We're winding down the year-in-review game here at HitFix as 2014 draws to a close. For whatever reason I took a year off of the ballot/superlatives posts, but I'm back with those personal assessments of the best of the year, beginning today with my top picks across the Academy's 24 categories. Check back in tomorrow for a list of winners from this lot, as well as others in a slew of peripheral categories. And of course, feel free to let us know what your Oscar ballot would look like in the comments section below. (Oh, and naturally it goes without saying this post is living in a parallel reality where I'm not confined to a specific branch for nominations and reign supreme over all categories with selections for each.) We'll find out if the Academy agrees with any of this when the 87th annual Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 15. *** Best...
- 12/30/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
This film from Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki is the second-highest all-time boxoffice grosser in its native country (only "Titanic" beats it), but that may be saying more about the Japanese than "Princess Mononoke".
A high-quality effort boasting beautiful animation, the film is a significant departure from the zippy, musical-based Disney style that has proven so successful in recent years, and the addition of English dubbing with well-known American performers is unlikely to propel it to similar boxoffice heights in the United States. Recently showcased at the New York Film Festival, it is due for a commercial release Oct. 29 by Miramax.
Adult-oriented in its themes and style, the mythical story line is based loosely on Japanese folklore and is a complicated tale of the struggle between the iron-forging Tatara villagers and the monsters the forest gods have created to protect the sacred forests on which the Tataras are encroaching. The hero of the piece is Ashitaka (Billy Crudup), a young warrior who kills one of the monsters, a giant boar-like creature, threatening his village, only to discover that a curse has been placed on him.
Ashitaka travels to the land of the Tataras to solve the mystery of the curse and encounters their leader, Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver), as well as the beautiful Princess Mononoke (Claire Danes), a young woman who has been raised by wolves. Ashitaka soon finds himself caught up in a series of battles between the humans and the various mystical forest creatures.
Miyazaki's gorgeous style, a mixture of traditional cel and computer animation, is on ample display. With a running time of 135 minutes, perhaps too ample; the film's relaxed pacing, graphic violence and relative lack of humor may prove too off-putting for American audiences used to jokier, zippier efforts.
But there is no denying the film's visual imagination, from the awe-inspiring creature creations to the stunning forest landscapes to the sensitive human characterizations. Children will be particularly entranced by the ethereal white Tree Spirits.
Neil Gaiman's English adaptation of the Japanese script is a bit crude at times, but is mostly effective, and the largely American voice cast handles its chores effectively, though most lack the distinctive vocal characteristics that would make their characters truly stand out. Most effective is Gillian Anderson, her voice electronically altered, as a wolf god, and Billy Bob Thornton, who brings a down-home quality to his role as a tough-talking monk.
PRINCESS MONONOKE
Miramax Films
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Screenwriter: Hayao Miyazaki
English adaptation by: Neil Gaiman
ProducerToshio Suzuki
Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Scott Martin, Yasuyoshi Tokuma
Co-executive producers: Seiichiro Ujiie, Yutaka Narita
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Color/stereo
Voices:
Ashitaka: Billy Crudup
Jigo: Billy Bob Thornton
Lady Eboshi: Minnie Driver
Gonza: John Di Maggio
Princess Mononoke: Claire Danes
Kohroku: John De Mita
Toki: Jada Pinkett-Smith
Okkoto: Keith David
Running time -- 135 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
A high-quality effort boasting beautiful animation, the film is a significant departure from the zippy, musical-based Disney style that has proven so successful in recent years, and the addition of English dubbing with well-known American performers is unlikely to propel it to similar boxoffice heights in the United States. Recently showcased at the New York Film Festival, it is due for a commercial release Oct. 29 by Miramax.
Adult-oriented in its themes and style, the mythical story line is based loosely on Japanese folklore and is a complicated tale of the struggle between the iron-forging Tatara villagers and the monsters the forest gods have created to protect the sacred forests on which the Tataras are encroaching. The hero of the piece is Ashitaka (Billy Crudup), a young warrior who kills one of the monsters, a giant boar-like creature, threatening his village, only to discover that a curse has been placed on him.
Ashitaka travels to the land of the Tataras to solve the mystery of the curse and encounters their leader, Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver), as well as the beautiful Princess Mononoke (Claire Danes), a young woman who has been raised by wolves. Ashitaka soon finds himself caught up in a series of battles between the humans and the various mystical forest creatures.
Miyazaki's gorgeous style, a mixture of traditional cel and computer animation, is on ample display. With a running time of 135 minutes, perhaps too ample; the film's relaxed pacing, graphic violence and relative lack of humor may prove too off-putting for American audiences used to jokier, zippier efforts.
But there is no denying the film's visual imagination, from the awe-inspiring creature creations to the stunning forest landscapes to the sensitive human characterizations. Children will be particularly entranced by the ethereal white Tree Spirits.
Neil Gaiman's English adaptation of the Japanese script is a bit crude at times, but is mostly effective, and the largely American voice cast handles its chores effectively, though most lack the distinctive vocal characteristics that would make their characters truly stand out. Most effective is Gillian Anderson, her voice electronically altered, as a wolf god, and Billy Bob Thornton, who brings a down-home quality to his role as a tough-talking monk.
PRINCESS MONONOKE
Miramax Films
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Screenwriter: Hayao Miyazaki
English adaptation by: Neil Gaiman
ProducerToshio Suzuki
Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Scott Martin, Yasuyoshi Tokuma
Co-executive producers: Seiichiro Ujiie, Yutaka Narita
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Color/stereo
Voices:
Ashitaka: Billy Crudup
Jigo: Billy Bob Thornton
Lady Eboshi: Minnie Driver
Gonza: John Di Maggio
Princess Mononoke: Claire Danes
Kohroku: John De Mita
Toki: Jada Pinkett-Smith
Okkoto: Keith David
Running time -- 135 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 10/13/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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