When we compiled our list of the 25 best anime movies ever made last year, no fewer than five Studio Ghibli films made the cut. And of those five, one managed to see off the likes of Akira and Ghibli’s own Spirited Away to come out on top: Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 fantasy epic Princess Mononoke. Now, following the successful theatrical re-releases of My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away in 2024, Elysian Film Group are preparing to bring a brand new 4K restoration of Miyazaki’s masterpiece to over 50 IMAX cinemas across the UK and Ireland this summer. And you can check out the sumptuous 4K trailer for the re-release below;

Did someone just open a window because there’s a serious case of chills coming on over here. But seriously, as if you needed any reminding, how staggeringly beautiful — and, of course, epic — does this new restoration look? Even on a laptop screen the forest spirit looks majestic in 4K, so the prospect of seeing it up on an IMAX screen has us positively giddy with excitement. For those who may not be familiar, Princess Mononoke is an ecologically aware fantasy of _Lord Of The Rings_ian proportions that follows the journey of Prince Ashitaka, exiled from his village after being cursed by a rampaging demon. Tracing the beast west in search of a cure, Ashitaka finds himself caught between San, a human girl raised by wolf gods and designated protector of Cedar Forest, and Lady Eboshi, an industrialist who is stripping the forest to mine for iron ore, but who’s also in turn providing a home and purpose for society’s outcasts.

While the sub-versus-dub debate about anime rages on, this new IMAX release of Mononoke — overseen by Studio Ghibli veteran Atsushi Okui — will offer cinemagoers the freedom to choose between subbed or dubbed editions of Miyazaki’s movie. What that means is that fans can see and hear the film exactly as intended in its native Japanese, or enjoy one of the studio’s best English dubs — boasting the vocal stylings of Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Billy Bob Thornton, and more — filling their nearest multiplex instead. Whether you’ve seen the movie before or not, prefer the sub or the dub, are an anime expert or don’t know your Ashitaka from your elbow, the 4K IMAX re-release of Princess Mononoke is one not to be missed when it comes to cinemas in the UK and Ireland starting 15 August. Ponyo next, please!