Princess Mononoke

TIFF [1999]

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ROBERT L 'S REVIEW

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This film is nothing less than the Beowulf or Star Wars® of animated adventure films, with as complex a plot as you're likely to find in any half-dozen novels combined in the "Fantasy" section of your local bookstore, and action sequences that explode beyond the 2D renderings. A curious combination of environmentalism, Japanese Shinto folklore, graphic gore, and the occasional stab into Pokemon cutesiness (in the form of these little Pillsbury Doughboy forest gods with big round eyes and rattling heads), "Princess Mononoke" is being primed to be a big hit on North American shores when it's released wide into theatres later this fall.

If I have any quibbles with "Princess Mononoke", it's with the character animation, which often leaves me cold in even the most ground-breaking anime epics. The widescreen landscapes are stunning, the action sequences as dynamic as Woo, and the costume and creature design worthy of Lucasfilm, but the animated cast share that standard Japanese look ala Speed Racer and even the current sensation "Pokeman" that's for megeneric and inexpressive. I wish at least the leads were given distinctive looks and the range of subtle facial movements that characters in the best of Disney's features possess. The background "extras" all seem to be xeroxes from the same key animator's design sheet.

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However, each creature is unique and meticulously rendered. There's a real majesty to these gods and demons that many of the puppet and CGI creations of live-action fantasy fail to achieve.

A word to parents: "Princess Mononoke" has none of the nudity of Ralph Bakshi's films or Heavy Metal, or R-rated anime features like The Wandering Kid or Perfect Blue, but given the level of graphic violence and also the story's leisurely pacing, complexity, and sometimes downbeat nature, it's certainly NOT for most children.

There were many times when this convoluted movie didn't make a helluva lot of sense to me, but I couldn't take my eyes off it and for that reason I recommend it highly. It's pretty wild, folks.

RobertL

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