Comments: Dual Audio
Another beautiful animation from Hayao Miyazaki. This one is a message film, and the message is one that nice people won't argue with but I found it a little overbearing and long-winded. However, I think this may have been the result of watching it with dubbed English audio. The translations, while kind of cute in their formality when you read them as subtitles, seem trite when spoken. Another distraction for me is Billy Bob Thornton. How does it turn out that the character he voices actually kinda looks like him? Do your self a favor and watch this with the original Japanese audio. It's a tremendous, and epic, film with animated cleavage and a couple decapitations. Don't get pulled out of the magic by "Here's Billy Bob again!" awkwardnesses.
Summary: Set in feudal Japan a time of upheaval of samurai warriors and isolated villages comes this story of a gun-wielding, young brave princess who was raised by wolves named Princess Mononoke who is sent to an ancient, forested land to defend the forest from human encroachment which threatens to unbalance the forces of nature. Ashitaka intervenes to stop the two sides fighting and takes San back to the forest, but is injured in the process. With San's intervention, he is healed of his wounds - but not his curse - by the forest spirit.
