Princess Mononoke (1997)

The mythological tale of a war between encroaching civilization and the beast gods of the forest. (Miramax)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Written By: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Keith David, John DiMaggio, Billy Bob Thornton, Corey Burton, Gillian Anderson, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup, Jada Pinkett Smith, Claire Danes, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Yôji Matsuda
Genres: Family/Kids, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
AKA: Mononoke-hime
Country: Japan
Where to Stream
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Princess Mononoke belongs to 94 collections
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Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
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eveelun | 94 99th |
I can't imagine how much work went into this, but it's easily one of the most rewarding movies I've ever seen. The animation is breathtakingly beautiful, the story is rich and complex, as are all the characters, and the film manages to elicit sympathy, humor, and sheer awe throughout.
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BeeDub | 100 97th |
A gorgeous and absorbing animated film, both epic and intimate.
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Okkervil | 98 99th |
Blurring the lines between good and evil, and showing how majestic and powerful animation can be, this is Miyazaki at his awe inspiring best. The luscious animation is on demand delicate, beautiful, brutal and frantic when the action, pace and scene requires it to be. Miyazaki is a total genius, and this is my favourite of all his works of art. Pretty much perfect and my favourite animated movie ever!
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Alex Watkins | 5 91st |
Its beautiful imagery alone is enough to shame the majority of animated films; its depth, ambition and imagination put it on another level entirely. At times, the plot might be overly ambitious, but overall it's a gripping, awe-inspiring tale. One of the best animated movies I've seen - maybe the best, period.
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5 | whomperize | 88 94th |
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A darker Miyazaki film that deals more with conflict than resolution (until the end). This is an amazing story, and I always think of this movie as "Lord of the Rings mixed with anime." The last twenty minutes of Mononoke feature some of the most absolutely insane animation to ever grace a screen.
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XakkMaster | 97 98th |
Maybe the greatest animated film of all-time. There is so much imagination and hard work that was put into making this epic and not a moment is wasted. The animation is, as with every Miyazaki, flawless and colors explode off the screen. It has memorable characters and the engrossing story is accessible for all ages, though some of the scenes may be a little scary for younger viewers. No other film, live-action or otherwise, better depicts the on-going battle of nature and human civilization.
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Filligan | 96 94th |
The biggest pleasant surprise from Princess Mononoke is that it really is as good as people laud it. The film is bravely adult, and not just in its violence and story, but in its vast array of dark and contemplative themes. It stands out from Miyazaki's other works in this way, and in doing so stands on a pedestal even higher than the emotionally striking Spirited Away. Miyazaki's films are all beautiful, but his strong and courageous storytelling elevates the art to new heights.
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SpiderCrusoe | 70 63rd |
It's a well done film, but the story isn't quite up my alley.
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lrampartl | 100 99th |
One of my real favorites. There's no real clear-cut villain, this is all shades of grey. Man vs. nature. A must-see for fans of fantasy films or anime.
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Mentaculus | 100 99th |
The animation is its own gorgeous beast, forcing you to concede to the gravity of it all. Within a few passing lines of dialogue and a beautifully animated gesture, each character, even a seemingly trivial one, is given a past and a goal: a fully realized agenda. I am floored every time by how effortlessly the film weaves so many character intricacies into such a morally ambiguous and -truthfully- epic experience. This is my film sal volatile: a violent but welcome reassurance of film's power.
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Luna6ix | 72 41st |
While it is one of the most lauded Ghibli movies, I had a hard time getting into this one, it had the same imagination as their best, but was missing the fanciful whimsy of the best. Where other's go for a fairy tale story, "Princess Mononoke" is a mideval legend.
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Leonardis | 98 98th |
My personal favorite from Hayao Miyazaki. I think it's one of his most interesting worlds with some of the most interesting characters I've seen in film to date. The sense of dread, the violence, the characters, the music, the animation, and world-building... It's all just so interesting. I never feel the runtime when I watch it because of how into it I am. Not for the faint of heart, especially if you love animals, and it's a very mature story.
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djross | 74 83rd |
Rumination on the industrial beginnings of the anthropisation of the natural milieu, from a cosmological perspective where beings are distributed between living things, mortals and gods. In other words, if knowledge is always a means of approaching the future, then here cinema is seen as an attempt to revive a kind of magical understanding for the contemporary age, rooted in a new mythology, devised for intergenerational transmission and admirably conceived in non-oppositional terms.
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BattleToad | 90 89th |
Princess Mononoke is beautifully animated, and the story is terrific as well. There's no mystery as to why it's one of Miyazaki's better known films. Even to those who don't like anime, this film can entertain thoroughly with its action and colorful characters. Remember to watch it in Japanese, because it's easy to miss a lot from the original vision when it's dubbed over. Awesome!
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ozymandius10 | 88 95th |
Excellent Miyazaki stuff. The animation is beautiful, and even the english voice acting cast isn't half bad.
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hellboy76 | 86 96th |
While I prefer Spirited Away this is still an excellent film and a monument to not only how good a director Miyazaki is, but writer as well.
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goremeat | 90 95th |
This is NOT a tree-hugging hippie movie. Mononoke-hime speaks to the deep dark heart of mankind's struggle against Nature that both delicately provides and brutally takes. In Japanese, the Gods come off angrier and fiercer, and the humans more relatable. Balanced and meticulously crafted.
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silencer | 100 99th |
Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece! Magic, adventure, characters that are nor evil nor good. Full of invention adequate to 8 movies by other director. Film which makes you love the Anime!
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Magb | 95 94th |
More story-driven than Spirited Away, and slightly less awe-inspiring. Or maybe that's just because I saw Spirited Away first. Either way I love them both.
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terrymac | 88 96th |
Hugely enjoyable and imaginative animation. It might appear to be a tad convoluted on paper, but the films flows beautifully and is always coherent and compelling. I particularly like the lack of clear cut villain/good guy roles; this element in tandem with the creativity on show makes this a very satisfying experience. Highly recommended.
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TedDedon | 91 87th |
One of the best animated movies I've ever seen. Great art design, a wonderful story, and great voice work.
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e_e | 100 99th |
Made me a better person, it's that simple.
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moraesfelipe | 95 98th |
Miyazaki's imagination is deeply concerned with important values, such as nature preservation, and yet he finds a fantastic way to say it, without being too sentimental. Mononoke is one of a kind.
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Judge Holden | 4 51st |
The animation is spectacular. The story and writing are embarrassing.
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Bown | 90 92nd |
Really epic and awe-inspiring. The moral ambiguity was awesome, and Miyazaki has the greatest imagination.
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Tweedale | 10 98th |
Miyazaki is a genius. This is only my third favourite of his films, and I still cannot find a single flaw. Sublime.
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matGuy3 | 10 98th |
Truly a masterpiece. Animation, characters, plot, and setting all work very well together in making Miyazaki's vision flow into life.
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2 | BlakeEngel | 10 93rd |
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Stands next to Spirited Away as Miyazaki's greatest and one of animation's greatest works. There's no bad time to watch this movie. You immediately feel COMPLETELY ENVELOPED in this world. A perfect rhythm, moving from intense action to contemplative reflection and back. A touching allegory about our destruction of the natural world. We destroy it not out of malice but out of desperate need. Is man or nature more "important"? Can there be harmony? Infinite beauty in this movie.
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SlrSoapbox | 100 98th |
No one is a hero and no one is a villain in this story, and that's one of the things I like the best about it. An interesting mythology and the ambiguous morality of the characters is great too.
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Moribunny | 53 41st |
This was the first Miyazaki movie I watched, and it bored me at the time. Over the years, and after watching the rest of his filmography, I have learned to appreciate this more, but it's still one of his least impressive.
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Kavu | 90 94th |
Breathtakingly beautiful animation and a screenplay that puts most Hollywood movies to shame with the way it handles good and evil.
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chow25 | 94 96th |
Adult animation, brilliant themes and story. Loved it throughout. Neil Gaiman translation is cool, too.
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Ytadel | 9 98th |
Peak Ghibli, as far as I'm concerned, and one of the great fantasy adventure epics. There are so many scenes of pure, breathtaking beauty, a cast of characters I felt deeply for, and, on the base level, kick-ass action abound. It also works on the deeper level of a symbolic parable of the struggle between man and nature - a story told with little subtlety, yes, but there's nothing wrong with a masterpiece painted in primary colors.
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HalfJapanese | 75 50th |
A fine feature from Miyazaki, but it doesn't live up to the sense of wonder of Spirited Away or the adventurous spirit of Nausicaa.
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joseywales | 91 97th |
Incredible animation, a wonderful story and a hearty helping of Japanese weirdness!
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1 | fatbuddha | 96 95th |
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Visual Masterpiece. Hisaishi Joe lends a beautiful score, as well. One of Miyazaki's finest.
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1 | Skenkere | 76 75th |
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Good, but honestly, I like Miyazaki's other stuff better. (Still really good, it's just that Miyazaki sets a damn high standard)
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1 | MajorB | 100 98th |
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Princess Mononoke is a perfect movie. Hayao Miyazaki is a master of the medium of animation and one of the great storytellers of our time, and it certainly shows in this magnum opus. This film is so awe inspiring! Perfect for comparing with its spiritual ancestor, Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which shares similar themes but differs philosophically; Mononoke is the ultimate result of the soul searching that he began when he started work on Nausicaa.
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martryn | 96 98th |
The best of Miyazaki. Which is high praise indeed, as all of Miyazaki's work is amazing.
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1 | owen1218 | 90 95th |
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Another great film from Miyazaki et al. My only real complaint is that the plot is all-encompassing. I prefer the more laid-back approach of Spirited Away and Kiki, or even the complete plotlessness of My Neighbor Totoro. That said, this is one of the most beautiful and important films that Studio Ghibli has made.
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1 | Detonathor | 88 82nd |
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Note: Don't bother with the Neil Gaiman dub. Claire Danes will make your ears shrivel.
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Vesey | 85 79th |
Personally I think Miyazaki is at his best with simpler stories, as he is a master at nuance. When he goes big like here or with Nausicaa, he get's a little messy. While still an excellent and imaginative movie I re-watch, it's not quite the masterpiece so many make it out to be.
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Barthalen | 81 84th |
While the story doesn't really rise above the constant 'man bad, nature good' line of thought, the gorgeous visuals, fluid animation and at times freaky weirdness led to a memorable and enjoyable viewing experience. Thanks to those burrowing slime-tendrils infested boars, I'm never eating spaghetti again.
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Jeb | 100 98th |
Incredible! Amazing art design and is just mind-blowingly awesome!
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Obdurate | 90 91st |
Worthy of its praise. Treats its subject matter, characters and spiritual with respect, crafting a beautiful yet violent fantastical tale of human vs nature. They could have cheaped out and painted everything as good vs evil, leaving it as black and white, but like the abundance of colours that permeate the screen, it's more complex than that. Of course the animation is superb, but that almost goes without saying. I also just loved the ending with the little forest spirit doing its thing.
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tathiel | 91 97th |
BEsides Nausicaä one of my favourite movies of Hayao Miyazaki. Really believable characters.
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CosmicMonkey | 88 91st |
You know, this has grown on me with repeated viewings, It's a family-friendly film that's also incredibly mature and intelligent with the way it handles political, moral and social struggles. And the animation is beautiful.
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1 | tjbarbour | 95 93rd |
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Amazing. Astonishing animation with a deep deep story and a moving soundtrack to top it off. Lots of fantasy and a slowly progressing story pays of well.
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EbelC | 30 13th |
Slow, repetitive, longer than needed, and I didn't find any story aspect that could make me forget its awful rhythm. Artistically, meaning draw and music specially, it's great, but for me it's just an empty movie. Beautiful, but without anything to tell. Yeah, ok, it has that ecological and respect between cultures topic on it, but it has been done thousands of times before and after this movie with better results. I may give it a second chance, but I don't think it was just a bad day.
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Kingjohnbbq | 98 93rd |
This movie is pure badass. judging by the cover it looks like a chick flick, but it is so much more than that. Miyazaki really knows how to make things feel Epic. This movie really proves how masterful he is at his craft. Can't recommend it enough.
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silvio | 100 94th |
Beyond the pale in dealing with mythology and religion and in a very grounded romantic adventure formula. The incredible tale circuits through many emotional layers.
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DavidJohnson | 83 72nd |
Not really what I expected from a Miyazaki movie. It's definitely more of an adult movie then his others. I thought the plot was a bit convoluted, but maybe it just needs a rewatch. There were quite a few moments that were tedious. I also found it kind of preachy, which is fine I guess, maybe I just went in with the wrong mindset. I was expecting some creative cute anime, but this was more morally ambiguous and bloody. It's still a good movie, but I was kind of let down.
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glumpy_99 | 81 63rd |
English dub: Spectacularly mounted and animated eco-fable is a feast of sights and sounds, hampered somewhat by some clunky and juvenile dialogue which, like many of Miyazaki's films, hurt the dramatic impetus from time to time. English dub is well cast, with Crudup and Thornton especially bringing some colour to their characterisations.
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Insan3 | 75 54th |
I'll admit, I'm no fan of Miyazaki's work. I've always felt his stuff was to "kiddy" or fan pandering, not to mention all of his stuff is fundamentally the same. But, considering the fact that one of my favorite film makers, Kon, is guilty of that as well.. Anyway, Mononoke doesn't fall into many of the same pitfalls, but at the same time I still couldn't connect to the characters and I still feel as though Miyazaki is to "preachy."
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GreatScott85 | 96 88th |
A fantastic fantasy epic that stands as one of master animator Hayao Miyazaki's best.
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sheepslasher | 5 94th |
Well, I'm going to have nightmares because pig squeals and blood worms, but it was still really good.
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hotsake | 96 99th |
A masterpiece, this story has so many layers that no matter what type of movie you prefer there something in here that is for you and done with near perfection. This is an epic in every way shape and form. Similar in ways to Nausicaä but a little more compact and fluid and just a touch more mature.
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TheEscapist | 78 85th |
Good, but heavy. It's quite the investment, that I suppose is worth it but still left me very tired. Or maybe I was tired before I started watching this. I should rewatch this sometime, but I think I liked Nausicaa better.
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1 | Alex WS | 100 99th |
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While often criticised for not having much structure, I find it refreshing how it lets the events all play out fairly naturally, rarely feeling as if the movie is moving towards a natural, satisfying conclusion. The message in the movie is clear, but not too preachy, and not one too many would object too either. And the imagery and events in the movie are hard to forget.
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NBD Rab | 95 96th |
What needs to be said? It's incredibly beautiful and imaginative. One of Miyazaki's best.
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tarvismhm | 89 60th |
A fantastic animation with a story that means to tell a message of forest preservation.
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Matija D | 92 96th |
Fantastic, simply fantastic. Hats off to mr.Miyazaki! What I liked the most is the fact that the movie is not all black and white, there is no real villain, and the message of the movie is really strong.
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redflag | 100 98th |
Perhaps the most beautiful and profound movie I've seen. The historical remembering of the violent destruction of the subjective and Nature through the march of industrial empire, qualified in a thousand details. The psychology of hatred. Incredible.
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backwardsuit | 84 88th |
Good old fashioned epic with beautiful animation, rich & powerful themes, sweeping storytelling, epic score and a lovely surreal sensibility. All masterfully put together.
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Corbad | 85 90th |
Stunning animation, incredible music, and a riveting story full of nuanced characters are only slightly tarnished by a fair-to-middling (English) voice cast.
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thundercat | 60 49th |
A little too gruesome to be inspiring.
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shinySinger | 89 73rd |
I WOULD DIE FOR SAN,,,,,,
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Displaying 1 to 250 of 301 total ratings: Prev | Next
Average Percentile 73.84% from 9001 Ratings | ![]() |