Today is the anniversary of Princess Mononoke‘s release, on July 12, 1997. There were many things I didn’t know about it when watching the film back in the day, but as usually happens, when you like a film or a book you do some research and get to know it better, so this post is about that. 25 interesting things I know now about Princess Mononoke that I didn’t know when I first watched it:
- Some of the actors whose voices were used in the English version were: Gillian Anderson, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver and Claire Danes.
- It was the first Studio Ghibli film with digital graphics and coloring, but Hayao Miyazaki (writer and director) allows no more than 10% of footage in his films to be digital.
- Princess Mononoke was the highest grossing film in Japan until James Cameron’s Titanic.
- Joe Hisaishi composed the music to Miyazaki’s other famous films as well: My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008)…
- ‘Mononoke’ can mean monster, but often refers to a spirit.
- The film is PG-13 for images of violence and gore. Miyazaki himself didn’t see it like a film for kids.
- Ashitaka comes from a tribe called the Emishi, a real tribe of natives of northern Honshū.
- Mononoke is the third most popular anime movie in Japan, next to Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), both by Miyazaki.
- The landscapes in the film are said to have been inspired by the forests of Yakushima and the mountains of Shirakami-Sanchi. You can visit Yakushima forest!
I’m not afraid to die! I’d do anything to get the humans out of my forest!
- Princess Mononoke is the only Miyazaki anime without a flying sequence!
- Hayao Miyazaki wanted this be be his last film before retiring.
- Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the part of Ashitaka in the English version.
- For Japan’s tv advertising they used the most violent scenes, so parents could see what the film really was about, maybe not suited for their kids.
- Neil Gaiman did the English translation!
- Yoshikazu Mera, the singer of Princess Mononoke‘s ending theme song, is a guy with a counter-tenor voice.
- Harvey Weinstein (from Miramax) wanted to edit Princess Mononoke for the US market. He received a katana with the message: “No cuts” from Studio Ghibli.
- Princess Mononoke took over three years to complete, but the idea was there for 16 years!
- In Japanese mythology, dogs and wolves have male voices and cats female voices that’s the reason for Akihiro Miwa providing his voice for Moro the mother wolf.
- The film’s runtime is 134 minutes, the second longest animated film ever made. What to know the longest? y/y? It is 1983’s Final Yamato (165 minutes).
- When the US DVD was about to be released a fan campaign managed to make Miramax add not only the English dub also the Japanese track!
Some extra cool reads about the film:
- The Princess Mononoke script is online!
- Five things I learned from re-watching Princess Mononoke: a 10-year late anime review
- 30 Years of Ghibli: Princess Mononoke
- The symbolism in Princess Mononoke
