A review of Shout! Factory’s “Princess Mononoke” booklet

Written by Matt Long

Edited by Anthony Nijssen from APT Editing

A review of the booklet included as part of the Shout! Factory and GKids Blu-ray release of the Studio Ghibli classic Princess Mononoke (1997). The limited edition SteelBook containing this booklet was released in 2020.

The front cover of the booklet for Princess Mononoke, the animated classic by director Hayao Miyazaki.

Professionalism and production quality

This is a high quality saddle-stitch bound booklet. The images have perfect resolution, the text is readable, the layout is clean, and there are no obvious spelling or grammar errors. This booklet could be re-read over and over without affecting the binding.

Score (out of 10): 10

Text-to-image ratio

There is one page of images for every page of text, right down to the front and back covers of this eight page booklet. One of the three pages of text was not even able to fill the full page. I would have preferred more text, even if the visuals of this movie are incredible and worth being printed.

Score (out of 10): 4

Content

The booklet contains two text pieces. The first is “The Turning Point of an Era” by Studio Ghibli producer and former president Toshio Suzuki, written in July 2013. There’s a note that this short text was written for a Japanese Blu-ray release. The five short paragraphs briefly explain how Princess Mononoke served as an important moment when the films and themes of Studio Ghibli’s movies changed, and how Suzuki came to that understanding.

The steelbook Blu-ray case and the small booklet are fine collectables, but they don’t capture the epic scale of this movie’ ideas and ambition.

The second piece is a statement by director Hayao Miyazaki from 1995 taken from the reprinted English translation of The Art of Princess Mononoke, published by VIZ Media, LLC. It’s an interesting piece that covers Miyazaki’s inspiration and thinking behind the movie, including the intentions for what kind of movie he was trying to make. However, that book is readily available, and the quote was still fairly vague, especially because it was a statement from before the movie was released. I would have liked some content that provides context into whether Miyazaki felt his goals were achieved.

Score (out of 20): 10

Creativity

Princess Mononoke is a beloved classic, and I’m sure many people involved with the production, critics, scholars, or fans would have loved to contribute writing for this booklet. Its current state feels like a missed opportunity, only present to fill an obligation of “increasing the value” of the physical media release. It’s fine, and I appreciated having the texts, but more information about this monumental movie would have been appreciated.

As well, if the booklet was going to be half images, they could have gone all out and shown the animation as it was in development compared with the final picture. Such an offering could have been an enriching use of this tree’s life.

Score (out of 10): 4

Final score (out of 50): 28

This booklet is unremarkable and relatively forgettable. It’s worth a single read, but the content is not essential for a greater appreciation of the movie.

This movie is available for purchase at your local physical media store on request, or it can be ordered from Shout Factory, as well as a collector’s edition that contains a 40-page book.