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. Read more about Princess Mononoke is an Incredible Film