Editing Princess Mononoke (section)

=== Production and animation ===

''Princess Mononoke'' was the most expensive animated film ever produced in Japan at the time.{{sfn|Schilling|1999|p=5}} It was originally allocated a budget of {{JPY|2 billion}}, which was expanded to {{JPY|2.35 billion}}{{efn|Equivalent to {{JPY|{{Format price|{{Inflation|JP|2350000000|1997}}}}}} in {{Inflation/year|JP}}{{sfn|''Rateinflation.com''}} }} later in the production,{{sfn|Kanō|2006|p=195}} more than double that of any previous Studio Ghibli film.{{sfn|Schilling|1999|p=5}} Miyazaki stated, "I don't care if the studio goes bankrupt."<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|Kanō|2006|p=193}}.</ref> The animation production commenced in July 1995.{{sfn|McCarthy|2002|p=185}} Miyazaki created the [[storyboard]]s using the approach he took toward serialized manga, writing the film's plot as he drew the scenes.{{sfn|Kanō|2006|p=194}} His declining sight initially caused him to use oversized paper, but he switched back to the normal size to increase the pace of the storyboarding.{{sfn|Kanō|2006|pp=193–194}} This process was done in parallel with the animation, and the final boards outlining the end of the film were not finished until January 1997.{{sfn|Kanō|2006|p=195}}

An unusually high level of detail was afforded illustrating backgrounds and animating background characters due to the large budget available.{{sfn|Denison|2018|p=7}} The decision to assign five art directors to the film was also unprecedented.{{sfn|Denison|2018|p=10}} Each tackled a different aspect; for example, one handled daylight shots while another covered the nighttime.{{sfn|Denison|2018|pp=10–11}} The film used approximately 144,000 [[cel]]s, 80,000 of them being [[key animation]] frames, more than any other Studio Ghibli film.{{sfnm|Schilling|1999|1p=5|Toyama}} Miyazaki is estimated to have drawn or retouched nearly 80,000 cels himself.{{sfn|Denison|2018|pp=8–9}} The final shots were completed in June 1997, less than a month from the release date.{{sfn|McCarthy|2002|p=185}}