Princess Mononoke (Steelbook)

Wer von sich aus sagt er könne mit Anime nichts anfangen oder generell glaubt Animationsfilme seien Kinderkram, der sollte seine Sichtweise doch mal überdenken und sich ernsthaft mit dem Medium auseinander setzen. Denn gerade im Anime-Bereich gibt es unzählige Juwele, die so kreativ, tiefsinnig und atemberaubend schön sind dass es nahezu verrückt ist dass diese stellenweise nur einem Nischenpublikum bekannt sind. Ein eben solches, wenn auch zugegebenermaßen einem breiten Publikum bereits bekannten, Juwel stellt zweifelsohne Hayao Miyazaki’s „Mononoke Hime“ dar. Produziert vom legendären Studio Ghibli, stellt die Fabel der schönen Dämonenprinzessin San und des tapferen Prinzen Ashitaka einen DER Anime-Spielfilme schlechthin dar. Story im Groben: Der junge Stammesprinz Ashitaka wird bei der Rettung seines Dorfes vor einem rachsüchtigen Dämon von dessen Fluch getroffen. Mit der Gewissheit diesem zu erliegen, verlässt der mutige Ashitaka sein Dorf, mit der vagen Hoffnung sein Schicksal doch noch abwenden zu können. Auf seinen Reisen bemerkt er dass es um die Welt schlecht bestellt ist: Tod und Verderben greifen um sich. Die Gier und Kriegstreiberei der Menschen hat die Finsternis in die Ländereien einkehren lassen. Sein Weg führt Ashitaka nach Westen, wo er in einen Konflikt zwischen den Arbeitern einer Eisenmiene und den mystischen Tiergöttern verwickelt wird. Die Leute aus der Eisenmiene, angeführt von der stolzen und starken Eboshi-Sama, zerstören durch die unablässige Rodung des Waldes, sowie dem Schürfen nach Mineralien den umliegenden Wald. Das provoziert wiederum den Zorn der Schutzgottheiten wodurch der Konflikt zu eskalieren droht. Ashitaka versucht verzweifelt den Krieg der beiden Fronten zu verhindern- was ihn zur geheimnisvollen Prinzessin Mononoke führt, einem Menschenmädchen, welches für den Wald und seine Bewohner in den Kampf ziehen will. Meine Meinung: Dieser Film ist ein unbestreitbarer Klassiker und Meisterwerk und definitiv einer DER Einstiegsfilme was das Medium Anime betrifft. Von den facettenreichen Figurenzeichnungen, der tiefgründigen Story, den fantastischen Animationen, der unermesslichen Detailverliebtheit von Figuren und Hintergründen, welche die Damen und Herren des Studio Ghibli noch ganz klassisch von Hand gezeichnet hatten bis hin zur meisterhaften Filmmusik des berühmten Joe Hisaishi ist dies ein durch und durch beeindruckender Animationsfilm, von welchem selbst Disney noch so allerhand lernen könnte. Es ist auch der mit Abstand erwachsenste Film des Studios, welches auch zuvor schon nie davor zurückschreckte ernste Themen zu behandeln ohne diese dabei zu beschönigen. Hier fließt nicht nur Blut, hier werden auch schon mal Gliedmaßen abgetrennt. Die Altersfreigabe ist daher durchaus berechtigt (wobei ich denke dass auch Kids ab 10 Jahren mit dem Streifen klar kommen). Puristen wissen: der O-Ton ist überragend. Das soll aber nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen dass die deutsche Vertonung auch ihre Daseinsberechtigung hat. Dies dürfte so ziemliche eine der besten deutschen Synchros zu einem Anime überhaupt darstellen. Fazit: Dank Netflix sind die Ghibli-Filme momentan wieder in aller Munde. Das finde ich schön, eröffnet es doch die Möglichkeit das Anime einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich gemacht wird. Und nur so als Tipp am Rande: es gibt nicht nur die Ghibli-Filme. Neben Filmen von Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai oder Mamoru Hosoda gibt es noch eine Vielzahl genialer Serien: Death Note, Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood- und das ist nur die Spitze des Eisbergs. Was Mononoke Hime angeht, so bleibt nur zu sagen dass dieser zu Recht als einer der wegweisenden Klassiker schlechthin gehandhabt wird. Miyazaki setzte sich, und seinem Studio, hiermit ein Denkmal für die Ewigkeit. Kein magischer Disney-Feenstaub, davon heben sich die Ghibli-Filme bewusst ab. Dafür aber ambitioniert und geradezu monumental. Gehört in jede gute Sammlung.

Of all of Studio Ghibli's many award winning films produced by it's co-founder Hayao Miyazaki; none has ever achieved the critical acclaim that Princess Mononoke did and there is no doubt that it is and will forever remain his most monumental achievement. Not to mention that It is also considered without a doubt to be one of the ten best animated movies ever made! So it is nice to see this masterpiece released on a North American Blu-ray where it rightfully belongs! So what makes this film so incredibly good? First and foremost is the stunning level of detail. Although made back in 1997; it's level of detail and animated movement is so great that only a handful of cell based animated films has ever approached it and ironically half of them like Spirited Away and Ponyo are also Studio Ghibli films! Then throw in a complex storyline two and a quarter hours long (and never boring) that's constantly weaving new elements (always stunning in their visual beauty) into the mix and that never adheres to simplistic western ideas of good and bad and you have an animated movie that bears as much resemblance to a Frozen or a Sleeping Beauty as a B movie does to The Ten Commandments or Lawrence of Arabia. For example in a typical animated movie the so-called heroine (San who has been raised by the Wolf God Moro) would be all noble and kind. But in this real world of myth and legend, she's quite willing to kill the odd innocent wagon driver if that's what it takes to preserve her beloved forest! And as for Lady Eboshi who rules Iron Town and in a typical western storyline would be a greedy tyrant. In Mononoke while yes, she may be destroying the forest and is also intent on killing the Great Forest spirit. She's also taking in girls from all the neighbouring brothels to run her forges and making them the equals of the men. Plus sheltering and protecting Lepers who she uses to make her guns and weapons. It's that sort of adult quality in plot and detail we're talking here! As for this new Blu-ray release, video wise it's definitely worth upgrading from the older Miramax DVD release. Good as the DVD was, the new Blu-ray is even better! This is definitely the way a movie of this quality should be seen. Audio wise it's not quite as important as the original soundtracks are from the late 90's and were already in a DD 5.1 format. The DVD's tracks being boosted up to DTS-HD 5.1 tracks in English, French and Japanese. I didn't really notice that much difference over the DVD's existing DD 5.1 audio which already was quite good. As for the included DVD release; it's essentially identical to the earlier Miramax DVD release right down to the menus which is why they don't match with the BD's menus which are similar to the new Kiki's Delivery Service Blu-ray that also just came out. So if you don't have a Blu-ray player and only intend to watch the new DVD; there's no point in upgrading from the older Miramax release. Finally a few extra points. On the back cover Disney lists the DVD English track as 2.0. But not to worry as it is the same 5.1 track as the older Miramax release. Also because switching audio tracks also switches screen credits; you can only change audio options from the main menu! And finally on a more important note, if you prefer watching this with the Japanese audio track; please note the following. The literal translation track of the older release has been replaced with a newer subtitle track on both the BD and DVD that's essentially identical to the closed captioning track just without the extra sound effects captioning. In other words, it appears to be dub titled. So if you preferred the older literal translation track; you might want to hold on to your older release! Now despite the niggling over the subtitles; overall I can't praise this movie enough! It is and still remains one of the finest animated movies of all time. And if you have a screen big enough; the new Blu-ray should definitely be picked up if you want to see just how good a true animated movie can be! FIVE BIG STARS OUT OF FIVE !!! J. A.

Bottom Line First: To get the less than good news out of the way, Miyazaki’s Princes Mononoke is not for the very young. The violence can be graphic and bloody. The themes are not as clear cut as might be found in bed time stories. There is no sex or bad language making this movies acceptable to those who screen for such. And that brings me to the good news. Princes Mononoke combines complex storytelling, adult level plotting, the fine art work of Studio Ghibli and the casting power of the Disney Studios to produce a wonderful movie. Highly recommended and a star even among my other Miyazaki movies. Princes Mononoke could have been another man versus nature and the world out of balance movie we have seen too many times. Instead we have man and nature in conflict but with a near absence of obviously evil industrialists and purely motivated united forest spirits. Gods can become demons, and seen as evil by humans and nature. The tribes within the world of nature are not natural allies and can have their own selfish motives. The human who is supposed to embody evil, Lady Eboshi (Voice acted by Minnie Driver) is a fierce warrior and hard nosed business woman but she is also good to her people and makes a point of finding better lives for people who would be cast offs and shunned in the larger world. On the subject of voice overs, Disney deserves credit having assembled a cast that included Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup. Made too clear to us in the included specials is the extra effort made by the voice actors and Disney to insure that the American dialogue fits with the animated Japanese speaking characters. As for the work of the director and his studio. What struck me most about Princes Mononoke was the balance between artistic detail and the flow of the story. Hayao Muyazaki has a tendency for story lines that can drag. I prefer to say they speed of motion can be stately. The Wind Rises remains among my favorite HM movies, but like The Wife says it is slow. Even the action movie Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (Collector's Edition) can drag, usually when the Studio is highlighting it's artwork. In Princess there was no lag in the story line. Scene action and plot development move logically forward even in the moments when the viewer is invited to enjoy the scenery. But what artwork it is! Studio Ghibli is always at its best drawing the sky and aerial views. Ghibli is also the master of fields and forests. Sometimes at the cost of foregrounds, manmade and human details. In Princess all of the elements view together in harmony. It may be that some level of detail has been lost, but if so, only to produce a more balanced picture. Studio Ghibli movies can be fine visual art at the expense of movement, I never felt that watching Princess Mononoke.

If you're a collector or a fan of Studio Ghibli, this Princess Mononoke Limited Edition Steelbook is an absolute must-have. Miyazaki's epic tale of the clash between industrial civilization and the Gods of the forest has never looked or felt better on a shelf. The steelbook itself is gorgeous. It features a matte finish with striking minimalist artwork that captures the film's tone perfectly. It's truly a standout piece in any media collection. Unlike standard plastic cases, this feels sturdy and durable. It's a slight investment compared to the standard edition, but for a film like this, it's worth every penny.

Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 film, “Princess Mononoke,” tells a work of historical fantasy set during the Muromachi period in Japan, following Prince Ashitaka as he becomes embroiled in a conflict between the gods of the forest and the humans consuming its resources. When a demon poisons the prince, he must travel to find the source of the poison. Along the way, he encounters the monk Jigo, who wants to hunt the Great Forest Spirit. They see a wolf pack with a human girl, San, among their number. When the wolves attack, Lady Eboshi and her men repel them and bring Ashitaka to Iron Town, a fortress on a mountain that the inhabitants have stripped of its trees to build and contain their massive forge. San and the wolves come to kill Eboshi for hurting the forest, but Ashitaka prevents the humans and forest gods from killing each other. He is injured and San brings him to the Great Forest Spirit for healing. Even as he recovers, the boar gods plan an attack on the humans. Jigo enlists Lady Eboshi to use the boars to find the Great Forest Spirit, which he succeeds in beheading, throwing the world out of balance. The story is a lovely metaphor for environmentalism and balance, recalling other films that addressed those themes in the 1980s and 1990s. Further, while some characters may act as antagonists, there are no true villains. Lady Eboshi may harm the forest, but she cares for people that society would normally stigmatize. Jigo may want to hunt, but he can also admit when he’s wrong. The wolf gods, boar gods, and ape gods may be scary at times, but they act under duress from industrialization. In “Princess Mononoke,” Miyazaki crafted a particularly great film worthy of both casual and scholarly attention.