Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

Princess Mononoke | 1999 | PG-13 | - 1.6.3

In this Japanese animated tale based on Asian folklore, humans, animals, spirits and workers at an iron factory battle for space within a forest. With the voices of Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, John DeMita, John Di Maggio and Jada Pinkett. [2:15]

SEX/NUDITY 1 - We see men in loincloths. It's mentioned a few times that the female characters formerly worked in brothels. Some mild flirting.


advertisement

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - In a few battle scenes, we see sword fights with people being stabbed (we see some blood and hear some screaming); also, a few people are beheaded and some have arms and legs cut or shot off (one man's arms are seen hanging on a tree) -- all with bloody results. A boar covered with writhing snakes knocks down a tower (two people fall to the ground, uninjured), chases people, is shot in the eye and forehead with an arrow (the wounds drip blood), falls to the ground and dies (blood pours out of its mouth, pools of blood form around its body and its flesh disintegrates). We see a very bloody, badly wounded boar and wolf; bloody snakes cover the boar (lots of blood also gushes out of its nose and mouth), it carries a girl in its mouth (she is also covered with bloody snakes, but is rescued) and then smashes through a boulder and runs into a wolf (snakes cover part of the wolf and then both animals die). A boy is shot twice; his clothing is drenched in blood and we see a trail of blood as he walks (he survives). A wolf is shot (the wound is very bloody), catches on fire and falls off a cliff (it survives); also, an animal is shot with an arrow and we see some blood dripping from the wound as a boy removes it. An animal's head is shot off (we see blood spurting) and placed in a box; in a later scene, two people pull the head out of the box (it's covered with slime) and put it back on the animal's neck (now turned into a monster). A few wolves attack people and a wolf head appears to bite off a woman's arm. A girl has blood on her face after sucking blood from an animal's wound and spitting it out. We see people with bandages all over their bodies and learn that they are lepers. Twice, apes throw stones and sticks at some animals and people; once they beg to eat an unconscious boy. A wolf puts a boy's head in its mouth and shakes it a bit (the boy isn't injured). Lots of people and animals are shot at with guns and arrows. Snakes wrap around a boy's arm and leave a striped mark that spreads across his body throughout the movie. Boars stampede through a village. A monster creates a windstorm and destroys a fortress; it also rips trees out of a forest. We see many corpses strewn on a mountainside and floating in a lake. We see some fires and an explosion (we see lots of boars flying in the air, then see their carcasses scattered on the ground). A black gel rolls through the forest and kills everything it touches (grass and flowers grow back afterwards). A few people are knocked unconscious, some are knocked off a cliff by a wolf, a girl bites a boy's arm, some people are kicked, a boy is flung into a lake by a boar, a girl steps on a man's face and men beat others with hoes and clubs.

LANGUAGE 3 - A scatological reference, some mild obscenities, a couple of insults and some name-calling.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Asian folklore, nature, demons and gods, industrialization, intolerance, hatred.

MESSAGE - If you don't respect nature, nature can destroy you.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This