Princess Mononoke English Dub Got Limited Release For Valid Reason
Writer Neil Gaiman reveals that Princess Mononoke's English dub got a limited theatrical for a valid reason amidst disagreements with the studio. The historical fantasy epic marked the ninth outing from Hayao Miyazaki's celebrated Studio Ghibli animation studio following other such hits as Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. Miyazaki served as the writer and director on Princess Mononoke, which was set in the Muromachi period of Japan and revolved around a young prince finding himself in the middle of a war between forest gods and a human mining town.
Princess Mononoke received rave reviews from critics upon its release for Ghibli's breathtaking visuals, the film's complex and adult story and its unique sense of world building. Following Disney's acquisition of worldwide rights to the studio's projects in the mid '90s, Princess Mononoke became the second Ghibli theatrical release following the critically acclaimed Kiki's Delivery Service. Though the animated epic received similar critical acclaim to the magical adventure, it would ultimately underperform at the box office and derail many future theatrical release plans for Disney and Ghibli, including the cancellation of Castle in the Sky's English dub getting a big screen release.
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In response to a fan sharing his love for the film on Twitter, Neil Gaiman revealed why Princess Mononoke's English dub originally got a limited theatrical release in 1999. The author/screenwriter explained that Miramax's release strategy stemmed from Miyazaki's refusal to cut the film to studio co-founder Harvey Weinstein's requests. See Gaiman's explanation below:
I love that people can see it in
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