It is Miyazaki in a deeply philosophical mode, not making a didactic message movie about taking care of the Earth as much as asking questions about agency, human nature, and moral complexity.
Representing Studio Ghibli at its angriest, this entry is almost definitely not for the littlest kids in the family (in fact, it’s the only one rated PG-13 in the U.S.) and was one of the major international breakthroughs for the company. At first, Mononoke feels like a fantasy-adventure film, but it’s embedded in a story of man’s relation to the natural world, recalling themes that recur throughout the history of Studio Ghibli. How does humankind coexist with the world that’s been here long before it? The movie opens with a disturbing scene in which a boarlike creature has been infected by a bullet. The invention of man has disturbed the natural balance of things. But this only hints at the depth of storytelling and visual wonder in Mononoke, arguably Ghibli’s most complex work narratively. It is Miyazaki in a deeply philosophical mode, not making a didactic message movie about taking care of the Earth as much as asking questions about agency, human nature, and moral complexity. The fact that there’s anything above it on this list only speaks to the strength of the catalogue at hand.