February 10, 2001

      On February 22nd at 9:30pm Eastern and Pacific Time, Starz! will broadcast Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. In late October early November of 1999, Princess Monoke earned 3.2 million dollars in it's limited theatrical run. It has already been released on a bilingual DVD and will be released on VHS on March 13 of this year.

Excerpted from the Press Release:

STARZ! PREMIERES PRINCESS MONONOKE IN FEBRUARY

Animated Japanese Epic Features Voices of Angelina Jolie, Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, Minnie Driver, Claire Danes, Billy Crudup and Keith David

Englewood, Colo., February 9, 2000 - On February 22 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, STARZ! premieres Princess Mononoke, Japanese writer-director Hayao Miyazaki's acclaimed story of the struggle of man against nature.

Artistically unchanged from the original film created by Miyazaki and his collaborators at Studio Ghibli in Japan, the English version of Princess Mononoke features the voices of some of today's most talented actors: Angelina Jolie (the upcoming Tomb Raider), Billy Bob Thornton (A Simple Plan), Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files," The House of Mirth), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting), Claire Danes (The Rainmaker), Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) and Keith David (U-571). Seen in limited release in the United States, Princess Mononoke earned nearly $150 million at the box office worldwide.

Although it is set in ancient Japan, the message of Princess Mononoke is, at once, universally timely and timeless as the story centers around the dilemma of man's coexistence with nature, especially in an industrial age. In a world where problem-solving is impossible to simplify and there is a consequence to every action, Japanese Prince Ashitaka (Crudup), defending his village from a mysterious monster, inadvertently kills a protector-god from a distant region and finds himself the victim of a curse. As he searches the land for a cure, he stumbles into the center of a war over the woods, sparked by the presence of a tribe of iron forgers, led by Lady Eboshi (Driver). Although Eboshi has an altruistic interest in creating a sanctuary for outcast lepers, her colony is damaging the forest as they focus on the manufacturing of weapons. When their once lush woods deteriorates to wasteland, the animal gods of the forest, led by Moro (Anderson), a wolf god, and Princess Mononoke (Danes), a beautiful human raised by wolves, must battle to survive. Ashitika strives for a peaceful solution as he finds himself torn between his loyalty to the human race and his love and respect for Princess Mononoke.

Source(s): ANN

-Kaio-sama