Princess Mononoke

I actually have hardly anything to complain about; whether it's the amazing mythical story, the score, or the stunningly engaging visuals, which would be unimaginable in any other animated movie. The problem is simply that the plot, however brilliantly developed and imaginative, failed to effectively pull me in and make me sit still in front of the monitor for two hours. So all OK, I had fun and enjoyed an unconventional adventure movie, but I still like the top American cartoons much more. (08/03/2012)

For me, the weakest epic of Hayao's magnificent filmography, yet still with a feeling of a complex work. As soon as San appears after an unusually unremarkable start, the story grabs hold and, with a few exceptions, doesn't let go until the impressive and visually stunning conclusion. Those exceptions are the episodes set in Iron Town, which try to fit a somewhat clumsy humor into Princess Mononoke, which this time around feels like a punch in the eye. Everything else, however, is a fairytale in the most positive sense of the word. Whenever San and Ashitaka are in the same frame, but especially when Miyazaki unleashes ideas from his rich treasure trove called imagination. Wolves, forest creatures, or even the Great Forest Spirit made me feel like I was watching a filmed poem. (06/22/2006)

A hardcore fairy tale set in an imaginative world with a strong appeal to sensitive and conscientious behavior towards nature, which is very ambitious and broad in its many themes and (sub)plots (I honestly got a little lost at times). Miyazaki has really created an extremely diverse world here, which, though rendered (only) in animation, has absolutely full-blooded and morally quite contradictory heroes. [90%] (01/16/2022)

After watching Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki is for me right up there with James Cameron as a directorial god. His spectacular and narrative masterpieces (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke) are amazing examples of the genius and imagination of a skilled filmmaker. Once again, the director relies on the love between a boy and a girl against a backdrop of horrific dangers, and once again he does not disappoint. Of the films mentioned above, I found Mononoke to be the most mature and darkest. In short, an indescribable experience that I will carry with me for a long time. (12/24/2010)

I am watching Hayao Miyazaki's films in chronological order, and I like how his work evolves over time, but his signature remains safely recognizable. Princess Mononoke is another story with a strong ecological subtext, but it is one hundred percent serious fantasy with very few moments of lightness, but with a large number of magical and poetic scenes, and with characters who are by no means clearly divided into good and bad – each of them can be understood with a certain vision of the world, which adds to the story's impact. The monster finale is awesome, but there are plenty of memorable scenes. (08/06/2023)