Leonardo DiCaprio’s Favorite Anime? This Studio Ghibli’s Masterpiece
The actor has been calling for the planet to be saved for more than 20 years, and one of his favorite anime explores the same topic.
Leonardo DiCaprio is perhaps one of the world's most famous eco-activists, supporting multiple environmental organizations with a variety of initiatives. At the age of 24, the actor donated more than $30 million to his own Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving ecological systems.
So it comes as no surprise that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke has become his favorite anime, as the main idea is very close to him.
From the very first stage of the anime's development, it was clear that this animation would be different from other Studio Ghibli projects. The public was used to the fact that the studio's animated movies are suitable for both children and adults.
However, Princess Mononoke is full of violent scenes, aggression and anger. The studio wanted to break the stereotype that had developed around it and open a new page in history.
In Princess Mononoke, the creators touched on a colossal number of complex themes: some are on the surface, and to understand others, you have to watch the anime several times.
The first theme that comes to mind is the confrontation between human and nature. Aggression and greed lead humans to destroy all life around them.
At the same time, Miyazaki wanted to show that nature not only has a gentle face, but also a fierce one. Man always has a choice, he can reject aggression and cruelty, as one of the characters, Ashitaka, did, resisting evil to the very end.
Leonardo DiCaprio established his eponymous foundation in 1998. Since then, he has supported more than 200 projects in 50 countries around the world, from preserving mangrove forests in Mexico to monitoring fishing activities in the oceans.
DiCaprio never misses an opportunity to draw public attention to the climate crisis. While accepting his long-awaited Oscar for the role in The Revenant, the actor also mentioned the problem of climate change, noting that we have to work on it together.
He also produced, co-wrote and narrated the 2007 documentary The 11th Hour and, nine years later, produced the National Geographic movie Before the Flood. A true environmentalist, DiCaprio owns only one car – a hybrid Toyota Prius.