can a five year old watch?

Probably not.

It has a lot of violence and gore (a guy's arm gets shot off by an arrow, a leper colony is featured prominently, a wolf is shot and killed... etc, etc, etc), and the message is probably too mature for him to understand.

The only thing I'd be worried about is the violence. There are a few scenes that are pretty graphic. I was twelve when I first saw this and it still grossed me out so...your call. As far as sexual stuff and swearing, it's pretty tame. I don't think I'd let a five year old watch it though. Miyazaki has many other excellent films. One I adored as a child was My Neighbor Totoro. Check out some of his other films!

I would let a five year old watch it, and I have actually watched it with my 4 year old nephew. Some of the themes went a little over his head, but he quite enjoyed the movie, and has seen all of Miyazaki's other movies as well. There is some blood, but it isn't overly violent. <shrug> but that's just me.

Threads like these show the wide range of parenting styles out there. Seeing Robocop at age 4??? Alien at 5? Fight Club at 7? All these situations were listed above. Sometimes, I truly wonder what parents are thinking.

Unlike other such threads, which often quickly devolve into arguments about parenting styles, I'm glad to that this hasn't (yet, lol). I'm sure these folks turned out to be fine adults, but I personally would not follow the film-viewing paths that their parents laid out for them.

My old man and I rarely see eye-to-eye (still, after 41 years), but he gave me a good piece of advice one day. When I was in high school, planning to take all sorts of classes that would allow me to skip courses in college and graduate college early, he said, "What's the rush? You will work for the rest of your life--or until you're old, at least. Why take away an entire year from your youth at college? I'll pay for the whole thing, so have fun."

This applies to all sorts of situations, including this one. Why rush a child's development of film appreciation? Have them enjoy being a child by enjoying films made for a child. On the surface, it can seem "cool" of you to have an elementary age child who has seen all sorts of adult films, but who is that really helping? Your ego, not your child, in my opinion. As they age, introduce them to the wider world of what's out there. Again, what's the rush?

Sorry, I don't mean to pick any fights or to make anyone feel bad. As a father myself, I've applied these thoughts to my children and they've worked well.

OP, to answer your original question, I'd say no. Mononoke is WONDERFUL...but for older children. My son watched the entire thing at age ten. My daughter is six, and she has only seen the kodama scenes. Have you thought of exploring other Miyazaki works? You listed Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky as being well-loved by this boy. ANY of the other non-Mononoke Miyazaki works would be wonderful for him. Though some posters here think you've exhausted all the "boy" ones, I found that both my children loved both the "boy" and "girl" ones equally. Give them a shot!

This is definately too late, but it is very violent. People get their arms and heads knocked off with plenty of blood, gunshot wounds gushingn blood all over the ground, vomiting torrents of blood, etc.

black and white movies were better

I don't think so. There are more bloody parts than Spirited Away had and there are also naked parts too and a human killing other humans. Let the five year old grow up and watch something more childlike with less violence and language like Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, The Cat Returns, Whisper of the Heart, Nausicaa of the Valley Of The Wind. They are all very suitable movies for five year olds which half of them will contain mild language (but no cussing) and minor violence. But I don't know about Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, it has a lot of hype, too much suspense, and a lot violent. And the main character pretty much had the same scars in one scene such as the prince had, and by the way, the girl almost died at the end. It's way too sad of a movie.

Sonic will be hearty forever.
"Mom, could I get one of these?" - Little Girl

I'd say a definite no, it's a very mature, serious film which requires a rather long attention span - however, because he's seen Spirited Away, which I thought was pretty disturbing...
I'd say for a five-year-old, My Neighbour Totoro's the most appealing for children; I know I would have loved it at 5 years old :)

My 3 year old loves Studio Ghibli movies, and has watched Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, etc., multiple times in her short life. I rented Princess Mononoke recently and she enjoyed watching it. She only really understands it on a visual level... or perhaps some of the basic plot points.

However, after watching it myself I decided it's too violent to actually buy for her. However, she wasn't the least bit afraid or upset at the content. She loves the way cartoons look. The violence isn't worse than many things we'd encounter channel surfing on TV. I guess it depends on how your child reacts to "scary" situations and the bizarre imagery you often see in Japanese animation.

By the way, if you want a Studio Ghibli film that will scare the hell out of the parents, try Grave of the Fireflies! YR