This is the Prager U version of the japanese epic fantasy novel brought to film. The director, who claims to have worked on Miyasaki's version in 1997, obviously loathed that experience. He hated his experience so much, he made sure to enter a short moment showing the native japanese people Princess Mononoke's character us based on, to call her ignorant and scared and is irrelevant to the storyline. Miyasaki spent his time showing the bravery and depth of these characters. Miyasaki's passionate, disabled, native protagonist becomes a war-hungry oaf. It's so helpful to scientific progress when we can just take what we need from these oafs, their customs and literal blood, and they see themselves out, so nonnatives can raise their children. This film sucks.

Incredible animation and striking visuals are what makes this film so unique. It clearly captures the essence of pure storytelling and incredible artistry.

This animation was beautiful but the ending was very disappointing. The entire movie built up the relationship between the main character and the girl he had taken under his wing just for him to leave in the end. They also built an insane amount of romantic tension between the main character and the doctor and then nothing happened. They should have kissed.

The animation, the music, the characters are very good, the story also good , maybe it's not clear enough, but I really like it very much, I wish they would show another part explaining the background story of the film so that the picture would be clearer for viewers , but it is still very good for me and I love it too much

The Deer King is a visually stunning film with an epic soundtrack that stumbles along with its story. It seems like 30 minutes of The Deer King is missing from the movie; 30 very important minutes would have helped explain what is going on in the story. With too many subplots that clash with each other, it's easy to be confused with the story. A story I'm still not 100% sure what was happening. At least it looked cool.

Great animation resembling Ghibli, however a woefully predictable story.

Really good. Worth watching at-least once.

Visually is lovely the characters are engaging and memorable the only issue is it feels incomplete the whole geopolitical problem is tossed aside and the ending is inferred in the credits so probably the main character desired a normal life for his ward so he became the successor maybe. So yes they give you a speed run of the novels and fail to give a proper ending but still better than a lot of movies I have seen. It does feel like the Last of us though.

A beautiful and rich film filled with intrigue, love, hope, loss, desolation, and beauty. The Deer King is a film that won't be for everyone, but a marvelous ride for those who love fantasy.

A bit long and some of the story was convoluted and didn't exactly make sense, but might be because it was adapted from a book and the director may have taken creative liberties. I did enjoy it immensely though and it has made me interested in reading the book so I can see how loyal the movie is to the source material. Would watch again!

Spiritual successor to Princess Mononoke

Masashi Ando makes his directorial debut with an anime story fantasy of magic and father-daughter bonding through survival In the years following a vicious war, the Empire of Zol now controls the land and citizens of rival Aquafa-except for Aquafa's Fire Horse Territory, where wild dogs that once carried the deadly Black Wolf Fever continue to roam free When a pack of dogs race through a Zol-controlled mine, Van, an enslaved former soldier, and a young girl named Yuna are both bitten, but manage to escape as the sole survivors of the attack Finally free, Van and Yuna seek out a simple, peaceful existence in the countryside. But as the deadly disease once again runs rampant, they find themselves at the crossroads of a struggle much larger than any one nation A gifted physician looks for a cure He tracks the warrior down with a female tracker and they might be able to discover his immunity This is a very grown up anime with lots of blood and violence to spare which shocked me This truly has real world parallels struggling with fear and death in the middle of a pandemic How can we expect to understand a disease we know nothing about? Thoughtful kindness might just save us all Doesn't all have to be about war The film like many is wonderful to look at Characters are average but there's no real resolution by the end Some of the storytelling needed to be stronger rather than feel pedestrian But it's not a total failure from Studio Ghibli just one that missed the high bar Really feels like some things were left incomplete

Awesome movie, follows two stories as they intertwine. One is the story of two survivors of a disaster, one a grizzled man who previously lost his family and the other a young girl who lost her mother in the disaster. The second story is how this disaster is affecting a kingdom and the suspicions that are arising due to the disaster. Well worth the watch.

deer king is a sort of retelling/summarization of a japanese novel. because of this, there are definitely some issues with character development and the passage of time can be unclear. with those criticisms out of the way i would still rate it highly. characters and designs will seem familiar, and thats because its all just ando. the look & feel of characters in princess monoke, spirited away and your name were his work and he continues his excellence as far as visuals and animation. what i loved most about the film were its willingness to avoid massive exposition dumps and its brief exploration of fatherhood/family. definitely some narrative hiccups, but emotions were well communicated and individual characters had charm. it was ambitious and imaginative, which i will always reward with high marks - even if it falls just short.

It was a fun, enjoyable engaging film. It had vibes of Princess Mononoke and Gladiator as well as some original elements. Was very much worth the watch

A Beautiful master piece!!! Intrigued story, incredible animation, and dubbed voices were well chosen!!! Can’t wait for Blu-ray release would totally see again if possible!!!

Pacing is bad as well as that ending. Story is okay. The only redeeming qualities are the animation and the soundtrack.

I'm sure fans of the book would enjoy this film. personally, i lost track of the amount of quick transitions and open ended (even unanswered) questions asked by the characters. the last 30 minutes of packed with action though. ending was just a full stop to the journey. even the post credit scene gave more questions than answers (how was she able to see that far??)

Amazing movie, the quality being what youd expect from Studio Ghibli. A beautifully animated movie with beautiful music and an interesting storyline with deep messages that get you thinking, which is something I love in a movie. I strongly recommend watching this movie, especially if you like Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I already wish I could watch it again!

Stunning animation, bittersweet and heartwarming. The creators put a great deal of effort into this film, and it shines through in many aspects, from the beautiful score to the smooth animation to the medical details (I loved the hand-driven centrifuge!). Yuna and Van's bond was especially moving. I wish I could've seen more of their lives :') Please go into the film with an open mind - it's bound to be a little different from Ghibli. Both are good studios, simply with different methods of storytelling.