My favorite movie

Rating: Null/10 (24 July 2017)

To say that Princess Mononoke is the "Star Wars of Animated Features" hardly does it justice, and I love Star Wars. To say that Princess Mononoke is a great movie is an understatement. To say that it is one of the best movies ever made only begins to convey how astonishingly good this movie is. More than any movie I have ever seen, Princess Mononoke is in a class of its own. Though the movie contains many outstanding scenes, it is not so much the scenes themselves that make the movie as the little moments of greatness within them. These little flashes of brilliance are abundant and magical enough to elevate Princess Mononoke from a great movie to one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. These moments are unique, singular, even, both in their subtlety and in their impact, and serve as indisputable proof that Hayao Miyazaki has mastered the art form, both as a visual artist and as a storyteller. The man is a genius, and his film, Princess Mononoke, is much more than a movie, and certainly much more than a cartoon. It is an experience, a liberating, transcendent, and ultimately painful experience. I say painful because it is sad to see such a beautiful creation reach its end.
From the very beginning, Princess Mononoke immerses the audience in a vivid and compelling world, telling a story that, though deeply-rooted in tradition and drawing on Japanese myth and folklore, is never formulaic or overly-familiar, but original and refreshing. Soon into Princess Mononoke, it becomes clear that it is not an ordinary movie. It becomes clear just how much talent, imagination, and hard work went into the creation of this movie. The fact is that Princess Mononoke was so well-executed by so many people, that the end result is virtually flawless. Princess Mononoke was almost destined to become a classic. The animation alone makes it worth watching (yes, it is that good), but it is the synergy between the stunning artwork, the timeless story, the enchanting setting, the brilliant soundtrack, the spot-on voice- acting, and, finally, what is perhaps my favorite thing about the movie, the beautiful transformation the movie's titular character undergoes, from a wild animal to a human being, that makes it essential viewing, not just for anime/fantasy/animation fans, but for everyone with an appreciation for beauty.