Introduction to Studio Ghibli and Princess Mononoke 

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Prior to discussing Studio Ghibli and Princess Mononoke, it would be helpful to discuss anime first. Here are some points to start off the conversation. 

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• Ask the class "How many are familiar with anime?", depending on the responses you receive, ask the class how they would define anime to those unfamiliar with the genre. This would help create a peer-facilitated discussion. 

• Next, you can move onto Studio Ghibli, again you can consider asking the class if they are familiar with Studio Ghibli. If you have students who are familiar with the studio, you can ask them what their favourite Ghibli films are, what about the films appeal to them.

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History of Studio Ghibli 

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After the class discussion, you can move onto discussing the history of Studio Ghibli. The studio was founded in 1985 by Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki. The video below which is close to 30 minutes long, provides a history of the studio from 1985-2003. If you would like, after watching the video you can consider having a discussion about it. Some questions to consider are "what did you think about the mini-documentary?" "does this give you a better understanding of the studio and the people who founded it?" "does it make you want to watch Studio Ghibli films?"  

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If you would like, you can also show this video which looks at the process of creating a Studio Ghibli movie.

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The Task for Students 

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The task for students in this class is to watch Princess Mononoke's Japanese and  English dubbed versions. The film will be watched outside of class. The class will be divided into two groups and half will watch the Japanese version and the others will watch the dubbed version. If there are students who have watched both versions, they can watch the version they prefer.  They will be asked to consider three themes present in the movie, related to the characters.  Before watching the movie, students should be shown the following trailers. The trailers are the original Japanese trailer and the English dubbed trailer. ​

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After showing the students the two trailers, they should be shown the following promotional posters for the movie. They are the original Japanese poster and the Miramax promotional posters. As students are watching the movie, students should be asked to consider if the promotional material (both Japanese and English trailers and posters) promoted the story accurately, or do they feel they understood the movie differently based on the promotional material related to the version they watched.  

 

                                         Japanese Poster                                                                                        Miramax Poster (1)       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                      

                                                                                              

                                                                                         

                                                                                           

                                                                                                Miramax Poster (2)  

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Themes in Princess Mononoke 

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Common themes found in Studio Ghibli movies include 

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• Environmental concerns 

• Moral Ambiguity

• Focus on animism and spirituality

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 Themes for students to consider while watching Princess Mononoke 

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 For students, they will be asked to consider the following three themes, relating to culture in Japan.

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• The characters’ relationship with nature (i.e. Lady Eboshi’s, San’s, Jigo and Ashitaka’s).

• Morality and the complexity of it (i.e Lady Eboshi’s actions throughout the film, the role of the samurai in the movie)

• Animism and Spirituality (i.e. Jigo’s views on the Deer God/Nightwalker and pessimism)  

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Caution: Princess Mononoke contains a lot of violence. So be sure to let students know about that before watching the film. 

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 Additional videos and reading material you may want to share with students will be listed in the "Additional Resources" section. 

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