When I was a young girl, I liked looking through the Disney DVD magazine sent in the mail, and there was a section dedicated to Studio Ghibli, which Disney had acquired the rights to sell. And none of the movies there intrigued me more than this one.

First, it was PG-13 for violence and gore which SHOCKED me because at that time I couldn’t imagine an animated movie being violent or intended for adults. Second, I was fascinated that despite having a title about a Princess, the main character a...