If you are a fan of Miyazaki films and you haven’t seen Princess Mononoke yet, you must rent it immediately. It’s definitely not for children; think Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind—but even more brutal—rather than Ponyo or My Neighbor Totoro. That said, if you can stomach said violence, it’s an amazing movie—so amazing, in fact, that we just named our daughter’s new kitten Princess Mononoke (Noke for short)!

Princess Mononoke is another one of Miyazaki’s tales about how the humans corrupt the world through industrialization and waste. In this case, we are presented with a young man who lives in a very rural village with its own traditions and customs who is sent off on a quest to break a curse he gets stuck with just by saving his village. During his quest, he encounters Princess Mononoke, a girl raised by wolves who attempts to stop the world from industrializing—and who does some pretty earthy, and even primal, activities in her crusade.

“Mononoke” is a word for monster in Japanese, and just by looking at the image you can probably tell that the princess is a very brutal character. Her brutality does exist in nature; however, it is also a direct counter to the brutality the humans are infecting her forest with. In their own quest to develop the forests and produce, the humans are explicitly trying to kill all of the animals in the forest—and anything that Mononoke and the animals do seems to be equal in comparison.

In addition to a lot of bloodshed (including decapitation), you can expect to see some pretty wild creatures as you might in any Miyazaki film. Some wood spirits look as if they belong in a Tim Burton film (and are my new favorite creatures of all of his films, replacing my former favorite, the soot sprites), and the main forest god himself is quite spooky yet silly, depending upon his form.

One of the things I love most about this film is its message about war, and how no one ever really wins. It’s one of the highest grossing films in Japan of all time, and for good reason: it’s a solid story with compelling animation, as is any other Miyazaki movie; but it’s also so deeply meaningful and moving that you can’t help but be fascinated with it. I don’t think any of his other films have affected me this much, and most other fans that I speak with say the same.