Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)

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1). The Times

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,142-2001361878,00.html

October 18, 2001

Japanese hogwash

by James Christopher

I’m not sure what the Japanese animation Princess Mononoke hopes to hook. The press screening was subtitled, but programme notes boast a fat spread of Western vocal talent. . . Despite the odd decapitation, it seems far too earnest. . . Who will win: man or nature, technology or myth? Slurpy and pretty enough, but also total hogwash.

2). Financial Times

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=011018001741

October 18, 2001

132 minutes of sheer amazement

by Nigel Andrews

You haven't lived until you have seen Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. And after seeing it you may feel that for two hours you have lived too much.

[...]

Seven maids with seven mops, let alone one critic, could not sop up every streamlet of this plot. You must just go with the flow. All tributaries finally converge in a climax of molten enormity, as nature forms itself into a semi-liquid Colossus crashing across the land like the Jolly Green Giant of your worst dreams. After 132 minutes of amazement one can still be amazed. And a day after seeing the film one can still feel drunk - I do - with the weird joy of those ever-transmuting landscapes, hyperreal battles and visionary animals.

[...]

3). BBC Online

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/10/16/princess_mononoke_2001_review.shtml?survey

October 19, 2001

Princess Mononoke

by Michael Thomson

[...]

Unusual in its subtlety (both man and nature are viewed as alternately unpleasant or generous), "Princess Mononoke" certainly creates a distinctive other world, the spell of which is sometimes broken by the intrusion of American voices, added for the US and European release.

But the film is, on the whole, a full, meaty treat, striking not only in its subject-matter and the approach to it, but also in its pin-sharp detailing of nature and the speed and grace with which the characters move. Most of the film is hand-drawn. Hollywood this ain't.

4). Guardian Unlimited

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4280398,00.html

October 19, 2001

Princess Mononoke

by Peter Bradshaw

[...]

it emerges as a fervently inventive and imaginative legend about man's collision with nature: medieval warrior Prince Ashitaka and his alliance with Forest Spirits and Wolf Gods against the early Iron Age profiteers.

[...]

with captivating images and gutsy narrative ideas recalling Kipling, Ovid and Homer.

5). The Sunday Times

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/10/21/sticulfil02005.html?

October 21, 2001

Princess Mononoke (Two out of Three Stars)

by Cosmo Landesman

The animated films of Japan's Studio Ghibli have enjoyed only cult status in the West, but with the release of this film, that looks set to change.

[...]

The chief culprit is Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver); her sworn enemy is Princess Mononoke (Claire Danes), a butt-kicking warrior babe who wants to save the forest. On paper it sounds corny, but the characters and themes have a moral complexity and depth rare in animation. First-class family entertainment.

6). Empire Online

The following are representative quotes only; the full text is available online at:
www.empireonline.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?id=7333&ss=mononoke&sb=t&or=bf&c=&r=0&f=0&cp=1

October 22, 2001

Princess Mononoke

by Mark Dinning

[...]

Often breathtaking in its imagination and sheer scale, notable treats include monsters with writhing, snake-like skins, mythical animal gods and, best of all, tiny forest sprites which are at once eerily creepy and unashamedly cute. [...]

As to whether Princess Mononoke will live up to its pitched tag of The Anime Movie Most Likely To Make The Crossover Between Cult And The Mainstream, however, the answer is… perhaps not.

[...]

all the anime sensibilities which have prevented a move into the mainstream in the past — a gripping, linear first third; a ponderous, philosophical second; and an often nonsensical ‘demon god goes gaga’ third — are all present and correct. A state of affairs which, at the very least, will delight the true, hard-core fanbase.

Four out of Five Stars