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I saw this film in Japan, in Japanese with no sub-titles, I don't speak a word of the language and I was still enthralled! It is Miyazaki most visually intense (surpassing, at long last, Nausicaa) and is alive with color and movement the like not yet seen in anime.

The story is complex, and after talking with Japanese friends, it is clear that much of it went over my head (particularly that relating to specific Japanese myths), but the important elements came through. Miyazaki's long infatuation with technology verses nature and man's relation to God (or gods) weave throughout the film as does his trend for strong women characters.

Even with the language barrier, the film is of such intense emotion that it caries you through to the end. The change in dynamic between the crashing fight scenes and the quiet scenes of healing by the lake is so broad and so well paced that I can't remember a film where my emotional state was so expertly varied.

If you have a chance to see this film, in any language, I recommend you do.

The first time I saw Princess Mononoke I was completely moved and surprised. Since it was a Studio Ghibli film dubbed by Disney I liked the fact that it wasn't a "they all lived naively ever after" film. There were no complete "good" or "bad" guys. Even Lady Eboshi the most antagonist character in the movie had a reasonable motive for trying to get rid of the animal gods and cutting down the forest. Although it her actions were environmentally damaging and wrong in general, she did it to help her people survive which is what all the species on Earth strive for. Another wonderful aspect of the plot is that it sends a message - Protect the Earth and all will survive in peace - a message either discreetly or strongly portrayed in many of Miyazaki's films. Perhaps the portrayal of this message (and the tiny hint of San and Ashitaka's romance and Moro's views on nature) was what made the film so touching to me.

Like many Miyazaki movies, the animation (as always) is wonderful and nicely detailed which is also another quality that genuine Disney films lack (thank goodness for Studio Ghibli). The music was beautiful and well suited to the movie.

The only predicament to the movie is that it is a bit downbeat and does not contain much happy laughter (oh well, I can watch My Neighbor Totoro - also a good movie - for happy laughter.).

10/10 - And my favourite movie of all time.

Princess Mononoke is one of the best animated movies I have seen in a long time, and is up there with Studio Ghibli's best along with Spirited Away. I will say I am probably biased, as I am a huge Studio Ghibli fan, and love all of their films, I even like Cat Returns, which along with PomPoko is considered as one of the weaker Ghibli efforts. The animation in Princess Mononoke is absolutely stunning, with rich detailed backgrounds and brilliant character animation. The image of the Stag actually made my jaw drop. The music is fantastic as well, and although environmentalism is a subject matter very difficult to get right, what the filmmakers succeeded in doing was making a highly intriguing story that was not only original but succeeded in not being preachy at all. The film is also helped by the high calibre vocal talents of Minnie Driver, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton et al (voicing quite remarkable characters) and a strong script. True, some of the images like the Demon Worm, may frighten younger viewers, but it is fair to say they were very powerful. All in all, Princess Mononoke is breathtaking and I recommend it highly. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I have seen many many animated features, but none compare to the talent that is shown in this anime. After seeing this for the first time, I could see why so many animators (especially disney animators) consider Mr. Miazaki a GOD! His animation style has the best "flowing motion" I have ever seen.

The American dubbing team, whoever they are did an excellent job picking voices, they got top notch actors to do the job right (unlike most animes today). They even took on the hair-pulling task of RE-ANIMATING the mouth movements to match!

This is by far one of the best films I have ever seen.

Im a Big fan of Miyazaki... This movie is Definitely in his top 3...

Princess Mononoke's story is very in depth and it grabs your attention. Time after time. You may have to watch it a couple times to catch everything but you will fall in love with the characters and story every time you sit down to watch it

As for the art... Its Visually stunning yet again. Everything is depicted so well in Miyazaki's artwork from the humans to the Forest gods and everything in between

this definitely worth watching.

And if you like it you should definitely check out some of his others like Castle In The Sky, Howls Moving Castle and Spirited Away