Done mostly in the style of hand-painted classic animation, with occasional digital assists, "Princess Mononoke is indeed a thing of beauty and imagination.
Princess Mononoke's greatest feat is in crafting a story that could've been so easily simple, but manages to be more morally complex than even the most epic live-action films.
Miyazaki's hordes of animators haven't penetrated beyond the skin; the moving creatures feel inarticulate and jerky, almost weightless, particularly when played against painterly background mattes.
The film's strength lies in its refusal to paint either its arguments or its characters in black and white: There are no pure heroes, no clear-cut villains and no pat answers.