Question 1

True or false: Princess Mononoke was the first animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Accepted Answer

False. That category didn't exist until 2001. 'Spirited Away' won in 2003. 'Mononoke' was the highest-grossing Japanese film of 1997 but never won an Oscar.

Question 2

True or false: Princess Mononoke is set in the Muromachi period, which lasted from the 14th to 16th centuries.

Accepted Answer

True. Miyazaki explicitly set the story during the late Muromachi period (approx. 1336–1573), a time of social upheaval and environmental change in Japan.

Question 3

True or false: The film's English title was changed from 'Princess Mononoke' because 'Mononoke' means 'demon' in Japanese.

Accepted Answer

False. The title was kept as 'Princess Mononoke' in English. 'Mononoke' refers to a spirit or supernatural being, not specifically a demon, but the name was retained.

Question 4

True or false: Hayao Miyazaki based the forest spirit on a Shinto deer god, but its face was inspired by a cat.

Accepted Answer

False. The forest spirit's face was actually modeled after a combination of a deer, a rabbit, and a monkey, not a cat. Miyazaki wanted an otherworldly, peaceful appearance.

Question 5

True or false: The voice actor for Lady Eboshi in the English dub also voiced a main character in the original 'Mass Effect' trilogy.

Accepted Answer

True. Minnie Driver voiced Lady Eboshi. She also voiced Liara T'Soni, a key companion in the 'Mass Effect' trilogy, surprising many gamers.

Question 6

True or false: Neil Gaiman wrote the English screenplay adaptation because the original script was too complex for Western audiences.

Accepted Answer

False. Neil Gaiman did adapt the English script, but not because it was 'too complex.' Disney hired him to make the dialogue natural in English while preserving Miyazaki's intent.

Question 7

True or false: Studio Ghibli used over 144,000 hand-painted cels for Princess Mononoke, a record for the studio at the time.

Accepted Answer

True. The film required approximately 144,000 cels, with some scenes using layered cels for depth. It was Ghibli's most labor-intensive film before digital animation.

Question 8

True or false: The boar god Okkoto was voiced by a real sumo wrestler in the original Japanese version.

Accepted Answer

True. Okkoto's grunts and roars were performed by sumo wrestler Akebono Tarō. His deep, guttural voice added authentic weight to the massive, cursed boar.

Princess Mononoke Trivia Questions