Princess Mononoke

Story

Defending his people from a rampaging demon, young Ashitaka (Billy Crudup, English voice) is cursed by a beast. The beast leaves Ashitaka with a deadly mark on his arm before he manages to kill it. Ashitaka sets out on a journey, hoping to understand the source of the curse and find a cure.

Ashitaka’s search leads him to Iron Town, a fortress-like settlement led by the ambitious Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver, English voice). She protects marginalised people like prostitutes and lepers, training them in combat as well as in manufacturing iron and firearms. But Lady Eboshi’s work also causes widespread destruction of the natural environment, which angers the gods and forest creatures and arouses jealousy in others.

In the forests outside Iron Town, Ashitaka encounters San (Claire Danes, English voice), a human girl raised by the wolf goddess Moro (Gillian Anderson, English voice). San, also known as Princess Mononoke, views herself as part of the forest and hates humans (especially Lady Eboshi) for the destruction they’ve caused.

Tensions escalate as the Emperor sends his forces to bring back the head of the Forest Spirit, believing it will grant him immortality. As the inhabitants of Iron Town prepare for war against the forest gods, Ashitaka tries to act as an intermediary and encourage compassion and peace between many groups that can’t see past their own greed or anger.

Themes

Destructive human greed; war; vengeance; corruption; ostracism; alienation

Violence

Princess Mononoke has some violence. For example:

Soldiers stab farmers.
Soldiers shoot arrows at Ashitaka.
A man beats a woman.
Ashitaka shoots an arrow at a soldier and amputates both the man’s arms with the one shot.
Ashitaka decapitates a man by shooting an arrow at his neck. His head blasts off in a burst of blood.
People talk about a landslide that kills some villagers.
San is shot at by cannons.
A man repeatedly slaps oxen on their rump.
Moro attacks men and throws them off a cliff.
Boars are angry when humans clear the forest. The boars kill men and trample their village.
One character says to another, ‘Answer our questions or I will cut you in half’.
A character asks for help to kill the forest spirits.
Men try to kill San, and she has a sword fight with them. She’s later blasted off a roof while running towards Lady Eboshi. She’s blasted by fire and falls to the ground. She stands up and is hit in the face.
Two characters have a knife fight.
San steps on and cuts a man’s face.
A woman is stabbed in the stomach.
Ashitaka jumps in front of a bullet and is shot through the chest.
Ashitaka falls and hits his head on a rock. A wolf attacks his head.
San holds a knife to Ashitaka’s throat.
A wolf says that they must eat Ashitaka to steal his strength and drive him away.
Ashitaka is told that he’ll be killed if he comes to the forest again.
Two groups shoot cannons at each other.
Characters are hit in the chest and face with bullets.
A girl shoots a bullet at a messenger.
Men attack Ashitaka with swords and then try to kill him by firing arrows at him.
Hundreds of boars are killed by an explosion. There are piles of bodies, and Ashitaka notes the smell of burning flesh in the air.
Iron Town is attacked, and there’s a fight with guns and arrows.
An arrow hits the animal Ashitaka is travelling on.
Poison arrows are shot at Ashitaka as he tries to help a wolf.
Lady Eboshi shoots the Forest Spirit in the head, but nothing happens.
Both Moro and the boar god die.
Lady Eboshi shoots again at the Forest Spirit, and this time she shoots his head off his shoulders.
The Emperor’s men collect the severed head and start taking it back to Iron Town, while the Forest Spirit searches for his head.
The forest creatures start to transform or die after the Forest Spirit is killed.
Moro’s severed head reaches out and attacks Lady Eboshi, ripping off her arm.
Wolves attack men who are wearing boar hides on their heads.
A character is kicked and punched in the head.
When the Forest Spirit reattaches his severed head, he drops down dead on Iron Town.

Sexual references

Princess Mononoke has some sexual references. For example:

There are numerous references to a group of women who used to work as prostitutes.
One of the women in the town says to Ashitaka, ‘Wow, hey – you’re not handsome, you’re gorgeous!’ Other women join in, telling him to ‘come over to our place’.
There are references to Lady Eboshi buying the contracts of all the brothel girls she can find.
A couple of women say, ‘Iron Town sure beats working in a brothel in the city’ and ‘Here men don’t bother us unless we want them to’.
A character says, ‘You girls were wasted in the brothel’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Princess Mononoke.

Nudity and sexual activity

Princess Mononoke has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Characters sometimes wear loin cloths while they wade in the water or work. They’re generally shown from afar.
A man sits in a robe with his bare belly protruding over his knees as he squats on a bench.
Most of the women in Iron Town wear robes that show a lot of cleavage.
San chews jerky and spits it into an injured Ashitaka’s mouth. It looks like they’re kissing.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Princess Mononoke.

Coarse language

Princess Mononoke has some coarse language, name-calling and insults, including ‘thief’, ‘heck’, ‘damn’, ‘demon monster’, ‘shut up’, ‘filthy pigs’, ‘idiots’, ‘cowards’, ‘runt’, ‘stupid’, ‘bastards’, ‘greedy bastard’ and ‘big dope’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated historical fantasy, written and directed by acclaimed Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The movie blends real-life elements of Japan’s Muromachi period with folklore featuring natural spirits and gods.

Because of its mature themes and the graphic nature of its violence, Princess Mononoke isn’t suitable for younger viewers. It’s best suited to viewers aged over 13 years.

These are the main messages from Princess Mononoke:

True harmony can be achieved only when humans respect and coexist with nature.
We must strive to embrace empathy and compassion even in the middle of conflict and moral ambiguity.

Values in Princess Mononoke that you could reinforce with your children include respect, understanding, courage, empathy, sacrifice and compassion.

Princess Mononoke could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the importance of living in harmony with nature and preserving the balance of the natural world.