Movie 15 - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Any fan of anime or animation in general can agree that one of the greatest storytellers of the medium is writer/director Hayao Miyazaki. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) was his second feature, but some of us in the States may remember this film under the name Warriors of the Wind (1985), which was an edited down, quickly dubbed and inferior version. After Miyazaki made a huge splash over here with epics like Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001), the Disney corporation made a distribution deal with Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli that ensured quality releases of his past and future films with big name actors doing the English dubs. Disney re-released Nausicaa in 2005 on DVD in its full uncut original length with a new dub including talents like Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman and Mark Hamill.

This was my first time actually sitting down and watching this film in its entirety. While it has many of the tell-tale traits of Miyazaki's work, this is so early that his style is not quite in place yet. The overall look of the art itself has a much lighter line work than most of the Studio Ghibli films. This look made me think more of American animation icon Ralph Bakshi's films like Wizards (1977) and Lord of the Rings (1978).

Nausicaa's character designs almost look like the blueprint for what would become Princess Mononoke. At the same time, the massive and organic looking creatures in the movie made me think of Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky (1986). There is so much of that Studio Ghibli look taking form here, that you instantly know who made this movie.

One thing that was tough for me was the synth heavy prog-rock-esque score. It felt out of place for me. This could be because it made the film feel dated or it could be my bias based on the beautifully orchestrated epic scores that Studio Ghibli films usually have. I feel this score is so much a sign of the times, that it stunts the film's ability to remain timeless, like many of the other Ghibli films.

Another difference between Nausicaa and most of the Ghibli catalogue is the genre. This film felt like a fairly standard apocalypic science fiction story. Man has demolished the Earth and it has become a dangerous wasteland for those that have survived. Many of Miyazaki's movies do share this theme of Mankind Destroys the Earth, but usually there is far more of a fantasy element. While Nausicaa is obviously a story of the future, many of the other movies have an ancient look that makes it hard to place the film in a particular time period. They may be the future, they may be the past, but they are definitely a world of epic fantasy. While Mononoke look like ancient Japan, it could just have easily been a world where all civilization crashed and had to start over.

While I was not instantly drawn into the story of this film, I did enjoy the main character. Princess Nausicaa is a strong, independant young woman who is balanced between her warrior training and her bond with nature. Sound familiar? Exactly! These are the type of protagonists that Miyazaki builds many of his greatest stories around. Princess Mononoke, Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service), Sen (Spirited Away) and even Satsuki (My Neighbor Totoro) are all brave and capable females with that tight connection to their environment.

Again, you can look to Nausicaa for the themes that would become the basis of Miyazaki's brand of anime. There is the strong female, Mankind vs. Nature (nature looses and humanity must learn to help it flourish again) and the idea that youth needs to lead the aging away from old fashioned and flawed beliefs. Watching this film now may feel a bit tedious and unpolished because we know about the masterpieces yet to come, but I am sure it blew some minds when it came out. Like Miyazaki's best films, Nausicaa is serious, epic and thought provoking. The only problem is that it is not the master's greatest film and we the viewer can be critical because we know what Miyazaki is truely capable of in his the films he went on to make next.

So what does this all boil down to? Did I like it or not? In my humble oppinion, the movie was just okay. I was not engaged through the entire film and it felt very long to me. While I can't say I loved it, I will say that it is an important movie and holds its place in history. I would reccomend it to Miyazaki, anime and animation fans everywhere so you can see Studio Ghibli's far from humble beginings.

Nausicaa on imdb