The story begins with a giant black squirmy thing invading a village. Turns out this mess of a beast is none other than some God of some kind, a boar, and it's been contaminated by hatred. Our hero gets his arm all cursified by coming into contact with the sludginess, and sets out to ask the spirit of the forest, an incredibly freaky deer-type thing, to rid him of the curse. He meets the princess of the title, a young girl raised by wolves who is leading the animals in war against the humans, on account of how they keep developing weapons and blowing shit up, and they try to get the attention of this all-powerful spirit what looks like deer with a weird red mask on.
Oh, and there's Samurais, and there's Billy Bob Thornton trying to cut the head off God and stuff.
Did Aladdin cut the head off God?
Did Beauty and the Beast cut the head off God?
No. It takes this Miyazaki chancer to have the cartoon people cutting the head off of deities.
Princess Mononoke is easily the most amazing piece of work I have ever witnessed, with regards the whole Animated genre. Its narrative is incredibly detailed and textured, taking in everything from Samurai uprisings to weapon manufacturing and all manner of mystical tomfoolery. The characters are amazing, the animation is amazing, the art-work is utterly beautiful.
And so The Duke realised this Miyazaki was one of his favourite directors. Ever. On the basis of two films.
He better hope his other stuff is up to this standard, as I intend to get hold of Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbour Tottoro at the nearest convenience, just to expose this charlatan.
Thing is, I have a notion they'll be equally majestic.
And so, two new films straddle The Duke's all time top-10. Curse you, you gatecrashing motherfucker.
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Article comments
1 - BJ
You're not going to be disappointed by Kiki or Totoro either. They're both "smaller" films (fewer characters, more personal) than the world-creating Mononoke and Spririted Away, but not in a bad way. Castle in the Sky is fun.
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Hi BJ. I look forward indeed to checking out the three you mentioned. It was a toss between Castle... and Princess... in HMV to be honest. Totoro seems to be absent from the shelves around here at the minute, so its gonna be Kiki and Castle next. To be honest, i can't wait. I have never been so impressed by an animated film as i was with the two mentioned in the article. And i've seen me some animation, oh yes. Fritz The Cat, Akira, Urotsukidoji - Legend Of The Killer Penis. You can be sure i saw plenty, and these two still blew me away unlike anything else. Thanks for the comment!
3 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
BJ, i picked up Castle In The Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service a wek or two ago, but haven't got them watched yet. No doubt a review will be forthcoming as soon as the credits roll. Really lookin forward to them.
4 - barry
"Castle in the sky" is great same with
"Valley of the wind"
in my opinon his two best
5 - DJRadiohead
Duke, fantastic review. You have almost convinced me I ought to watch these things. Only I probably won't on account of I have never been a fan of the Japanimation/ Anime/ whatever the fuck one calls these fucking things. I work with a couple of fellas who swear I am a dumbass (I guess that's American for cunt) for not checking these things out. At any rate, I enjoyed your review.
So other than Woodrow Allen and this Hayao dude, who is on The Duke's list?
6 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
DJ, this review is a year old, so it's probably plenty embaressing, but thank you for the kind words, regardless! who else is on the list... i'd never to consider it, and i might actually devise a post of such, but let's see;
the two you mentioned, Martin Scorsese, Sergie Eisenstien, Lucio Fulci, Kevin Smith... there are tonnes, but that's all i can get off the top of the head.
Barry, i must get my hands on Valley Of The Wind one a these days...