This animated film started in 1997 and was the biggest thing in Japan during that time. The then-head of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, reached out to Neil Gaiman and asked him to do the English script. Neil said that at first, he had no plan of doing it, but he changed his mind when he saw a scene in it and had never seen anything like it.
When this film was first released 25 years ago, it represented Departure for the director and amazing animator, Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki gained popularity in the 80s with the success of Studio Ghibli. However, in the 90s he started to think that he should do things in nature. Everyone started to see Ghibli as “sweet,” but Hayao didn’t like it. He said this, “and I get an urge to destroy it.” What was more significant was his despair which made him begin to think that he was cursed.
The film, set in the 14th century, is about a prince who is cursed by the hatred of a dying boar god. Ashitaka, the prince, seeks a cure, but during his journey, he discovers a world out of balance. This film, compared to Hayao’s other works, is a dark and angry one full of violence and blood. The cursed boar god is inspired by Hayao’s own problems and anger exploding out of him. The film also gives the idea of a man at war with himself, which is shown with the characters in the film. Even as this film is, Ashitaka is told, “it is hard. The world is cursed, but still you find reasons to keep living.”
When this film was first released 25 years ago, it represented Departure for the director and amazing animator, Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki gained popularity in the 80s with the success of Studio Ghibli. However, in the 90s he started to think that he should do things in nature. Everyone started to see Ghibli as “sweet,” but Hayao didn’t like it. He said this, “and I get an urge to destroy it.” What was more significant was his despair which made him begin to think that he was cursed.
The film, set in the 14th century, is about a prince who is cursed by the hatred of a dying boar god. Ashitaka, the prince, seeks a cure, but during his journey, he discovers a world out of balance. This film, compared to Hayao’s other works, is a dark and angry one full of violence and blood. The cursed boar god is inspired by Hayao’s own problems and anger exploding out of him. The film also gives the idea of a man at war with himself, which is shown with the characters in the film. Even as this film is, Ashitaka is told, “it is hard. The world is cursed, but still you find reasons to keep living.”
