It's certainly not the first Ghibli feature where deforestation stirs up trouble. However, even in the middle of hatred and killings, there are things worth living for.'Ĭommentators have described 'Princess Mononoke' as 'a reaction to My Neighbor Totoro'-more specifically, a reaction to the audience reaction to Miyazaki's 1988 movie, which supplied Ghibli with its mascot and targeted kids with a cuddlier form of the environmentalism running all throughout the great animator's filmography. In his original project proposal for 'Princess Mononoke,' Miyazaki hinted at the nature of that ending (which we'll be analyzing here with spoilers), saying, 'There cannot be a happy ending to the fight between the raging gods and humans. That's one key thing that might help the viewer 'see with eyes unclouded' - like the cursed prince, Ashitaka - and thereby understand the ending of 'Princess Mononoke' a little better.