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Studio Ghibli films didn’t make it to the West on their own. Sometimes, Hayao Miyazaki needed a helping hand, especially in the 1990s when anime and films from Japan weren’t so popular.
The only obstacle was to prevent the Disneyfication of his films so that they could fit a Western audience. Many Western producers sought to do exactly this which would’ve made Studio Ghibli films lose Miyazaki’s touch altogether.Princess Mononokenearly fell victim to this.
Stephen Alpert, a former executive at Studio Ghibli, relates his experience working with Hollywood executives and directors for the Western release of Studio Ghibli films. One such name brought chills who thankfully never got his clutches onPrincess Mononoke.
Fans might have been grateful that this director didn’t get his hands on the iconic film but time has proven that there’s almost no famous person who doesn’t have dirt on their hands.
Harvey Weinstein almost headed the Western release ofPrincess Mononoke
Harvey Weinsteinhas been charged and found guilty of s*xual assault with multiple women and is currently serving 23 years in prison for this. Being associated with the likes of the director wouldn’t have boded well for Studio Ghibli, especially with its message of women empowerment.
Alpert talks abouthow many cuts the director wanted to make toPrincess Mononoketo the point Studio Ghibli teamthreatened him by sending a katana. This was a pretty bold and necessary move. In the end, Weinstein couldn’t get his hands on the film.
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This was, for many reasons beyond just legal, for the best. The director would’ve ruinedPrincess Mononokeby molding it into something similar to a Disney film forAmerican audiences to swallow.
Neil Gaiman,the author behind several iconic novels likeCoralineandGood Omens, headed the English screenplay forPrincess Mononoke.However, based on recent events, the grass is not greener on the other side.
Gaiman has been accused of assaulting 8 women
Despite his talents as an author and how many people idolized him, he’s a reminder to never trust your idols. Neil Gaiman has always been inclusive in his works. He displayed the utmost respect for the English screenplay of Princess Mononoke and defendedHayao Miyazaki’sdemands to Miramax.
So it’s a great disappointment that while Studio Ghibli avoided working with one director who has been charged with s*xual assault, the author they did work with now has his own dirt, asdetailed by the New York Times and its website, Vulture.
Now thatGood Omens, Coraline, Stardust,and many more iconic works of media have been destroyed, it seems the author has already taintedPrincess Mononoke.
While several fans might be coping with the “separate art from the artist” argument, it still poisons his work. Gaiman was an idol for several LGBT+ people and women all over the world andseveral fans are devastated by this news.
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Princess Mononokemight have never made it to the West without him but if the allegations are true, fans might be hesitant to revisit it. To think they dodged one bullet with Weinstein, only for Gaiman to be accused of similar crimes might decrease the trust people have in Studio Ghibli.
Princess Mononokeis available on Netflix.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
