To mark 25 years since the film's initial release, Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke will be returning to theaters for a limited time.
The film is part of the lineup featured in Studio Ghibli Fest 2022 which includes Ponyo, The Cat Returns, Kiki's Delivery Service, Only Yesterday, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and the aforementioned Princess Mononoke. The movie will be shown in select theaters on April 3, 4, and 6. The dubbed version of the film will be shown in most cinemas.
Princess Mononoke won seven awards upon its initial release and has gone on to inspire countless other films including James Cameron's Avatar. Issues involving humanity's duty to protect nature and damage to the environment remain poignant to this day with the ongoing climate crisis. Hayao Miyazaki has never shied away from political themes in his films and Mononoke is no exception.
The story follows Prince Ashitaka as he tries to track down what is causing issues with the animals of the forest after one, plagued with demonic energy, curses his arm. When he arrives at Iron Town, he discovered a plot to kill the forest god and a girl who was raised by wolves. The dub of the film features a wide variety of famous names like Tara Strong, Billy Bob Thorton, and Futurama's voice of Bender John DiMaggio.
This year's Studio Ghibli Fest comes at a particularly exciting time with the studio's theme park soon coming to completion. The Elevator Tower which serves as the entrance to the park was recently opened for guests to visit for free. The tower is inspired by Laputa: Castle in the Sky and was shown off in a series of Tweets by the company. The park is expected to open on November 1st being fully completed sometime in 2023. This will include the section of Mononoke Village which is based on the film.
Studio Ghibli films have become a standard of anime cinema in the west and their influence is felt far and wide to this day. With many of these movies released years ago, the rare opportunity to see them in theaters is something fans won't want to miss out on. Tickets for the special showing of Princess Mononoke as well as the other films available to watch can be found on the Studio Ghilbi Fest website.
Source: Studio Ghibli Fest Website