“Princess Mononoke” is a visually stunning and creative anime film. The film is from Hayao Miyazaki and is up there with his excellent “Spirited Away”. This film creates a magical world and we can’t take our eyes off it.

After fighting with a demon, Prince Ashitaka becomes cursed and travels far to see if he can find a way to remove it. He stumbles upon a mining colony that is waging war against forest gods and Princess Mononoke, who is a woman raised by wolves. Ashitaka must try to bring peace between the two sides else the forest may and the colony may both be destroyed.

The characters such as Ashitaka and Princess Mononoke are all enjoyable and are animated very well. I think Princess Mononoke is the most interesting character as she seems to have the most complex background. The visuals on the demon near the beginning are some of the best I’ve seen in any animated film and all the creatures look fantastic. Probably the most ambitious creation here is the giant creature that walks the forest at night. My favourite creatures in the film were the little tree spirits and their simplicity seems to only add to the genius of their design.

“Princess Mononoke” is a truly terrific film. The film might be a little too violent for young children due to a few dismemberments and harm towards animals but I think older children and certainly teens will fall in love this film. “Princess Mononoke” is done in the same spirit as “The NeverEnding Story” and that’s high praise from me. The action sequences are thrilling, the characters are interesting, the animation is spectacular and the creativity just flows through this film. If you want a breath-taking animated picture full of wonder, you simply have to see “Princess Mononoke”.