Photo courtesy of GKIDS. © 1997 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, ND
PRINCESS MONONOKE, a landmark of animation from Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, and globally celebrated animation house, Studio Ghibli, comes to North American cinemas, presented on a brand new 4K restoration exclusively in IMAX theatres. In celebration of the historic Studio Ghibli’s 40th anniversary, GKIDS, the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of acclaimed and artist-driven animation from around the world, will bring the film to IMAX theatres in the US and Canada beginning March 26, 2025. The film will be shown in both original Japanese language with subtitles and English language dubbed versions. Tickets are on sale now.
First released in 1997, PRINCESS MONONOKE is one of Director Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved features from Studio Ghibli. The now classic title remains a cultural touch point and has maintained an immeasurable influence on modern cinema. The hand-drawn, animated feature is an original story written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, produced by co-founder Toshio Suzuki, and features a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator, the renowned composer Joe Hisaishi.
The IMAX version of the film was created from a new 4K restoration directly overseen by Studio Ghibli’s own Atsushi Okui, who has been involved in nearly every major Studio Ghibli project since he first started at the studio in 1993. Okui’s most recent credit with the studio was as Director of Digital Imaging on Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning THE BOY AND THE HERON, which was also the first Studio Ghibli film to screen in IMAX format.
GKIDS handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films across all theatrical, home video, digital, and streaming platforms. The company has released Studio Ghibli’s most recent films in theaters nationwide, including the Academy Award-winning THE BOY AND THE HERON, the Academy Award-nominated THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA, the Academy Award-nominated WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE, FROM UP ON POPPY HILL and more. Since 2017, GKIDS has produced the annual Ghibli Fest, a monthly nationwide theatrical program of Studio Ghibli film screenings in over 1000 theaters across the country.
Synopsis:
From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of SPIRITED AWAy, and Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes an epic masterpiece that has dazzled audiences worldwide with its breathtaking imagination, exhilarating battles, and deep humanity.
Inflicted with a deadly curse, the young warrior Ashitaka heads west in search of a cure. There, he stumbles into a bitter conflict between Lady Eboshi, the proud people of Iron Town, and the enigmatic Princess Mononoke, a young girl raised by wolves, who will stop at nothing to prevent the humans from destroying her home and the forest spirits and animal gods who live there. Featuring the voice talents of Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Billy Bob Thornton.
About GKIDS, Inc.
GKIDS is the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed feature, THE BOY AND THE HERON. The company’s previous nominations include THE SECRET OF KELLS in 2010, A CAT IN PARIS and CHICO & RITA in 2012, ERNEST & CELESTINE in 2014, THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA and SONG OF THE SEA in 2015, BOY AND THE WORLD and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE in 2016, MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI in 2017, THE BREADWINNER in 2018, MIRAI in 2019, WOLFWALKERS in 2021, and THE BOY AND THE HERON in 2024.
For more than a decade, GKIDS’ influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Makoto Shinkai (WEATHERING WITH YOU), Mamoru Hosoda (BELLE), Masaaki Yuasa (INU-OH), Tomm Moore (WOLFWALKERS), Hideaki Anno (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION), Nora Twomey (THE BREADWINNER), Satoshi Kon (PERFECT BLUE) and Hiroyuki Imaishi (Promare), among countless others. GKIDS is also the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions.
About Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animation directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and is one of the most successful and well-respected animation studios in the world. Cultivating a creative force of talented directors, animators, and storytellers under the revered brilliance of Miyazaki and Takahata, Studio Ghibli’s films have been praised for their originality, dazzling animation, and epic storytelling. The films have become a beloved part of Japanese popular culture, and have garnered worldwide acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Hayao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature of 2002 and in 2005 Miyazaki was named one of “the most influential people” by Time Magazine.