Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
Cinematography
Hand-drawn forest spirits that still outshine CGI
Score
Joe Hisaishi's sweeping despair
Production
144,000 cels, zero shortcuts taken
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Yoji Matsuda
Ashitaka (voice)
Yuriko Ishida
San / Kaya (voice)
Yuko Tanaka
Eboshi Gozen (voice)
Kaoru Kobayashi
Jikobo (voice)
Masahiko Nishimura
Kouroku (voice)
Tsunehiko Kamijô
Gonza (voice)
Mitsuko Mori
Mrs. Hii (voice)
Hisaya Morishige
Chief of Affairs (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto
Toki (voice)
Tetsu Watanabe
Wild Dog (voice)
Makoto Satō
Tatari God (voice)
Akira Nagoya
Cowherd (voice)
Kei Iinuma
Chief of the Sick (voice)
Tsuzuki Kayako
Kiyo (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Miyazaki personally redrew over 80,000 cels when dissatisfied with assistants' work. The man's a maniac.
The kodama (tree spirits) are based on Yamagata folklore where tree-dwelling spirits would mimic sounds to confuse travelers — Miyazaki made them click instead.
JP
