Princess Mononoke is returning to theaters in the US and Canada – in IMAX, and with a 4K restoration.
The Studio Ghibli flick follows Ashitaka, a young Emishi prince who’s exiled after being cursed by a demon. On a quest to cure himself of the curse, he becomes entangled in the conflict between Irontown and the nearby forest of the gods, including a feud between the town’s leader, Lady Eboshi, and San, a young girl raised by wolves.
Originally released in 1997 and written and directed by Studio Ghibli boss Hayao Miyazaki, the voice cast for the English-language dub included Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Gillian Anderson.
Princess Mononoke was a hit with critics and has a near-perfect score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a success at the Japanese box office, too, becoming the highest-grossing movie in the country. Now, almost three decades later, it’s still the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time in Japan.
While the re-release is limited to North America for now, it’s quite likely that the movie might make its way across the pond in the near future as there have been a spate of Ghibli re-releases over the past few months. Last summer, for example, My Neighbor Totoro returned to UK cinemas, with Spirited Away following a few months later and Howl’s Moving Castle set to arrive this April.
Princess Mononoke arrives in theaters in the US and Canada on March 26. For more, check out our guide to this year’s biggest upcoming movies.