“Magic Princess” produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Jun Miyazawa is confirmed to return to the big screen! And it was chosen to be released in Taiwan on Gong Junjun’s 83rd birthday (January 5, 2024). The Japanese animation premiered in 1997. The release of the film helped Ghibli reach a new milestone that year, becoming its highest-grossing film to date. To this day, “Magical Princess” is still a classic animation in the hearts of many people. Many netizens believe that the layout and world view of this work are better than “The Hidden Girl”, and it can be regarded as Miyako Jun’s masterpiece.
Now returning to the big screen after 27 years, fans are very excited and moved. In addition, the story of the film is slightly complicated. Rewatching this work after many years will definitely bring more different insights.
1. Plot synopsis of “Magic Princess”
It describes the prince “Ashitaka” who was caught by a fatal curse and left his hometown to find a solution. However, he was involved in the survival struggle between the forest beasts and the people of the mining town. During the journey, he met the magical princess “Xiao Sang” who was raised by the mountain dog god clan. , Xiao Sang is determined to protect the forest and fight against humans to the end. The battle is about to start, while Ashitaka is trying to find a way to resolve the dispute between nature and humans and coexist peacefully.
2. The creative background of “Magical Princess”
Gong Junjun created the masterpiece “The Heron and the Boy” with the proposition “What kind of life do you want to live?” and influenced future generations. He once said: “No matter how difficult and cruel the era is, we must Live like a human being.” In fact, “Magic Princess” also conveys the central idea of ”only reconciliation can coexist” and “let’s live together.” During the production of “Magic Princess”, Japan suffered from natural and man-made disasters such as the 1994 Matsumoto Sarin Gas Incident and the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, which severely affected the society. The world was in turmoil. Miyazaki believed that “survival” is the necessary mentality for people to survive in the future. , and expresses through his works that even though human beings contain both positive and negative traits and have encountered various situations in the past, they still work together to create a future.
