I can still remember it quite clearly… As I sat down in Lincoln’s Ross theater to watch Princess Mononoke, I noticed the young family seated a row or two behind me. And as the film progressed, I could feel those young parents growing more and more tense. After all, Princess Mononoke begins with the attack of a demonic creature on a small village and contains battle sequences where people are dismembered and decapitated.

I don’t remember if the parents left before the film was over, but I wasn’t surprised by their reaction. If you hold to the typical American notion that animation is just for kids, then Princess Mononoke’s dark, turbulent storyline would be eye-opening to say the least. But even if you’re already familiar with Miyazaki’s work via My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke might still be a shock. It’s easily his darkest film, a bitter and angry work about humanity’s mistreatment of nature. Mind you, though, it’s no simplistic rant.

Miyazaki, world-class filmmaker that he is, never shies away from nuance and complexity, and even the film’s most villainous characters possess redeeming and admirable qualities that defy easy “humanity bad, nature good” dualities. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Joe Hisaishi’s epic score, which gives me chills and makes me tear up whenever I hear its soaring arrangements.