DVD Review:
Princess Mononoke

 
Proper Title

Mononoke Hime

Released By

Miramax

Price

$30.00

Languages

English
French
Japanese, with English subtitles

Running Time

134 minutes

Packaging

The front cover has a picture of Ashitaka fending off a sword stroke from an unknown source.  The name of the movie, as well as a listing of the major voice actors are listed above the picture.  The back has a brief summary of the movie and a couple of screencaps.

Inserts

A single piece of paper, with a copy of the front cover on one side, with a list of chapter stops on the other side.

Audio

The audio is typical DVD quality.

Video

The video is typical DVD quality.

Subtitles

The subtitles are thin, yellow, with a very small border.  They are placed on the picture, rather than in the black area of the letterbox.  They are somewhat difficult to read.

Menu

The main menu has a picture of San riding with Maro.  The scene select menu has pictures of the various chapter stops.  The language and subtitle menus have pictures of Ashitaka riding his elk.   The extras menu has a picture of the Deer God.

Extras

The extras included on this disk are:

Featurette - The English vocal cast speak about their experiences with making the movie.

Theatrical Trailer - The trailer for the movie

Their Summary

"Clair Danes (The Mod Squad), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) and Billy Bob Thornton (Armageddon, Sling Blade) head a cast of hot Hollywood stars who lend their talents to this exquisitely animated, overwhelmingly acclaimed adventure epic!  Inflicted with a deadly curse, a young warrior named Ashitaka (Billy Crudup - Without Limits) sets out to the forests of the west in search of the cure that will save his life.  Once there, he becomes inextricably entangled in a bitter battle that matches Lady Eboshi (Driver) and a proud clan of humans against the forest's animal gods...who are lead by the brave Princess Mononoke (Danes), a young woman raised by wolves!  Also starring Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) and Jada Pinkett Smith (Scream 2), this monumental struggle between man and nature will have you transfixed with amazement as stunning artistry blends with epic storytelling to create a uniquely entertaining motion picture!"

My Summary

Mononoke Hime is the story of a young man named Ashitaka.   While protecting his village from a berserk demon, he was marked with a curse that would cost him his life.  In order to find a cure, he traveled to the lands west of his home.  Here, he met Lady Eboshi and her town of ironworkers.  From her, he learns of the Wolf God's Princess, who is leading the animals of the forest against her people.  He also learns that Lady Eboshi desires to destroy the forest where the Deer God lives.  When the Princess arrives to kill Lady Eboshi, Ashitaka saves her from death and, badly wounded, the two leave the town.   The Princess, San, later takes him to the pool in the forest of the Deer God, to lay him to rest.  Later, the Deer God restores Ashitaka's life.  From here, we learn that the Boar God was planning to move against the humans.  Once Ashitaka has recovered, he leaves the forest to return to the humans in the town.  We then see the battle that took place between the boars and the humans, and learn that samurai have attacked the town.  Ashitaka goes for Lady Eboshi, only to learn that she intends to kill the Deer God.  Despite his attempts to stop her, she succeeds. The Deer God then turns into a giant God of Death, who is only stopped when Ashitaka and San give him back his head.  After this, we see that the forest is gone, but the town has been covered by grass and flowers.  Ashitaka then resolves to go live with the people of the town, while San to lives where the forest was.

Comments

Mononoke Hime is a really great movie.  I totally recommend it to anyone old enough to handle the violence.

Kitsune Onna's Opinion

On the whole, I'm happy with this disk.  I just wish the subs were easier to read.