This year has seen the release of many great animated features including; Toy Story 2, Tarzan, South Park, and Iron Giant. Enter Princess Mononoke, a highly innovative, beautiful piece of Japanese animation that's lightyears beyond the barbaric techniques used in the hideously insipid Pokemon.

Prolific animator Hayao Miyazaki labored for years to bring this ecological fairy tale to the screen, and the hard work has certainly paid off. Although this film is in the traditional Japan animation style, it's much more fluid than some of Japan's earlier products. It should also be noted that it's rated PG-13 for a reason. There are a lot of flying body limbs and some of the subject matter may be too deep for young ones.

For the American release of this popular film, many talented actors have lent there voices to effective results. If you listen closely, you may here Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton and many others.

Parts of Princess Mononoke don't work in terms of the story. There are moments at the film's end that don't hold water, and two hours and fifteen minutes is quite long for an animated feature, but these are trivial complaints for a cartoon that looks this good.

Miyazaki has been hailed as one of the greats by many American animators including John Lasseter (the Toy Story films). As you watch the beautiful and original world of Princess Mononoke, it's easy to see why.