An amazing movie

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 1999)

Normally, when someone recommends an anime film to me, I'm a bit leery. After all, there are a lot of anime fans out there who LOVE the style, and will tell me to see films which, honestly, are pretty mediocre. Add on to that the fact that Mononoke was dubbed, not subtitled, and I was a little bit sceptical. Well, this movie blew my mind. To call it anime, I feel, demeans it in a way. Many films may be great anime without being great art. This was both. Visually, it was stunning, and for once the dubbing was not a liability. When a foreign film is badly dubbed (or badly subtitled, for that matter), it distracts me from many good qualities, and I have to temper my praise for the movie. The voice actors here were truly quality, and it showed. I thought that they all did well for themselves, and made the movie a bit more comfortable for me, an english speaker, than had Japanese voices alone been offered. To address plot, I felt that this was where the movie shone. The film portrayed many characters in many lights... just when you want to hate someone, they have a noble side that brings you up short. I was initially let down by where the movie went, but upon seeing it again, love it even more. For me, one of the best aspects of this movie was its feminist quality, something not exactly common in medieval Japan. If you haven't seen Princess Mononoke, do yourself a favor and make it a point to do so.