Princess Mononoke is one of those beautiful Miyazaki films which I had some mixed feelings about. It was beautiful visually, the creatures looked kind of creepy and kind of awesome, and the characters were certainly engaging enough, but some aspects prevented me from enjoying it as much as some of his other works. This is why it was difficult for me to use my usual rating system for it.
The main aspect that didn't work for me was the constant background thing about "Gods" - even a wild boar/pig was considered a god, which is so against my personal beliefs about God that I just couldn't enjoy some of the film. I also found that while most of the film was so visually stunning there were parts that just weren't. In the fight sequence at the end the gigantic monster thing just looked a little weird/off... and that may have been what they were going for - but it just didn't work for me and brought me out of the experience.
However, overall, the film was great as one would expect with any Miyazaki film. I liked the characters quite a bit and the contrast that was made between the cities and the woods was great. I like how you got to see the opposing points of view of two very strong women and then through Ashitaka's between-two-worlds point of view we see their opinions in a different light. Ashitaka's weird superpowers on his arm are also kind of cool, and provide some of the coolest visuals and character moments.
Interestingly enough there weren't really any flying machines, but the wolves more than made up for that.
Overall, I would still recommend watching it, as it was a beautifully made film, but if you're going to show it to children and you share my discomfort about the way they portrayed "gods" then be prepared to approach it with a little caution and to have some serious discussions.
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