wow

Rating: 9/10 (22 October 2000)

**SPOILERS** **SPOILERS** Intro: Wow. Quite an amazing film.
The plot of Mononoke moved pretty well. It follows the typical "good vs. evil" anime storyline almost to a tee through the first two-thirds of the film, then takes a couple of neat turns in the end. It kept me engaged throughout the entire film.
Though Mononoke doesn't have the best animation I've ever seen, the drawing was quite well done and the movement was rather smooth at most times. I wouldn't put it on the same spectacular level as a film such as Akira, but the detail and flow of the artwork was very respectable.
The soundtrack must be heard to be believed, though some of the voice-actor casting on Disney's part is questionable. The most notable casting miscue was Minnie Driver - she did a good job with her part, but her voice sounds completely out of place with the rest of the cast.
** THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS **
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The neatest thing I thought about Mononoke was how it didn't completely follow the typical anime storyline. I would place Mononoke in the apocalypse category, where all life as its known is halted in a great cleansing, and those who survive must put upon the task of starting over with their new lives. Mononoke differs from the typical apocalyptic film in a few ways, however.
Ashitaki, the main protagonist, doesn't get to keep San at the end. She still despises the humans, and she will apparently only give Ashitaki her audience. Although both of them will go about rebuilding their worlds, they will go about it separately, as opposed to rebuilding the world together.

Also, it is not only the good people that survive, but the not-so-good as well. Lady Eboshi was not killed in the end by Moro, although she was punished for shooting her. The monk (Gonza, I believe) also survived, though he was the one responsible for the destruction of the forest at end of the film.
These twists separate Mononoke's plot from most other apocalypse film plots, and those twists help to raise Mononoke from the level of the "average anime film."
ROB