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Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) |
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| Reviews 3 |
Reviews of the Miramax English-language version -- Film: Reviews 1 through 20
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41). Hollywood.com
The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 2, 1999, Tuesday By Ted Murphy HOLLYWOOD -- In the United States, when one speaks of
animation, two things almost immediately spring to mind: Disney features and
Saturday morning cartoons. While there have been flashes of brilliance from the
former ("Beauty and the Beast"), the latter is hardly known for its
innovation. Since the 1980s, there has been a growing appreciation
among aficionados of Japanese anime (animated films) and manga (comic books).
The preeminent master of anime is Hayao Miyazaki, who may not be all that
familiar to American audiences -- yet. With the release of his masterpiece,
"Princess Mononoke," that should change. In the early 1970s, Miyazaki conceived
"Princess Mononoke" as a riff on "Beauty and the Beast," but he abandoned that
project. Nearly 20 years later, he returned to the idea, fleshing it out as a
cautionary ecological fable that draws on Japanese mythology. Miyazaki and his
team spent nearly four years creating this delicately nuanced, beautifully
rendered film which, upon its 1997 release, became the second-highest grossing
film in Japan after "Titanic." [...] 42). TNT's Rough Cut The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 1999 By Christopher Brandon This ain't Mulan meets The Jungle Book. In
fact, it's not even Disney despite its American distribution from Disney-owned
Miramax Films. Princess Mononoke was made years ago by acclaimed
Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and is the second highest grossing film
in Japan outdone only by Titanic. For good reason. It's a powerful,
gorgeous epic that's as rich in good vs. evil mythology as Star Wars.
[...] Like a lot of anime, it's overlong and gets way too metaphysical at the
end, but ultimately, this is a Princess worth worshipping. 43). New York Press The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 3, 1999, Wednesday By Matt Zoller Seitz In this epic Japanese animated film about a war between
humans and animal gods for control of an enchanted forest, nature is not merely
a setting. It is a living being. It breathes and feels. Writer-director Hayao
Miyazaki alternates images of calm and ferocity with a single-mindedness that
suggests religious fervor. If you can give yourself over to the film–which
might be hard considering its epic length and defiantly Japanese themes–it can
induce an awed, trancelike state. [...] 44). CitySearch: New York The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 1999 By Steven Boone Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" has all the martial
fury, elegance and complex narrative of Akira Kurosawa in his prime. Just as
Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai," "The Hidden Fortress" and "Yojimbo" influenced
countless subsequent adventure films (from "The Magnificent Seven" to "Star Wars"),
Miyazaki's animated epic should fire up digital-age imaginations
accustomed to mere eye candy. Though nominally related to Disney through its
arthouse wing, Miramax, "Princess Mononoke" leaves you filled up with images,
ideas and emotions that just don't fit on a McDonald's collector's mug. All
that blunts the movie's power are some bland, distracting voice-overs by the
likes of Claire Danes and Billy Bob Thornton. [...] 45). San Francisco Bay Guardian The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 3, 1999, Wednesday By Patrick Macias [...] That's Miyazaki and Mononoke in a nutshell:
preachy, anachronistic, paternal, and not the slightest bit interested in the
desires of the individual. Princess Mononoke lectures on so many topics
it is hard to keep up: mythology, anger management, humanity versus nature,
history, and the struggle of Japan's outcast classes, to name only a few. More
than anything, it is a tale told by a disappointed ex-Marxist, using ideology
to talk about the failure of ideology. Contradiction is, by design, everywhere.
But at the same time, Miyazaki won't allow the viewers to make up their own
minds. [...] It is easy to get caught up in the epic sweep and flow of
the runaway narrative, even as the story slows down periodically to accommodate
the busy agenda. Many will cry "masterpiece" on principle alone. They
have to. But by sacrificing individuality to a gorgeously rendered landscape,
the control-freaked Princess Mononoke betrays its own humanity. 46). Newsday (New York) The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 1999 By John Anderson ONE OF THE BIGGEST money-makers in the history of
Japanese cinema, "Princess Mononoke" is that almost-unheard-of item, the
animated movie for adults. It's not just the violence-severed heads, severed,
limbs, roiling rivers of blood-that should probably keep the Pokmon crowd at
home. It's more the sentiments of the movie-and its elegiac qualities, its lack
of belief in an imminent Apocalypse-that make it more suited for audiences with
a developed sense of environmental justice. [...] 47). The Christian Science Monitor The following are relevant quotes only; the full
text is available online at: October 29, 1999, Friday By David Sterritt [...] Princess Mononoke [...] The setting is ancient Japan, and the hero is a young
warrior who gets caught up in a struggle between warring communities and
powerful forest spirits who want to protect their natural world from the
ravages of selfish, insensitive humans. This animated epic combines the
storytelling ambition of Japan's popular anime tradition with dialogue dubbed
into English by a well-chosen cast. It's more thoughtful and varied than the
average Hollywood cartoon, and its environmental message is appealing, but
moviegoers who prefer live-action features won't find it all that special.
Contains violence and innuendo that some parents may find unsuitable for young
children. [...] 48). The Orange County Register The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: October 29, 1999, Friday By Henry Sheehan [...] "Princess Mononoke" may pull off the double feat of
delighting anime adherents while also winning some new fans for the form. An
epic scale production that features passionate emotion and action without
crossing the line into explicit violence or sex, the film is the latest from
Hayao Miyazaki, one of anime's leading lights. As does anime in general, "Mononoke" sacrifices some
fluidity in animated motion for the sake of highly detailed graphic design, a
reversal of the Hollywood approach that may take some viewers a while to get
used to. But their patience will be rewarded by a mystical period drama that
plumbs ancient myth in an attempt to grapple with contemporary ecological
issues. [...] 49). The Daily Southtown (Chicago) The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: October 29, 1999, Friday By Dan Pearson [...] "Princess Mononoke" [...] — Grandiose
Japanese animated adventure showcases the epic quest of an injured
warrior-prince determined to heal the rift between exploitative humans and the
angry gods of nature. This gala presentation at the 1997 Berlin Film Festival
has been re-dubbed in English with a celebrity voice cast that now features
Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup, Gillian Anderson, Jada Pinkett
Smith and Claire Danes in the title role. In any language, the stilted dialog
remains fairly inane, but the sheer scope of the magnificent visuals fully
deserves to be experienced on a big screen. PG-13. [...] 50). IMDB - Susan Granger The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: October 30, 1999, Saturday By Susan Granger Based on Japanese folklore, this captivating
environmentalist fable is the tale of a war between the beast gods of the
forest and the humans who are encroaching on their pristine territory. [...]
The fluid and superbly detailed animation is technically awesome, emotionally
powerful, and unbelievably beautiful. I was particularly enchanted by the tiny,
ghost-like, head-clicking tree sprites. But - at a lengthy 135 minutes - with
scenes of graphic violence and a complex, philosophical storyline to follow,
it's definitely not meant for young children. Heed the PG-13 rating. Basically,
it's art house fare. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Princess Mononoke"
is a stunning, spiritual 7 - but it is definitely too much of a good thing. 51). Colossus.net The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: October 29, 1999, Friday By James Berardinelli [...] Unlike most animated motion pictures, which have a
relatively limited scope, Princess Mononoke is an epic saga, a fantasy
adventure of great ambition and extent. The visuals are not as polished as
Disney's, but the plot is deeper and richer than anything that has emerged from
the Magic Kingdom. It is more adult in nature - although there is no overt
sexuality, the violence is reasonably graphic (there are decapitations and
instances when bloody limbs are torn or hacked from bodies). There's also an
intelligence and sophistication in the writing that one rarely finds in
animated endeavors. Most children will appreciate Princess Mononoke,
but this is truly an adult experience. You don't have to feel guilty about
entering a theater if you're not accompanied by a five-year old. [...] 52). Film Journal International The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 1999 By Peter Henné Touted as a breakthrough for Japanese anime, Princess
Mononoke, directed by veteran Hayao Miyazaki, might claim some new subject
matter for the genre, yet not any artistic gains or deeper moral treatment.
Mononoke does not depart from any of the storytelling, character or pictorial
norms of anime-which means that we still get a cut-and-dried world of good and
evil, populated by a strong-and-silent male and a sexy villainness at the
center, with giggly floozies, superpowerful demons, and countless, mindless
soldiers at the command of the combatants. We still have concepts of drawing
influenced by drably legible, Saturday-morning American television, and not by
any indigenous styles, such as kano painting, ukiyo-e prints or Golden Era
cinema. Miyazaki can be credited with importing a new, ecological theme to his
filmmaking form, and along with it untypical, forested settings. Some of his
backdrops sparkle prettily. But instead of taking this fresh material as his
point of departure, he only submits it to the established codes of his trade, a
lot like a proselytizer rounding up a new tribe of heathens to deliver the same
old sermon to. People, forest animals and spirits go through the same
complexity shredder that all anime subjects suffer: Scraped clean of
ambiguities, sapped of individuality, they can work only as easy-to-identify
types. [...] 53). iF Magazine The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: October 29, 1999, Friday By Christopher Allan Smith As the apex of anime, Hayao Miyazaki's PRINCESS MONONOKE
is the perfect prism to see what is great and gaudy in the matured and
eminently interesting Japanese art form. Unlike America, where animation was
born and then emasculated by several generations of filmgoers stunted by
Disney's narrow but lush vision of what the animated medium from could be,
Japan has seemingly single handedly (and that hand could well be Miyazaki's)
saved any hope for adult animated stories. Miyazaki's greatest vision, MONONOKE (Japan's highest
grossing film of all time) is an electric remembrance of tradition, the lost
wonders of an almost pre-history Japan, and such a brilliant expression of
Miyazaki's unpredictable storytelling it's no wonder Miramax bought it and
re-dubbed it with American voices. [...] 54). Student.Com The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 1999 By Alec Nevala-Lee "Princess Mononoke" is a luxuriantly imaginative animated
film from Japan that comes closer to stirring feelings of primal awe and terror
than any other animated feature this decade. For an audience raised on Disney's
recent output, this movie (a massive hit in Japan as "Mononoke-Hime") may come
as a revelation: it's a violent, challenging, often thrilling motion picture,
and it reaches places that mainstream American films rarely dare to touch. This
is the movie that "The Phantom Menace" should have been — a rousing, inventive,
headlong plunge into an unknown world. [...] 55). The Washington Post The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 5, 1999, Friday By Desson Howe [...] In terms of the animation, the details are remarkable.
And there are some amazingly intense and vivid battles between human and forest
creatures. The movie’s shimmering, eerily realistic depiction of water, alone,
rendered me awestruck. It is in such subtle moments—and there are many of
them—that "Princess Mononoke" earns its points. "Princess Mononoke" has some shortcomings: a heavy-handed
ecological message, a brain-reeling plot line and no squeamishness when it
comes to, say, decapitation. But if animated blood is just so much red ink to you and
you can sit through an entire hour of NPR coverage without screaming for air,
the violence and the pro-environment sentimentality shouldn’t be too
problematic. Just sit back (it’s more than two hours), count the chopped off
heads and appreciate the sheer mastery of anime. This "Princess" is a royal
treat. 56). Texas Pagan Awareness Online The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 1999 By Kit O'Connell (?) [...] Several things set this movie far above anything produced
by American animators or directors. One is Miyazaki's always beautiful
animation and an amazing soundtrack. More importantly, however, is that in
Princess Mononoke all actions have consequences. When Ashitaka is nicked by
Eboshi's blade while breaking up a fight between her and San, the scar on his
cheek lingers for the remainder of the movie. Although there are some scenes of
somewhat graphic violence in the movie (meriting its PG-13 rating), killing
only increases the hate and greed which are the true antagonists of the movie.
The audience genuinely mourns and is horrified by the noble but futile death of
the Boar clan as they launch an attack on human hunters, lending the movie a
realism and impact almost totally missing from US films. [...] 57). Star-Telegram (Dallas/Fort Worth) The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 5, 1999, Friday By Elvis Mitchell There are images in the animated feature Princess
Mononoke as startling and primal as the worst nightmare. Children are playing
in a beautiful unspoiled field when a creature comes rumbling toward them -- a
mass of bloody, writhing worms eating away at a giant boar as it gallops and
moans across the countryside. It's where master animator Hayao Miyazaki's gifts
are best realized, when he works on the level of dreams. [...] The movie may feel a little long, but that's partially
because Danes and some of the other actors doing the voices give such flat,
modern readings. The faces are a little inexpressive, too -- even someone as
immensely talented as Miyazaki hasn't quite mastered that . . . yet. Miyazaki's
tableaux have an unforgettable beauty, and the epic sprawl of Princess Mononoke
has more sheer power than any of the big-budget disaster pictures you can name.
The violence comes so swiftly that you almost laugh when it happens -- it's
part of the dreaminess. [...] 58). San Francisco Chronicle The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 5, 1999, Friday By Peter Stack ``Princess Mononoke,'' Japan's biggest domestic box-
office hit, opens at only two Bay Area theaters today, the Embarcadero Cinema
in San Francisco and the Towne in San Jose. It's an art film, a densely plotted
and visually stunning piece of animation, and not a movie for everybody. [...] For some, the movie may feel long at 134 minutes. But in
Miyazaki's rarefied world, time is a richly imagined thing. 59). San Francisco Examiner The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 5, 1999, Friday By Wesley Morris FOR AN INSIGHT into precisely how stunning Hayao
Miyazaki's rich, animated epic "Princess Mononoke" is, you need only consider
how little of it leaves you once you've left it. It's a loaded spectacle
married to a narrative odyssey with Tolkien, Homer and David Lean on its mind,
overseen by a man who for all practical purposes is deeply committed to the
integration of Japanese history, ideology, mythology, ecology and faith into an
action fantasia that makes "cartoon" sound condescending and inaccurate. [...] 60). Contra Costa Times (California) The following are representative quotes only; the full
text is available online at: November 5, 1999, Friday By Karen Hershenson For a country coddled by Disney, the new Japanese import
"Princess Mononoke" is something completely different - an animated movie that
is intensely dramatic. DreamWorks tried something like this with "Prince of
Egypt," but it seems tame compared to this mythical story, loosely based on
14th-century Japanese folklore. At more than two hours long, with sweeping
landscapes and a grand musical score, it is more epic than cartoon. Youngsters may be frightened by the wild boar covered
with writhing worms, or the ape tribe with glowing red eyes. There are
decapitations, and blood flows freely and often. But for anyone who cherishes
the sheer art of animation, it is a must-see. [...]
http://www.hollywood.com/news/topstories/11-02-99/today/1-4.html
A Battle Well Fought in 'Princess Mononoke'
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http://www.roughcut.com/reviews/movies/vault1999/princess_mononoke.html
Movie Review -- PRINCESS MONONOKE
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http://www.nypress.com/col1.cfm?content_id=556
Princess Mononoke directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Nature’s Way
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http://newyork.citysearch.com/E/M/NYCNY/0010/30/47/
Princess Mononoke
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http://www.sfbg.com/AandE/34/05/animal.html
Animaelstrom - Princess Mononoke survives
cultural translation
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http://www.newsday.com/movies/rnmxz10w.htm
'Mononoke' Voices Iron Will of Warriors
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http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/10/29/fp14s1-csm.shtml
ARTS & LEISURE - Movie Guide
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http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/weekend/mono029w.shtml
Anime designed to delight
REVIEW: The film paints a dazzling world that
should appeal to anime fans and newcomers to the style
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http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/tgif/tgmvr.htm
The Pearson Perspective
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http://reviews.imdb.com/Reviews/213/21349
or at:
http://www.speakers-podium.com/susangranger/reviews.htm
Susan Granger's review of "PRINCESS MONONOKE" (Miramax
Films)
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http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/p/princess_mononoke.html
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime)
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http://www.filmjournal.com/DisplayReviews.cfm?ID=749&UI=9602
PRINCESS MONONOKE (PG-13)
Ecological anime epic is too damn
well-intentioned. Genre enthusiasts will queue up, but the sugary
conservationist ideas, plot-heavy action, and two-hour-plus running time will
be minuses for many.
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http://ifmagazine.ifctv.com/reviews/review.asp?reviewID=273
PRINCESS MONONOKE
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http://www.student.com/article/mononoke
Deep Forest
As sweeping as "The Seven Samurai" and charged
with primal awe, "Princess Mononoke" proves that big-screen animation isn't all
about cute warthogs and Elton John ballads.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/pmextra/nov99/4/princess.htm
‘Princess’: Hooray for Anime
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http://www.txpn.org/TPAO/mononoke.html
Princess Mononoke: A Japanese Masterpiece
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http://www.star-telegram.com/justgo/elvis/mononoke.htm
Miyazaki animates his audience with `Princess Mononoke'
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/11/05/DD44115.DTL
Japan's `Princess' a Complex Beauty
Dark animated film may scare very young
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/05/Smononoke.dtl&type=movies
"Monokoke": Epic ecological parable
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http://www.mercurycenter.com/justgo/special/mononoke/review-cct.shtml
Animation's seldom been so striking
'Princess Mononoke' may be a tough sell – violence
is rampant – but it's worth it for the powerful imagery
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