For more info on Mononoke Hime or any of the Studio Ghibli films, check out Nausicaa.net at http://www.nausicaa.net/.

Or pick up the book PRINCESS MONONOKE: The Art and Making of Japan's Most Popular Film of All Time from Hyperion Books.

ISBN # 0-7868-6609-8

Mononoke hits the US

On October 29, 1999, Princess Mononoke made its first official U.S. appearance on the big screen in the first set of selected theaters. The film was masterfully adapted and redubbed by the crew from Miramax Films. Renowned comic book creator Neil Gaiman was commissioned to write the adapted screenplay with Mononoke director/writer Hayao Miyazaki. Then an impressive cast was assembled to bring life to the characters for the release. The cast includes:

Princess Mononoke is currently in select theaters around the country. For more information on the U.S. release, check out the official Princess Mononoke website at http://www.princess-mononoke.com/. There you'll find comments, pictures, theater listings and much more. Be sure to check it out! Also, check back next issue for a review of the US release.

In the End

Miyazaki-san himself summed up the meaning of Mononoke Hime the best. "Here lies, I believe, the meaning of making such a film as we enter the chaotic times of the twenty-first century. We are not trying to solve global problems with this film. There can be no happy ending to the war between the rampaging forest gods and humanity. But even in the midst of hatred and slaughter, there is still much to live for. Wonderful encounters and beautiful things still exist.

"We depict hatred in this film, but only to show that there are more important things. We depict a curse, but only to show the joy of deliverance. Most important of all, we show how a boy and a girl come to understand each other and how the girl opens her heart to the boy. At the end, the girl says to the boy, 'I love you, Ashitaka, but I cannot forgive human beings.' The boy smiles and says, 'That's all right. Let's live together in peace.'"