Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

1984. Animated. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Written by Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H Hewitt. English dubbing includes the voices of Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Edward James Olmos, Uma Thurman, Chris Sarandon, and Shia LaBeouf.

Yep, another stunner by Miyazaki. I understand this to be his second film as a director but the start of his critical and commercial success in Japan. It follows an impressive lead character. Nausicaa is a strong, independent, and thoughtful princess of a peaceful valley that becomes the target of both neighbors and nature in a battle to survive. There is such amazing imagination in this film. We see things like the giant warrior or the herds of ohmus and they are not only things we had never imagined but animated so creatively and effectively. The dialogue can be a little forced as it struggles a little too much to make very good points about the violence we do to each other and our planet. Miyazaki is, I'm now confident saying, not only the greatest director of animation past or present but one of film's greatest directors period. I'd rank Nausicaa slightly below Castle in the Sky, but you can't go wrong with any of these.

My grade: A