Editing Princess Mononoke (section)

== Legacy ==

[[File:James Cameron by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[James Cameron]] ''(2016 photograph)'' cited ''Princess Mononoke'' as an influence on his science fiction film ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]''{{nbsp}}(2009).{{sfn|Ito|2009}}]]

According to Napier, the film is commonly considered to be Miyazaki's most significant feature film.{{sfn|Napier|2018|p=182}} She wrote that it marked a "new chapter" in his filmography on account of its nuanced and intermingled themes and the unprecedented scope of its production.{{sfn|Napier|2018|pp=176–177}} The film was longer and more expensive to produce than any Studio Ghibli film up to that point, which Napier reported induced a high level of stress and demanded "almost superhuman efforts" from the entire staff, including Miyazaki. Some senior employees, worn out from the film's production, left Studio Ghibli in its aftermath, with Miyazaki himself increasingly withdrawing from public relations.{{sfn|Napier|2018|p=178}} Suzuki recounted that Miyazaki was overtaxed from supervising the storyboards, music, and vocal recordings and had "given his body and soul" to the production.<ref>{{harvnb|Suzuki|2016|pp=100, 105}}, cited in {{harvnb|Napier|2018|p=178}}.</ref> In an interview before the film's release, Miyazaki said that, "Physically, I just can't go on."<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|McCarthy|2002|p=189}}.</ref> He resigned in 1998 but returned shortly after to direct ''[[Spirited Away]]''{{nbsp}}(2001) following the death of [[Yoshifumi Kondō]], who was intended to be Miyazaki's successor at Studio Ghibli.{{sfn|Napier|2018|p=195}}

''Princess Mononoke'' was the first film in which Miyazaki directly referenced scholarly writing, which strongly contributed to his status in Japanese society as a {{lang|ja-Latn|bunkajin}} and marked his works out for further academic inquiry.{{sfn|Yoshioka|2018|pp=25, 35–36}} Alongside ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''{{nbsp}}(1995–1996), the film laid the foundation for anime to become the subject of study by academics and critics.{{sfn|Yoshioka|2018|p=26}} Yoshioka suggested that Miyazaki's growing reputation may have constrained his later creations{{nbsp}}– as he never wrote a feature film in the style of his earlier action-adventure works after ''Princess Mononoke''{{nbsp}}– and motivated him to retire from the public eye.{{sfn|Yoshioka|2018|p=36}} McCarthy, however, felt that the film provides a novel view of femininity that allows the female characters to express themselves without needing comparison to the men but writes that Miyazaki "opened the gates of this marvelous possibility" only to revert to traditional storytelling and character archetypes in later films.{{sfn|McCarthy|2018|pp=110–111}}

Yoshioka felt the film's widespread success turned Miyazaki into an "icon of contemporary Japanese cinema" on the international stage and primed many of his subsequent works to become commercial successes in turn.{{sfn|Yoshioka|2018|pp=26, 36}} It has since become a [[cult film]] due to its sustained popularity among fans,{{sfnm|Denison|2018|1p=17|Eiss|2010|2p=162}} and Pett wrote that the film is now an "established cultural touchstone", identifying multiple other works that it had influenced.{{sfn|Pett|2018|pp=185–186}} [[James Cameron]], for example, cited the film as an influence on his science fiction film ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]''{{nbsp}}(2009).{{sfn|Ito|2009}} Critics have also named a number of video games that take influence from the film, including ''[[Ori and the Blind Forest]]''{{nbsp}}(2015){{sfn|Myers|2020}} and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]]''{{nbsp}}(2017).{{sfn|Rowe|2023}} Pett identified a shift in critical writings that reinterpreted San as a feminist figure.{{sfn|Pett|2018|p=188}} In April 2013, Studio Ghibli partnered with the English production company Whole Hog Theatre to create a stage adaptation of the film.{{sfn|Tanaka|2013}} It premiered at the [[New Diorama Theatre]] in London after selling out a year ahead of time{{sfn|Lussier|2012}} and moved to [[Tokyo]] later that year.{{sfn|Tanaka|2013}} In 2025, a newly discovered species of deepwater [[tilefish]] was named ''[[Branchiostegus sanae]]'' after the character San.{{sfn|Molloy|2025}}
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