DIRECTOR'S CUT: Therapist Reacts to PRINCESS MONONOKE
Added 2024-01-22 16:00:05 +0000 UTCHow do you untangle force, anger, and hate? And how do you control them all?
Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright continue their Ghiblification by reacting to Princess Mononoke. They talk about Ashitaka refusing hatred in a world full of it and his quest for peace between the humans and the forest. Jonathan talks about the role of hatred in our own lives and how we can exercise control in our anger and forcefulness, especially in tone and word choice. Alan points out the clever animation techniques of animating "on ones" and "on twos." Can you see it?
Comments
This was one of the earlier Ghiblis I watched. The powerful visuals and messaging about the conflict between nature and humanity have always stuck with me. I would recommend you guys check out one or two of Takahata's other films. Grave of the Fireflies is - as you know - a master work, but not necessarily representative of his direction in general, in terms of tone at least haha. I saw a recommendation for The Tale of Princess Kaguya above, so I will put in a good word for Only Yesterday. I had never even heard of it before I watched it, but it instantly became one of my all-time favorite Ghiblis.
Quazillionaire
2024-06-03 23:21:28 +0000 UTCThank you so much for taking the time to write this all out. It's so interesting, and it really does add to my appreciation for this film and for Miyazaki in general.
Katizaris Leanisillis
2024-02-22 18:29:34 +0000 UTCThanks for the shoutout at the end!! And on a Ghibli movie no less!
Thomas Foster
2024-02-07 20:06:13 +0000 UTCHeya Alan, this was alls my intro to studio ghibli and it was amazing
Ariza Nel
2024-02-04 23:54:11 +0000 UTCMaybe I just completely missed the point of this episode; but this is one that didn’t speak to me on any level.
P3aches
2024-01-30 14:57:29 +0000 UTCJoe Hisaishi is an amazing composer. His work makes me melt every time 🧡
Sadie
2024-01-30 02:52:36 +0000 UTCI literally can't handle the Ghiblification drawing. I laughed so hard I snorted water.
Rokuwhitefox
2024-01-29 14:50:00 +0000 UTCI saw this at the age of ten. It helped shaped who I am now. But in the moment, I invited my best friend from school for a sleepover to watch an anime that made me DBZ look like child’s play . It was this movie
Asher Leat
2024-01-28 02:36:07 +0000 UTCThis is one of my top three Ghibli movies. Miyazaki was originally going to call it "The Legend of Ashitaka", but when his producer announced it, he went with her prefered title "Princess Mononoke". I do like movies that leave some people asking "wait... who's the bad guy?" I would love to to see you do... maybe an analysis of parenting on... The Tale of Princess Kaguya.
Michael Charboneau
2024-01-27 19:24:50 +0000 UTCI _Love_ this movie, and it made me so happy to see that you two took a closer look at it! I had to (still do) deal with some anger issues, and that movie did help me a good deal in understanding that anger – and my resulting unjustified or exaggerated hate – can be controlled and tamed and dealt with in a healthier way than just mindlessly lashing out… and it is so great(!) so hear your thoughts on a movie like this! Thank you!!!
Lexi Noctura
2024-01-26 20:51:57 +0000 UTCIndeed - in many belief systems snake are seen as symbol of transformation. However I think the animation is showing more like maggots - rot, death, festering.
Ze Villmark
2024-01-26 20:07:53 +0000 UTC31:00, "Here's your moral forest warrior, autistic prince". As a person on the spectrum, I hella felt that. 😂
Metronoid
2024-01-26 03:04:27 +0000 UTCI agree! I also think that he is autism coded with his very strong sense of justice and fairness which is something that a lot of people show as manifestations of their autism! I definitely exhibit that aspect of my autism A LOT and relate to Ashitaka in that way! He was very quickly a favorite Ghibli character for that reason! Thank you for catching that :)
Winter Ranalla
2024-01-26 01:03:17 +0000 UTCSorry for the super long comment! I just had a thought or two on the whole demon snake-worm thing: I know that snakes are largely seen as negative in most cultures, but I've come to feel like humans are a lot more like snakes than we want to admit. Humans (like snakes) are constantly growing and each moment of growth it can be emotionally itchy and uncomfortable and can cause lashing out and anger, but ultimately once we settle into that growth and "shed the skin" we feel shiny and new and more comfortable. I find this to be true watching this movie. As he is fighting against this demon he is also learning and growing and seeing things from a different perspective. He's uncomfortable with feelings of anger and uncomfortable with how the world is operating at first. When he leans into growing and seeking to understand and accept that the world is the way it is and it doesn't have to be a perfect utopia of peace (just peace enough) eventually he is healed and ready to keep going and living.
Winter Ranalla
2024-01-26 00:55:40 +0000 UTCThank you very much :-)
BlackAdder
2024-01-25 09:25:53 +0000 UTCHi! The Prince of Egypt video is older, and we didn't start making director's cuts right away, so some of our older videos don't have them. We plan to make director's cuts for them at some point though! The oldest director's cut we have is Soul.
Cinema Therapy
2024-01-24 15:10:12 +0000 UTCSorry for unrelated question but is director's cut of prince of egypt available anywhere? I couldn't find it here even though it's mentioned in video :-(
BlackAdder
2024-01-24 08:45:18 +0000 UTCWow, thank you so much for sharing! That makes perfect sense in the greater scope of things. Miyazaki never ceases to amaze me!
Shhhhh
2024-01-24 06:01:38 +0000 UTCOoh good to know! I’ll definitely be on the lookout. I did see ‘Boy and the Heron’ in theaters recently and that was an AMAZING experience!
Shhhhh
2024-01-24 06:00:38 +0000 UTCThis is my favorite Studio Ghibli movie. I'm so happy to see them talking about it!
TheBasementWeeb
2024-01-24 05:17:26 +0000 UTCPlease see if your theaters host Ghibli fest it's usually over the summer. I saw this in theaters last year as well as howls moving castle and the cat returns
Evelyn Uribe
2024-01-24 04:37:01 +0000 UTCThis movie is what really cemented my love for Anime. I wasn't allowed to watch it as a kid because my dad thought all animation was for babies. I was about 12, watching it in the dark in my living room while home alone one evening, and I was absolutely transfixed. I couldn't believe the depth of storytelling coming from an animated show, the colors and the environments, and the mythology all drew me in and never let me go.
HandsomePenguin
2024-01-24 01:03:02 +0000 UTCThis is a bit of an aside from the hatred topic, but you guys mentioned that this movie has a different feel than the other Ghibli films, and there's actually some pretty cool reasons for that (we talked about it in an Asian Studies class I took). Thought some people here might find it interesting! Miyazaki has some serious disagreements with the way this era is portrayed in Japanese literature and cinema (namely that the Samurai were heroic defenders of the people, and that the Japanese empire existed in harmony with nature), so this film is rooted in that era, and focused in a way his others aren't. He's mentioned in interviews that he feels something permanent was lost in the expansion of Japanese civilization. That there was a kind of greed and arrogance that took over when the more dangerous, wild aspects of nature were subdued, and there's a lot of subversion of Japanese cinema tropes that he uses to support it. For one, the Samurai are brutal and, while they're typically portrayed as defenders of women, the poor, and the otherwise vulnerable, in this movie they're actively harming them on behalf of greater interests. San's character is also a subversion of a trope, one where femininity is associated with the chaotic, beastly side of nature as an evil, sometimes demonic, force. So the discussion of her being ugly and beautiful - and particularly the scene where she wipes blood from her mouth - is not only a cool rewriting of certain aspects of femininity that had previously been portrayed as unseemly, it represents what he thought was lost: that there's a kind of beauty in "savagery" (the blood scene became extremely iconic partly because of how beautiful and disruptive it was). Also Ashitaka being placed in the middle of the conflict is particularly interesting, because his village is based off of an indigenous Japanese group that was wiped out during the expansion of imperial Japan. So while he's human, he's part of what was "lost" in this era too. He's also discussed before that there's a tragedy in the inevitable conflict between human survival and expansion and the survival of a truly wild natural world, which is represented really well in the movie. Personally I think it's really cool how he responded to a cultural washing of an era of history with a poignant and complicated film like this (that deliberately rejects that dominant narrative), and learning about it really helped me appreciate the film more.
Julia Perez
2024-01-23 22:31:06 +0000 UTCI wish I could have seen this movie in the theaters. The animation, the music, the story is all so epic. Thank you for uploading this❤️❤️❤️
Shhhhh
2024-01-23 08:46:24 +0000 UTCI remember my dad had shown me this movie when I was really small and when I got older I tried to find out what it was. I always said, “It’s got a boy and some demon worm pig and a human faced deer and wolves and a big blue jelly monster.” Finally I met the man I’m still with today and he says, “Sounds like Princess Mononoke.” We’re still together after 14 years. Both with the man and the movie.
La Aoife ☀️
2024-01-23 06:35:22 +0000 UTCPrincess Mononoke was what showed me not all anime was Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon (apologies to fans of them, they're just not for me). I was in a storyboarding class in college and the instructor showed us a clip that started with the beginning of a rain storm, where the shot begins with a rock and raindrops hitting it and making it wet. Was one of the most amazing bits of animation I'd ever seen. I was fascinated. My sister and I watched it when it was on Starz and both of us fell in love. Started giving anime a chance after that and it really opened up some masterful animation and films.
Angie McClelland
2024-01-23 05:50:19 +0000 UTCFantastic episode! Princess Mononoke is definitely top tier Ghibli, for sure.
Emily Snell-Salvaggio
2024-01-23 03:40:09 +0000 UTCPrincess Mononoke is definitely one of my favorite Ghibli films. And yeah one thing I notice in many anime that doesn't often happen in Western media (films/shows), is how the 'villain'/antagonist is developed well as a character and many have better reasons for evil actions they may take. Many of the Western shows/movies I've seen simply portray the villains to 'want power to rule the world', or that they just get excitement/fulfillment from the misery of others, or just don't give the villains enough screen time to provide them with a back story that may be more compelling. Also for Princess Mononoke, it is interesting how the film can address climate change, as forests are being cut down to use for fuel etc., that's needed for survival. Since Wall-E was reacted to recently, it could be interesting to compare how a Ghibli film and how a Pixar film addressed climate change. I know Miyazaki and John Lasseter did learn a lot from each other, and Princess Mononoke was the first Ghibli film that utilized computer animation, everything previous was all hand-drawn. (I got a cool book that goes into depth of the art of Princess Mononoke, and how some of the shots were composed etc., which I always find interesting to look into.) Well, I kind of want to check out that book 'The Anatomy of Peace' that was mentioned in the video. Also, I recently went to see the movie Monster in theaters. Would be an interesting analysis movie, if that'd be something others are interested in too.
Blitz Cam
2024-01-23 03:05:51 +0000 UTCPast, Present, and Future!... since I've seen Disney's Hercules way too much recently....
Alex
2024-01-23 01:41:58 +0000 UTCOh, we saw it. We see... everythiiiiing. -alan
Cinema Therapy
2024-01-23 00:51:26 +0000 UTCI first saw Mononoke Hime in 1999 when a guy brought it to my college anime club. Even seeing it in unsubtitled Japanese, a language I don’t speak, I knew right then that I was watching a great movie. I saw it twice more in theaters when Disney released the English-dubbed version in theaters. I think it’s one of the greatest films ever made.
Jeff McGinnis
2024-01-22 22:37:32 +0000 UTCAs an environmental scientist, this particular Ghibli movie has always held a special place in my heart. I was SO excited to hear y'all would be covering it and I'm so glad y'all did! Love!!
Texan
2024-01-22 22:30:39 +0000 UTCMe during the scene when Ashitaka speaks up and then runs away: Oh I never noticed, but this seems kinda autism spectrum coded Alan three seconds later: That's so autism spectrum coded 😂 Lovely. As many already said Princess Mononoke was my first Ghibli film and I loved it. But back then I wasn't able to fully grasp the complexities. I headcanon ashitaka as autistic from now on 🤘 Thank you for this wonderful episode :) Sometimes it feels like you are going crazy when you think about the perspective of all the parties involved first and then form an opinion, because not many other poeple do it. I totally feel for Ashitaka here. Such a hero <3
Lyndis Cealin
2024-01-22 21:35:53 +0000 UTCYay! This is the first Ghibli movie I ever watched! Love this
KaylaLeigh025
2024-01-22 21:21:30 +0000 UTCI can’t wait to go home and rewatch this. It was so good when I first saw it in 2020, but now I can see it with new eyes.
Andrew Feistner
2024-01-22 20:38:49 +0000 UTCThis was also the first Ghibli film I saw, and I was around 12 or so. I loved the wolves and the kodamas and kinda ignored the rest, but now as an adult pushing 40 I am really enjoying revisiting these films with you two.
Kris Mahoney
2024-01-22 20:22:31 +0000 UTCThank you for doing a video on this movie and highlighting how amazing Ashitaka is! This movie is probably my favorite Studio Ghibli films and was the first one I watched as an adult (I saw a few when I was a kid and was definitely confused…). I identify with Ashitaka so much because I am the peacekeeper among my friends and family, and sometimes it’s really hard to keep my integrity when people think peace is naïve. This video helped remind me that what I do to maintain peace is worth it. Thank you!!!
Milena Fox
2024-01-22 19:47:00 +0000 UTCAlso, fun aside, at the RTC I work at the kids have Anatomy of Peace as part of their book club reading! Very fun to see you talking about it here.
Sarukana
2024-01-22 19:00:52 +0000 UTCI have to confess that this is a better Avatar movie than Avatar…sorry Alan! 😇
Sean Goettsche
2024-01-22 18:49:59 +0000 UTCPrincess Mononoke was first Ghibli movie I saw and I was about 6 years old at the time so it kind of resulted in me not watching much else until now :D It was too complicated for me back then. And while I always loved bit creepy stories the worms were a bit too much for me. I really like that scene where he leaves city and it really looks like he is aggresively peaceful.
BlackAdder
2024-01-22 18:43:17 +0000 UTCIt is! Thank you! Glad you approve ✨🌙💖
Smidge
2024-01-22 18:01:10 +0000 UTCOh my gosh is that you as Serenity, I love it!! 🌙🌙🌙
Lauren Frey
2024-01-22 17:58:59 +0000 UTCI make a comment on youtube a while back asking for this- even if you never saw it, thank you so much for doing this movie!
Alex
2024-01-22 17:35:10 +0000 UTCCan confirm. It's me, hi, I'm the problem. It's me. 🎶
Smidge
2024-01-22 17:11:47 +0000 UTCJiko-bô is what happens when you run Uncle Iroh through the Hakuna Matata filter.
Smidge
2024-01-22 17:11:15 +0000 UTCAAAAAAH IT'S MY FAVORITE GHIBLI MOVIE!!!!!! Thank y'all so much for doing this one!!!! <3
Sarukana
2024-01-22 17:05:35 +0000 UTCI know what I'm doing after work today! Time for a re-watch. Thanks for Ghiblifying Jono ❤️
Holly✌️
2024-01-22 16:58:37 +0000 UTCHow have you guys lived with theater people and *not* had real live people bursting into song at random intervals? I grew up with theater people and it's a musical every day. 🤣
Smeeson
2024-01-22 16:51:13 +0000 UTCOh, this is going to be good.
McLovinPopeIII
2024-01-22 16:28:39 +0000 UTCCan't wait to share this one with my wife! I'm not a huge anime fan, except for this movie.
Larry Garfield
2024-01-22 16:17:07 +0000 UTCFavorite Studio Ghibli movie!!! Clicked so fast.
Reilly Willoughby
2024-01-22 16:03:14 +0000 UTCLiterally screamed, startled my dogs. Sorry, my sweet babies, but mommy is super excited for this!! This is my favorite Ghibli movie, hands down!
Lauren Frey
2024-01-22 16:01:53 +0000 UTC
