Highly recommended
anime feature film released in the USA by
Miramax. Unlike most
post-modern anime this one is set in 15th century
Japan.
A young prince, Ashitaka, is forced to leave his isolated villiage after protecting it from a forest god-turned-demon who left a curse upon his right arm as a mark of it's hatred toward mankind. In his travels to find a cure he becomes engaged in a conflict between man and nature. There he meets San, the wolf-princess, who is determined to drive the humans from the forest and the Lady Eboshi who runs Irontown.
Animation is top quality, as are the musical score and American voice-acting by Claire Danes, Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver and Gillian Anderson. The plot is quite extraordinary as there are no clear-cut (no pun intended) hero or villian since animator Hayao Miyazaki draws out both sides of the argument of nature versus science.