Chick 1 says:

I’ve been wanting to explore a bit of Asian cinema, especially anime.  Many of them fall in my favorite genre, fantasy/scifi.  This movie, about a cursed prince who travels west to ask the Forest Spirit to heal him, had made quite a few Top Ten lists the year it was released.  It also has a lushous soundtrack that I had heard on the internet.

What I Liked:  What’s great about not being familiar with eastern storytelling is that almost everything is a surprise.  I have no idea if a character is a stereotype & since I don’t know the common narrative devices, I really don’t know where the story’s going.  It’s a completely new world.  The English translation was well done.  No grunting & yelping, a la Speed Racer. The actors, including Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, & Billy Bob Thorton (yes, Billy Bob Thorton) lent the story an impressive weight.  Some of the characters & events did make me wonder what the heck the animators were smoking, but that kind of added to the wild ride.

What I Didn’t Like: Why, oh why, does anime have to have those really crazy comic relief characters with the tiny eyes & enormous mouths, screaming & mugging for the camera?  Admittedly, there was less of that in this movie than in other things I’ve seen and the characters did actually grow on me but come on.  The movie was also a little too long.

Bottom Line: A fantastic, wild ride.  Buckle your seatbelt & rent it.