Princess Mononoke Film Review

A Dated Film Review

Princess Mononoke is an anime film, and as such, it is not a style that (other than shows like Pokemon) i have not really seen much of. However, it's a genre that interests me because of it's very creative storylines.

I was recommended this film by a friend a few years ago, but just never got round to it. Finally, i did(obviously, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this now).

It was a good film, the animation was stunning and kept me captivated throughout. The storyline is exactly what you expect from an anime. It was wierd, yet wonderful. It seems to have a huge moral focus on nature and how we should all care and look after it. Which is fair enough, and it's delivered quite well.

One of the issues i found with the film was the slight lack of soundtrack use. Don't get me wrong, some of the music used was incredible and beautifully conducted, but i felt that could have used it more to get some more emotion into the film. I didn't feel as connected with the characters as i usually do, i don't know if that was just because i was watching it in Japanese, or that the director created some distance between the characters on purpose. Perhaps it was just the style of the film and the surreal events that i'm not userd to.

But it was a great watch, and at 2 hours in length, they didn't waste a second. Every moment was pure joy to view and the story was constantly moving and developing. Thier were not really any twists or shocking moments, but i guess you on' expect any. It's more about the beauty of the animation and the wonders of the strange lands that keep you enteratined.

If you watch the film, i do recommend the japanese voicing(with subtitles of course), i haven't watched it with the english voices yet, but i'm guessing they don't do it justice. I'm worried thatthey'll make it more about the empotions, instead of the much more interesting sides of this film. If you want to try out some anime, this is certainly a good place to start.

6/10

Posted in: daniel mackrell, film review, Princess Mononoke