Ever since I first watched Kiki’s delivery service around 2001, Ghibli films have been a major part of my life. Specifically the more family friendly ones that Disney heavily advertised for families. So of course I was surprised when, in 2010, I discovered this film in the library with Hayao Miyazaki’s name on it and Ghibli’s signature visual style, but rated PG-13 for violence. To be fair, Miyazaki had never shied away from violence, blood, or bruises, before. Mononoke, however, is real anime violence: gory and bloody to a near sensationalist degree. It’s also by far the most adult oriented film, with no child proxy characters, whimsy, or cute sidekicks. Needless to say, after being bored by the first 10 minutes, I left the couch, leaving my 6 year old sister to finish the movie. I came back about an hour and half later, intrigued by what was going on, and watched the insane and miraculous climax, completely devoid of its context.
Of course I didn’t like it.
I’ve also never forgotten it.
Ten years later, I’ve finally watched (or re watched?) Mononoke Hime.
Was it better this time around? Of course it was, but I can’t help but still feel a little bummed out by how it didn’t live up to the hype this film gets. Also, as unfair it is for me to do so, I’m reviewing this film specifically in comparison to other ghibli films.
Ashitaka, the poor but reserved prince of a struggling village, fends off a mysterious demon that is revealed out to be a dying war god. Despite successfully killing it, however, Ashitaka gets poisoned, and is fated to die. Hoping to find a cure, Ashitaka leaves his village, only to get mixed up in a massive conflict between the emperor and his thuggish samurai: a independent industrial town called Iron Town, led by the power hungry but cool headed leader, Lady Eboshi; and the Gods and Spirits of the earth, accompanied by the honorary wolf goddess, San, the titular “Princess Mononoke.
The biggest disappointment for me is the film's use of color, or lack thereof. This criticism is entirely unfair, as I am incredibly spoiled by the neon richness of the digital coloring the studio would later use, but even then, I feel the previous films were more rich in their pallet. Granted, the film Is going for a more realistic approach towards its colors compared to most ghibli films but I still found it non distinctive. Along similar lines, the animation is rather minimal-for a ghibli film (to be clear, the movie is about on par, if not slightly above average compared to the level of animation in most anime films. Its just low for ghibli) Again I understand why; at 134 minutes it is the third longest animated film of all time - of course they were going to have to cut a few corners, but again, it reduced the film's potential impact.
I’m being harsh about the film's aesthetics because usually that's the best part of a ghibli film, even when the story and characters are mediocre. Here the aesthetics didn’t come through and, frankly, the characters are also mediocre. The worst of both worlds. First of all, Ashitaka is probably the blandest protagonist I’ve seen in an anime film, and to make things worse, he has no character development throughout the entire film. I don’t mean he has a cliched arc, like a basic hero's journey or a bildungsroman, or even that they screwed up and made his character inconsistent. Nope, Ashitaka is literally the same exact uncharismatic wet blanket of a character from start to finish. This is because he begins the film already enlightened to the solution - all sides must not fight and instead should find a compromise. Through a series of action and dialogue scenes that he maneuvers easily, he (mostly) communicates this solution to the fighting parties. Roll credits.
The decent characters, like princess San and Lady Eboshi, are not given nearly enough screen time to match their potential. Both are striking and determined women trying to accomplish their goals and are the driving forces moving the events of the story. They’re especially neat because both are seemingly the height of Miyazaki’s two main female archetypes; the youthful and fierce young woman, still looking for her place in the world; and the mature adult woman who has already found her calling and is fighting to remain independent. Both are also quite charismatic and are skilled fighters. And yet, despite these wells of potential, both of them are in less than half the movie. It is truly a shame.
Personally, I feel that there are a multitude of reasons why a person could love a movie, and that the two categories of characters and visuals are perhaps given too much weight compared to other qualities. That said, the reason why they are given such weight is because they are considered the minimal elements needed for a film to be considered a film. Sadly, I feel Mononoke is lackluster, albeit still slightly above average, in these categories. If the film were to be only poorer in one, my opinion of the movie would likely be high enough to forgive the other, but alas, both are weights pulling the film down.
Where Mononoke Hime does excel at is in character/mechanical design, and themes.
Character designs are my weak spot, and Mononke Hime has great ones. The most stand out ones are, again, San and Eboshi. Both are visually distinct, with clothing and figures that match their opposite personalities. Sans mask and wolf skin headdress, as well as fleet footed abilities to climb walls and rocks with ease, make her unique and memorable. She also contrasts well with Eboshi’s elegant silk patterned robes which highlight her arrogance and power. Can you tell I thought the best scene in the entire movie was when the two of them were fighting one on one?
The designs of the Gods are also great. The expressions on Moro and Okkoto are always horrifying and mesmerizing, and the Forest spirit has the most unnerving yet beautiful design for a creature yet, with its tree-like antlers and baboon like face. The body horror of the “sickness” is also striking and has never left me since I first saw it growing on San and Ottoko a decade ago.
Other designs like the rifles and cannons used by Eboshi, as well as the building of the various locations, are simple but striking. Overall, the films designs were distinct and enjoyable and perhaps good enough to excuse the other colors and visuals.
Then we have the themes. What I love about Mononoke Hime is that this to me is the first film Miyazaki made where his characteristic themes came first. Typically, a Miyazaki movie will begin as a cool idea or a scenario or a character, and then his themes will appear through the movie's details and execution. Here, environmentalism, the horror of war, and feminism, are the full blown text of the film, not just enriching window dressing. Because of this, each theme is less one sided than it usually is in movies. Lady Eboshi is an earth destroying capitalist industrialist and is what would normally be unquestionably evil, but here she is also portrayed as a liberator and feminist, bringing hope to the disenfranchised and impoverished who have been left with nothing by the emperor's corrupt system. The Gods and Spirits, normally the unquestionably good and omnipotent characters, are portrayed as incredibly prideful and intolerant to change, often causing their own demise as much as the humans are. San herself is probably the most prideful of the Ghibli girls, making it difficult to be immediately on her side. Ashitaka’s call for compromise is not a typical solution for Miyazaki. Being the radical he is, he usually calls for more dramatic change. The emperor and his side are the only ones who aren’t given depth, but that's because they’re barely in it, only affecting the plot through small skirmishes and being mentioned in conversations.
This is also Miyazaki’s most overtly feminist film. Most of the female characters are former sex workers who are independent, hardworking, and frequently shown to be much more competent and courageous than their husbands. Of the three sides, the most in depth ones have several female leaders.
Further than that, however, Mononoke implies how Patriarchal societies push women to compete against each other. Lady Eboshi is fighting the Spirits because she is in debt and being blackmailed by the Emperor and a monk. San and her mother, Moro, are fighting, not only to defend their home, but to defend the male earth spirit. These women are shown to be nearly suicidal in passionate hate for the other, and yet a major reason they’re only doing so because society is forcing them to do so. In the end, both of them lose a lot in their pointless fighting, while gaining little. It’s tragic because it’s easy to imagine them being strong allies if they weren't both in competition, and that’s what ultimately makes the conflict of Mononoke Hime so compelling.
In the end, Mononoke Hime is a mixed bag, if an overall positive one. I recommend it, but don’t get your expectations too high.
As a final note, don’t watch this dubbed. Ghibli dubs are usually serviceable and sometimes are even better than the original, but Mononke Hime’s dub is pretty terrible. John DiMaggio and Jeda Pinkett Smith don’t sound like they belong there at all, Minnie Driver has a thick English accent for some reason, and they got Claire Danes to voice San, so you know it's going to suck. The only stand out performance is Kieth Richards as the blind war god, who is honestly amazing the whole way through. Too bad the rest of the cast were terrible.
