After the title had been scheduled for release earlier this year and delayed in order to have the original Japanese audio track added to the DVD, Princess Mononoke has finally resurfaced on the release schedules. Buena Vista Home Entertainment has now scheduled Hayao Miyazaki’s Japanese animation feature for release on December 19.

In a remote mountain village, Ashitaka (Billy Crudup), the last young warrior of a once-great clan, undertakes a journey to find a cure for a life-threatening curse laid upon him by a dying forest-god. Along the way, he becomes involved in the bitter fight between the Tatara clan, led by the proud Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver), and another human tribe, with a race of forest-gods in the middle.

Ashitaka meets San, the Princess Mononoke (Claire Danes), a young woman raised by wolves, who is prepared to die to defeat the humans. The Princess draws young Ashitaka into the struggle between man and nature, forcing him to try to find a way that will halt the endless circle of killing and create a middle ground where forest creatures and humans can live together in peace.

The DVD will feature a 16×9 enhanced widescreen transfer of the movie in its 1.85:1 aspect ratio and also contain 5.1 channel Dolby Digital language tracks in English, Japanese, and French. The disc will also contain a “Behind the Scenes” Featurette as well as the movie’s theatrical trailer. For all of you interested, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has also opened a dedicated website for the film, which can be found at http://www.Princess-Mononoke.com