Princess Mononoke, 1997. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Voices by Billy Cruddup, Minnie Driver, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson.

Many years ago (nevermind how long), I stumbled onto a Japanese animated feature called Warriors of the Wind on cable while I was channel surfing late at night. This was my first real exposure to Japanese animation beyond Speed Racer and Astro Boy and I was interested in it. It had interesting backgrounds and it had a kinetic energy that is usually absent from American feature animation. It also seemed to be deeply concerned with environmental issues and had deep philosophical underpinnings. Where it fell down on the job was in maintaining a coherent storyline. I suspected at the time, and it was later confirmed, that this was because the movie had been drastically edited by New World Pictures, the American studio that had obtained the American rights to it. I never saw the complete version of Nausicaa: Warriors of the Wind (its complete title), but in the intervening years, I have seen enough Japanese animation to realize that the New World re-edit was not necessarily the culprit. Japanese animation almost never adds up (exceptions include The Grave of the Fireflies and The Ghost in the Shell, but do not include the much praised Akira ). It was with this very much in mind that I sat through Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. This particular film has an impressive pedigree: the most successful movie in Japan up to that time, picked up by Disney, re-voiced by a stellar cast, and declared one of the best films of 1999 by Roger Ebert. The story concerns a prince who is cursed by a demon beast and must expiate his curse amid a conflict between a newly industrial society and the spirits of the natural world. But it doesn't add up. It has puzzling lapses in storytelling and a perplexing title, given that Princess Mononoke is a minor character and is rarely referred to by that name. Oh, it's pretty. I'll give it that. It has lush backgrounds and its animation of monsters is elaborate and impressive (but this is common enough for the Japanese). I am still not impressed with the stylized depiction of human beings in Japanese animation and this film is no different. More troubling is the heavy handed environmental message (I am reminded of Woody Allen's "author's message" sign), which is subverted by the actual depiction of industry and by the morally ambiguous characterization of the villains. And there was a puzzling feedback at work while I was watching it--the eco-message was VERY similar in intent and execution to Warriors of the Wind, down to the character design of the protagonist. In a way, Princess Mononoke reveals the influence of Japanese animation on feature films in Hollywood, which, lately follow the same formula: Gorgeous to look at, but empty of ideas and sloppy of form.