changeadmin- Movie Name: Princess Mononoke
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Run Time: 2h 13m
- Year of Release: 1997
- Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4 stars)
This movie is by Hayao Miyazaki, one of Japan’s acclaimed animation directors. He is known for taking viewers into a fantastical world in most of his movies.
Hayao is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, which has produced many animated feature films that have achieved international acclaim, including Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro. Princess Mononoke is also part of Studio Ghibli’s stable.
Princess Mononoke’s story is about the journey of young man Ashitaka, who is cursed by a demon he killed while protecting his village. The curse affects Ashitaka’s right arm, which gives him the power to perform supernatural feats when surrounded by hate, but it also has the potential to eventually kill him. On the advice of village elders, he sets out to an open world to find a cure for himself.
On his journey, he meets many different people, including Lady Eboshi, the leader of Iron Town, and Princess Mononoke, a girl who lives in forests and is raised by wolves. These two ladies are at odds with each other as Iron Town is built by clearing forests to mine the iron, leading to disgruntlement among the forest inhabitants.
As the movie unfolds, the conflict is further aggravated. Forest spirits and wolf gods are threatened by human inhabitants who are set to consume forest resources and kill the Forest Spirit with guns and canons. Ashitaka tries hard to maintain a balance, but he is torn between nature and humanity.
Ultimately, the movie ends positively, with Ashitaka being cured of his curse, Lady Eboshi vowing to build a better town, and Mononoke returning to her regrown forest.
While the Princess Mononoke movie might be complicated at times, it conveys an emphatic message that humans and nature must live in harmony for both to thrive. We don’t live in a fictitious world where animals can physically fight for their land, but it is human’s responsibility to ensure natural resources are not indiscriminately extracted, animals are given their due respect, and nature is protected.
This movie, released in 1997 in Japan, was revolutionary for hand-drawn animation. It has been dubbed in multiple languages, including English and Hindi, and is available on Netflix.
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