Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

I first saw this film in Japanese at a Sci-fi/Fantasy convention in the early 1990's. I couldn't understand a word, there were no subtitles, but I was completely mesmerized. The imagination behind this film is incredible. Epic in scale, it seems to belong to something far bigger than the already vast landscape you see on the screen. Even without the dialog, I understood enough of the story through the visuals alone that it swept me along right up until the near-catastrophic ending.

Now I have the DVD. I still prefer to watch it in Japanese because the English voice-overs don't get the characters quite right. I like Miyazaki's brand of feminism, where the female lead is strong not in spite of her female sensitivities, but because of them. Her strength comes from kindness, compassion, self-sacrificing, curiosity, and a quiet courage that allows her to give in when giving in is best for others. Although it is cool to hear Patrick Stewart as Lord Yoppa, I felt that the girl who voiced Nausicaa didn't quite get it.

Unlike some of the other Disney DVD releases of Miyazaki's films, this one includes a documentary about the making of the film. It isn't as snappy as some making-of documentaries I've seen, but I found it very informative.

I do think that whoever decided to put Nausicaa in tight, nearly skin colored leggings made a poor style choice. That disturbed me for the first several minutes until I realized she actually was wearing pants (whew!).

This film contains some violence and frightening images (besides the leggings) but should be fine for children over 10.

when i first saw this film i thought to my self "it's ok, it could be better", but then i watched it again and was mystified! this is a beautiful story of a young girl fighting to save the humans that are left and the earth. the story takes place after a nuclear war that destroys the planet and most of the people and animals on it, the only forest left is a poison forest full of giant insects that protect it. its a cautionary tale of how if we let our selves go to far their will be nothing left, this is one of the reasons i love Mr. miyazaki's films so much most of the say that we half to protect our world, because if we don't, who will?

I love this movie. The animation is amazing. The story line is fun. And it has a great message. I recomend it completley. I never tire of watching it.

I have seen all of Miyazaki's films and this is easily my favorite. Beautiful music and scenery mixed with a futuristic message for protecting the environment.

Wonderful animation. Good story about respecting others and our planet. My 4 year old daughter absolutely loves this movie.