Young Ashitaka defeats an enraged forest boar god that inexplicably attacks his isolated village, but not before it infects him with its contagion. Learning that the god's malady may have come from an ironworks settlement upstream whose inhabitants are waging a war against the forest of the god Shishi, Ashitaka travels there and meets its matriarch, Lady Eboshi. Though responsible for the destruction of the forest, Eboshi is earnest in her attempts to build a better life for her people.

Ashitaka finds himself in a position to pacify the struggle between nature and civilization when San, a human girl with ties to the forest, leads him to a council of the forest gods where brews a debate about whether to attack the humans or retreat further into the forest. The wolf god Moro, who is slowly dying from wound's inflicted by Eboshi, is in favor of the latter course, but the boars are determined to make a last stand.

Meanwhile, Jigo, who is an Imperial agent, plans to seize Shishi's head as a prize for his Emperor - its blood is thought to bestow immortality - and will perform any act of betrayal necessary to get it.

It is, at least theoretically, possible for Hayao Miyazaki to create a horrible movie. It hasn't happened yet. Before "Titanic" landed on Tokyo's shores and sank it, "Princess Mononoke" was the highest-grossing film in Japanese history - sending previous hits like "Star Wars" and "E.T." to the showers. It took several years for the film to make it to North America, but at long last, after an ill-managed stint in the cineplex, it has arrived on DVD - and it's one of his best.

"Mononoke" returns to themes that Miyazaki has explored in previous films such as "Nausicaë in the Valley of Wind" and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky": the strong-willed heroine willing to die to preserve what she believes in; the oppression of a lesser power by a greater one; and the conflict between man's need for survival and nature's fragility.

With "Mononoke" Miyazaki posits that life is more a conflict between mutually exclusive self-interests than a struggle between good and evil. In Miyazaki's world, forest gods who ignore the ruthless imperative to "adapt or die" by seeking to live as they always have are as guilty as the Japanese refugees who destroy forests to build communities for themselves. Hollywood has an unfortunate tendency to cast conflicts in simple morality plays, especially in tales charged with a social message - Miyazaki's more complex and mature story is a refreshing change - Lady Eboshi, who saves prostitutes and lepers from hellish lives, also sacrifices her wounded and destroys virgin forests without a thought; Moro fights to protect her family and beloved forest, but her hate for humans overshadows all of her admirable qualities.

And even with his love story, Miyazaki refuses to contrive a happy ending. San and Ashitaka are culturally and morally incompatible, and despite their love for one another the best they can hope for is to remain distant friends.

"Mononoke" is not only a thematically, but also a visually stunning film - its color palettes are saturated in rich reds and vibrant greens. Studio Ghibli skillfully integrates its CG effects with traditional animation - an essential goal in a film teeming with lush natural settings.

English-language dubs are often the bane of anime fans, but Disney has spared no expense in providing one of the best-acted dubs ever to be released in the west with Minnie Driver shining as the ambitious Lady Eboshi. It goes without saying that the Japanese cast is superb. Kudos to Disney for taking the extra time to include the Japanese track on this release. Even better, there are two subtitled tracks - the first featuring Neil Gaiman's excellent translation as read by the Western voice actors, and a second providing a literal translation with every cultural detail preserved. Disney has long been derided as being hostile or, at best, indifferent to anime unique flavor, but this release is extremely fan-friendly.