This
year has seen the release of many great animated features including; Toy Story
2, Tarzan, South Park, and Iron Giant. Enter Princess Mononoke, a highly innovative,
beautiful piece of Japanese animation that's lightyears beyond the barbaric techniques
used in the hideously insipid Pokemon.
Prolific
animator Hayao Miyazaki labored for years to bring this ecological fairy tale
to the screen, and the hard work has certainly paid off. Although this film is
in the traditional Japan animation style, it's much more fluid than some of Japan's
earlier products. It should also be noted that it's rated PG-13 for a reason.
There are a lot of flying body limbs and some of the subject matter may be too
deep for young ones.
For
the American release of this popular film, many talented actors have lent there
voices to effective results. If you listen closely, you may here Minnie Driver,
Billy Bob Thornton and many others.
Parts
of Princess Mononoke don't work in terms of the story. There are moments at the
film's end that don't hold water, and two hours and fifteen minutes is quite long
for an animated feature, but these are trivial complaints for a cartoon that looks
this good.
Miyazaki
has been hailed as one of the greats by many American animators including John
Lasseter (the Toy Story films). As you watch the beautiful and original world
of Princess Mononoke, it's easy to see why.
