A marvel in animation and cinema

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 2019)

Everytime I watch this film and it ends, I get the feeling that something amazing has just happened. That being said Princess Mononoke is one of the best films I've ever seen. It's a film that get better everytime I watch it and one that I will always hold in high regard.
The follows an incredibly selfless and shockingly beautiful young prince named Ashitaka who kills a demonic boar when it attacks his village but not without consequences. The demon curses him which forces him to leave his village to find a cure and he comes across a war between humans and nature.
The film does have an environmental message but I always thought that wasn't the main message about the film, I'll get to that later. First things first, the animation is phenomenal. One of the best looking movies I've ever seen, everything looks flawless. This movie has been out for at least 22 years now and the fact that it looks better than most newer movies is quite something. It's boosted by an incredible amount of color, atmosphere and smoothness that feels organic and makes the world feel alive.
The music is also fantastic as it summarizes exactly what the film is: an animated epic for the ages. Every piece of music is outstanding, especially the last track of the movie. The pacing is immaculate because the opening sequence showcases that this isn't going to be a slow moving film which it isn't. There are slower moments but that's only to give the audience time to digest the characters and learn more about them and what's going on.
The story and characters really help this movie. First, we have Ashitaka. The young, pretty boy hero who wants both sides of the war to be in peace and tries to do that while maintaining his curse. San, the Princess Mononoke herself, also three dimensional. She's the Princess of the forest gods and is the love interest for Ashitaka since even though she lives with animals, she's still a human. Lady Eboshi may come off as an antagonist but really isn't because there's no villain character in the film making the world feel more alive and the characters more realistic despite that some of them are giant talking animals.
Remember the environmental message I talked about? Well, I always thought this was the true message of the film: Throughout the movie, Ashitaka and San grow closer and than right before the movie ends, they confess their feelings for one another. This highlights something: love the unloved, love the sacred and forgotten, and love people enough that they understand you love them without staying with them. They don't even kiss once throughout the entire film because Miyazaki is smart enough to showcase their love without something cliched like that.
Overall, Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke is one of the best films I've ever seen. It's a film that I can put on at any point and still love it the same way. I've seen it countless times and it never gets old. 100% recommend.