A Dark Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (31 December 2019)

In many of it's other films, Studio Ghibli has excelled in telling small, thoughtful, and personal stories. Amongst such films as "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Whisper of the Heart", "Princess Mononoke" is an anomaly. It is an intense, dark story about total, irredeemable war between a group of careless humans and the bloodthirsty protectors and armies of nature. The animation is breathtaking, the score is fantastic, the characters are complex, and the story is intriguing. Both sides are treated with nuance, avoiding the crappy, dim-witted one-sidedness of films such as James Cameron's "Avatar". Indeed, this serves to raise the stakes as both sides wage a bitter war. Additionally, the true protagonist of the story, Ashitaka, is one of Studio Ghibli's finest leads, tirelessly working to stop the needless bloodshed as the story rushes towards it's shocking climax. While the dark themes, gore, and minor language may be a turn off for many fans of Ghibli's usual fare, "Princess Mononoke" is a unique, dark masterpiece.