast" was nominated in 1991). But "Princess Mononoke," no. Cynthia Swartz of Miramax tells me: "Unfortunately, in one of those silly academy twists, it is not eligible for anything because it was the Japanese entry in the foreign language category two years ago."

[...]

94). The New York Daily News

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/1999-09-23/New_York_Now/Movies/a-41496.asp

September 23, 1999

N.Y. FILM FEST PRESENTS WOMEN, AND THE MEN WHO LOVE THEM

by Jami Bernard
Love is in the air tomorrow night when the 37th New York Film Festival begins and the stars from the selected movies congregate for the black-tie party at Tavern on the Green.

[...]

"Princess Mononoke ," the first pulpy Japanese anime film ever to break into the NYFF. The English-language version, with voices of Billy Crudup, Minnie Driver, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Jada Pinkett and Gillian Anderson, had to be redone after a Japanese consultant so mangled the translation it began to sound like an electronics manual.

95). Details Magazine

The following are relevant quotes only.

October 1999

Painless Reviews

by Paul Zimmerman

Princess Mononoke

The Cast: Voices of Minnie Driver, Bily Crudup, Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson

The Details: A prince's epic journey to find a cure for his fatal curse thrusts him into a war between ancient forest gods and destructive humans. (October 29)

The Real Deal: This strange and brilliant cartoon adventure will finally shove anime down America's throat - but in a good way.

96). The Record, Northern New Jersey

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 22, 1999

WARM FEELINGS FROM TORONTO
THE FESTIVAL'S BEST FILMS MAKE INDELIBLE IMPRESSIONS

by Roger Ebert
Waiting in the lobby of the Elgin theater in Toronto last weekend, I talked to a guy who had seen 45 films in this year's Toronto Film Festival: "Yesterday I saw a $60 million movie I can hardly remember, and a $40,000 film I'll never forget." Festivals impose a Darwinian selection process; the good ones elbow the others out of your memory. Here's a selection, by no means complete, of titles I've especially admired:

• "Princess Mononoke" is a wondrous experience by the Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, an animated epic adventure from the mists of the Iron Age, when men and beasts talked with one another. Using ancient myths and the Japanese fascination with shape-shifting, he tells of strange lands, a forest god, and a fearsome tribe of bear-men. This is not a children's film (some images are intense) but a flesh-and-blood movie that uses animation to create powerful images: a loathsome boar-monster, for example, with flesh of writhing worms. This is one of the year's best films.

97). The Wall Street Journal

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 24, 1999

At The Movies

by Bob Hughes
[...]

The New York Film Festival is a movie buff's dream, a venue to view movies that might not yet, or ever, have a U.S. distributor, or to discover flicks before the studio hype machines kick in. Noted Spanish envelope-pusher Pedro Almodovar's latest film, "All About My Mother," a melodrama, opens the festival tonight. Also scheduled are a musical about Gilbert and Sullivan, "Topsy- Turvy," by Mike Leigh, better known for his scorching portraits of contemporary life ("Secrets and Lies"); "Princess Mononoke," a hugely successful Japanese animated epic that was one of the highest-grossing movies of all time in Japan; [...]

[...]

98). Korea Times

The following are relevant quotes only.

September 27, 1999

Pusan Film Festival Attrtacts 54 Countries

Coming into its fourth year, the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) will introduce 211 films, ranging from feature, short, documentary to animation films from 54 countries, in 12 venues across the southwestern port city Oct.14- 23.

[...]

The number of Japanese entries, 18, is larger than any other country, except Korea. Japan's biggest hit of the year, ``Popoya:Railroad Man'' by Furuhata Yasuo, animation ``Mononoke Hime'' by Miyazaki Hayao and``Kikujiro'' by Kitano Takeshi are the some of the names on the list.

99). Cinescape Online

The following are relevant quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.cinescape.com/insider/990929j.shtml

September 29, 1999

Miyazaki Talks "Mononoke"

Artist and director Hayao Miyazaki seems to have been a little out of touch with what was happening to his film Princess Mononoke. In fact, it's said that he had no idea who Claire Danes was, even though she was providing the voice to the title character in the English language dubbed version of his hugely successful animated film. [...] The director further explained this lack of knowledge including even the box office success of his own film in Japan saying, "I hide in my mountain cabin, and I don't have newspapers there."

100). The Film Society of Lincoln Center - Grand Marnier Dailies

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/gmdailies2.htm#princess

September 1999

princess mononoke - a great japanese film: will american audiences respond?

by Cliff Rothman
PRINCESS MONONOKE arrives with pedigrees on several fronts, and will be a fascinating cross-cultural petrie dish for a film that is the all-time biggest- grossing film in Japan's history, outflanked only by the American Titanic.

By turns ethereal and electrifying, the animated action-adventure / love story / folklore-fable set in 15th century Japan will challenge American audiences accustomed to chirpy animal critters, dancing teacups, musical production numbers and conventionally structured stories based on Euro-centered fairy tales. PRINCESS MONONOKE, by contrast, is Japanese to its core - which is its appeal and its challenge. [...]

[...]

[New York Film] Festival audiences will undoubtedly be stimulated. It will be interesting to see how American audiences accept Japanese sensibilities for a cinematic form that has been so embedded with perkier Disneyesque qualities for some 60-odd years.