Studio Ghibli: 7 Unforgettable Moments That Defined Their Films

4. Okkoto's Corruption

Film: Princess Mononoke (1997) Analysis of Princess Mononoke commonly centres around a single word: epic. Everything about the film is grand, from the diverse cast of massive gods and spirits to the improbably high stakes of Prince Ashitaka's quest. He follows a narrative arc that echoes the traditional hero's journey, setting off to find a cure for the curse that blights his arm before finding himself tangled up in a tumultuous war. Far more than just a territorial squabble between neighbouring factions, the conflict involves wolves, boars, apes, and forest spirits as they try to protect themselves from ecological devastation at the hands of a nearby village called Irontown - all while the protagonist desperately tries to keep the peace. It's considered one of the studio's more adult-oriented releases for a reason; from the moment Ashitaka's arm is corrupted, the film-makers aren't afraid to display scenes of war in some detail. The violence on display is far from gratuitous, though; in many respects, it's vital to the power of the film's message. That much is true for one particularly memorable moment during the film's climax, in which Irontown's troops disguise themselves as boars in order to surround and attack the blind boar god Okkoto. Okkoto's gunshot wounds transform him into a grotesque, rampaging demon similar to the beast that attacks Ashitaka's village at the beginning of the film. It's an exhilarating scene, and one that carries the full thematic weight of the film's environmental concerns. The humans' anonymity and the insidious nature of their assault is almost unbearably gruesome - most of all because it hits so close to home.