Analysis Of Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke

One of the first movies that come to mind when the name “Studio Ghibli” is mentioned is the masterful Princess Mononoke. Written by the world renowned Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki, the 1997 film is a historical fantasy world set in the Muromachi Period of Japan. It follows the story of the main character Ashitaka, the last prince of an Emishi village. A battle with a demon leaves the prince with a lethal curse, and he must leave home in order to search for an elusive cure. The film takes a twist on protagonists uncommonly seen at the time, in which Ashitaka fights a lonely war, and also tells the story of the human’s selfish consumption on the Earth’s natural resources. Princess Mononoke is a 133 minute experience

Princess Mononoke exemplifies this through skill and the use of the technology available during its development. Computer generated animations were an option during the creation. However Miyazaki wanted to preserve the authentic, hand-drawn animations for a majority of the film. The computer generated animations serve to compliment the traditional animations by adding a sense of fluidity that would take several hand-drawn cell frames to achieve. Futhermore, the amazing storytelling and characters are essential aspects that make up this film. Despite being set is a fantasy world in which talking animals are the normal, a sense of realism exists through the raw feelings and struggles of the characters. They are not black and white or good and bad. Rather, the characters show several gray areas in their characterization and their actions throughout the film. For example, Ashitaka, the protagonist, is in a constant battle with the curse and himself. He performs questionable actions he has no control over, such as ruthlessly murdering soldiers with single arrows. It poses a question of moral, whether Ashitaka is a good person or not, and this three-dimensionality stays true to real people to a less extreme

Realism and fantasy is beautifully combined in an immersive experience that an audience can enjoy. The plot is well crafted despite being thought up with scripts, and the characters show a realistic value in a fantasy settling that which viewers can relate. The fact that it is a Studio Ghibli film adds to its credibility because the studio is known for producing several award winning films, Princess Mononoke included. It is deserving of its many awards because, with its unique characters, storytelling conventions, and art form, it is a film worth