Princess Mononoke (1997)

Before you listen to this episode, please join us in reciting the Ghibli prayer: Oh nameless god of rage and hate, we bow before you!

This week we contend with what is unquestionably one of the greatest films ever made, animation or otherwise. It’s a period epic that encapsulates everything we know and love about Studio Ghibli while also somehow raising the bar even higher. And hey, there’s even a kaiju!

Next week, it’s a last-minute addition to the series: Isao Takahata’s penultimate film, MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS (1999). Join the conversation on our Discord at discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

References:

• Princess Mononoke: The Art and Making of Japan's Most Popular Film of All Time

• Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation by Helen McCarthy

• Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History by Rayna Denison

• Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man by Steve Alpert

• The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master by Gael Berton

• Miyazakiworld by Susan Napier

• The Guardian Hayao Miyazaki Interview (theguardian.com/film/2005/sep/14/japan.awardsa…)

• Neil Gaiman on Scripting Princess Mononoke (bbc.com/culture/article/20220713-princess-mono…)

• Cinefantastique Vol 31 No 4 Production History (archive.org/download/cinefantastique_1970-2002…)

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero (twitter.com/dominicknero) and Adam Volerich (twitter.com/AdamVole).

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe (parthmarathe.com).

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich (francescavolerich.com). You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

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