Princess Mononoke holds a particular place in the history of animation. Released in July 1997 after four years of production on a budget of ¥2.35 billion, it was the most expensive animated film made in Japan at the time, and it became the highest-grossing film in the country that year. It also marks the end of an era in Studio Ghibli's craft: this was the last Ghibli feature to be animated entirely on hand-painted cels. Everything that came after moved to digital paint. Every production cel from Princess Mononoke is, by definition, a document from the final chapter of Ghibli's cel-painting tradition.
This cel comes from a tense moment at around 1:37:22 in the film, showing Ashitaka and Moro together, as Ashitaka attempts to lift the dead boars before Jigo's men can reach them. Moro, the great wolf goddess voiced by Akihiro Miwa, is one of the film's most formidable presences. The two figures here, prince and wolf deity, represent the film's central tension between the world of humans and the world of the gods..
Painted on acetate with top peg holes, and presented here against a fine art giclée background, the cel is in excellent condition. The hand-painted quality of the image bears out the extraordinary labour that went into this production. Miyazaki's team is documented to have painted over 144,000 animation cels for the film.
Miyazaki had begun developing the ideas behind Princess Mononoke as early as 1980, drawing on Muromachi-period Japanese history, themes of environmentalism, and a feminist approach to his characters. A cel from this film is production art from one of the most significant animated features of the twentieth century, made using a technique Ghibli would never return to. Dimensions: 38 cm x 26 cm (14.96" x 10.24")
Estimate: £3,000 - £6,000 M
See Online Here: 702. Moro and Ashitaka Original Production Cel on Fine Art Giclée Background ### PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997)
