Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total
- Nausicaä
- (voice)
- Jihl
- (voice)
- …
- Oh-Baba
- (voice)
- Mito
- (voice)
- Goru
- (voice)
- Gikkuri
- (voice)
- Niga
- (voice)
- Teto
- (voice)
- …
- Girl A
- (voice)
- Girl B
- (voice)
- Boy A
- (voice)
- Asbel
- (voice)
- Rastel
- (voice)
- Mayor of Pejite
- (voice)
- (as Makoto Terada)
- Rastel's Mother
- (voice)
- Kushana
- (voice)
Featured reviews
I tracked down a copy of the VHS and sent it to my young nieces, pleased with a "kid's" movie which provided a positive role model without being dumb. The movie captivated them as well -- they wore the tape out, and it started them on a lifelong interest in anime. It was they who sent me the uncut subtitled version years later, completing the circle.
Nausicaa is decent science fiction, often breath-taking animation, and unusually *human* characters, and every time I see it I am glad I returned. Everyone should give it a chance, especially those who have written off anime as "round eyed kids and lots of explosions".
Technically not a Ghibli film (Miyazaki actually used the studio which did most of 'The Last Unicorn', and which more or less became Ghibli when 'Laputa' was made a couple of years later), 'Nausicaa' is a far-future SF story with a princess/warrior/nature-lover heroine and strong environmental themes. There's also an opposing princess/leader trying to use technology to overcome the apparently hostile environment. If you're starting to think 'Princess Mononoke', you'd be on the right track. In some ways 'Nausicaa' seems like an early stab in the direction of 'Mononoke', though the latter would delve far more into spirituality and mythology, eschewing the SF aspects.
There aren't really any major weak points in Nausicaa - unless you count the frustrating 12 drawings per second animation which I constantly complain about in Japanese animation. The backgrounds aren't as amazing and the animation not as good as the last few Ghibli films, but for 1984 it was plenty good enough. I have a fairly trivial complaint in that the character of Kuratowa is drawn in a slightly more 'anime' style, ala Lupin III, whereas all of the other characters are done in a realistic style. He just seems a little out of place, though he's quite delightfully drawn.
The really strong points of the movie are its pacing (at least until the very end. Miyazaki was unhappy with the end too), its story telling, which manages to be sophisticated without being impossibly complex, its engrossing background drawings and settings, - and most of all in the amazing attention to detail in the fully realized post-apocalypse SF-fantasy world in which the story is set. Every little thing is worked out and placed such that you find yourself admiring inventions, ideas, structures, creatures, etc which don't draw attention to themselves, but simply exist as part of the backdrop of the movie. Of course 'Nausicaa' had existed for several years as a serialised Manga, so Miyazaki no doubt knew its universe inside-out.
There's a very clever plot, which I won't give away, but which involves humanity's relationship with the Earth and nature.
It's the sort of movie which you can get thoroughly caught up in, and which will stand repeated viewings. It really is a film which is perfectly pitched at both a young and an adult audience. As Miyazaki's second feature film it is also, rightly or wrongly, usually considered the start of Studio Ghibli, and is arguably worth watching for historical reasons, too.
Not the very best from Miyazaki or Ghibli, but an auspicious beginning.
PS, in case you didn't know, there was a heavily butchered US version floating around called 'Warriors of the Wind', which is universally reviled as a disgrace. Just to make it confusing, some of the Japanese copies are also called 'Warriors of the Wind'. The thing to look for is the 116 minute running length. If you get that, you've got the right one. At the moment the only way you can get the film is in Japanese dialog with English subtitles. Personally I'd go ahead and do that, rather than wait while Disney squats on the US distribution rights (Amazon gives it a release date of 2010 for God's sake). You can always replace it later.
Good stuff.
Without revealing too much of the plot, it takes us through the life of Nausicaa, a princess of a small village, and her struggles to stop warring nations from destroying an important source that can save the planet. The planet has already gone through a major destruction that nearly wiped out humanity, and their are large insects called ohmu, that guard the source that is spreading through the world.
Miyazaki introduces an empowerment of female characters in his animes, such as Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, and his most recent, Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro). The characters are done with style and care, and, in Nausicaa, there is no exception.
It amazes me that this film created some controversy when released, being banned in Poland because of it's depiction of an ecological disaster. Though the movie is obviously fantasy, it turns out that some may consider it a touchy subject. I didn't find any offense whatsoever with anything the movie showed, just a futuristic disaster no doubt caused by man.
Combining fantasy and science-fiction, Nausicaa is nice to look at. It certainly shows it's age when compared to some newer animes, not having the help from high-end computers. Considering it was done in the 80's, Miyazaki's production team did a great job. Little details, backgrounds, gadgets, & animals are drawn slightly better then some Japanese animes from that time.
Keep in mind that my review is based on the Disney release (Feb 2005). It's cleaned up, unedited, with new voices from well known actors that sound great (but I still prefer subtitles). Keep far away from the old version 'Warriors of the Wind', which chops off more then half-hour from the movie.
9 out of 10
In this early full length film he really got to spread his wings. There are fantastic aerial sequences like the jet-glider evading the flying snakes, which (this predates computed 3D, and aerial sequences are present in most of his work) are just a tour-de-force of imagination and geometry. And yet this is a world that feels very organic, not geometric, with a cast of characters drawn in a unique cross between hobo, samurai, and pirate - totally blending in to an imaginary post apocalyptic world where humans scratch out a precarious life in villages hidden in the few green valleys left in a world of desert, where the only remaining resources are wind, sunlight, and humans.
But it is also a world of enormous dangers, including airborne bandits and the strange, mutated creatures that have evolved to control the barren and scarred earth. When our heroine's valley home is attacked by raiders, she embarks on an adventure against them that will lead her, and some unlikely allies found along the way, to an eventual confrontation combining warring armies of bandits, ancient machines of infernal destruction, and the implacable, mysterious, threatening beasts which roam the badlands. The pace is swashbuckling - if this were a book, it would be one you could not stop reading.
It has the feel of the original comic books, but plays out wonderfully on the screen - you don't need to know the comics. The style is very unique. Even though it is very stylized (no photorealism here), you immediately get the feeling of the world and the characters. The story works for children of all ages (mine both first saw this before they were 6, and have memorized it long since), and combined with the wonderful visuals it is a treat for adults too. As a genre I would classify it as soft (no attempt at scientific correctness) sci-fi rather than fantasy, though some might think it more a work of fantasy. It is fascinating partly because its roots in style and action are unexpected for a western viewer. Japanese manga and stories had evolved in their own way, and although this is early Miyazake, it is already a product of that mature and distinct art form.
As always with Miyazake - if you haven't seen his work, well you haven't seen anything like it, and it is time you did.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Nausicaä was first released as an English dub in the U.S. in 1985 it was drastically cut down to 1 hour and 35 minutes and titled Warriors of the Wind. Writer and Director Hayao Miyazaki was still so upset by the truncated "Warriors of the Wind" version of Nausicaä that when Harvey Weinstein approached him to discuss the distribution to his following film Princess Mononoke (1997) and insisted on a similar heavily cut version of the movie, Miyazaki angrily left the meeting. Several days later, Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki sent a katana sword to Weinstein's office with "NO CUTS" embedded into its blade. The movie was later released in the U.S. in its uncut version. During a later interview, Miyazaki commented on the incident by smiling and stating, "I defeated him." Nausicaä was his only film to suffer heavy editing on first release. In 1995 the US rights returned to Miyazaki and he made a distribution deal with Disney. In 2003 a new English dub with Patrick Stewart and Uma Thurman was released in the uncut 117 minute (1hr 57min) version. - James LaPierre WUD Films
- GoofsDuring the climactic battle scene, the design of Oh-Baba's headband changes several times. It sometimes has gold beads instead of gold-circled turquoise beads on the end-pieces, and alternately terminates with a single or a double line of cord.
- Quotes
Nausicaä: Every one of us relies on water from the wells, because mankind has polluted all the lakes and rivers. but do you know why the well water is pure? It's because the trees of the wastelands purify it! And you plan to burn the trees down? You must not burn down the toxic jungle! You should have left the giant warrior beneath the earth!... Asbel, tell them how the jungle evolved and how the insects are gaurding it so we won't pollute the earth again. Asbel please!
- Crazy creditsAs the credits roll we see life returning to normal in the valley: Kushana, Kurotowa and the Tolmekian fleet leave peacefully, after Nausicaä has unheard words for Kushana. The denizens of the Valley of the Wind replant trees in the burned-down forest. Lord Yupa and Asbel ride Yupa's beasts to the Toxic Jungle and explore it. When the text "The End" appears on screen we see Nausicaa's discarded helmet in the forest, alongside a green, non-Toxic Jungle sapling.
- Alternate versionsIn the original Japanese version of the film, a World Wildlife logo praising the film is displayed at the beginning. For the US release from Disney, this logo was replaced with a typical Studio Ghibli logo.
- ConnectionsEdited into Tales of the Valley of the Wind (2009)
- SoundtracksKaze no Tani no Naushika (Symbolic Theme Song)
Lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto
Music by Haruomi Hosono
Arranged by Mitsuo Hagita
Vocals by Narumi Yasuda (Tokuma Japan)
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $495,770
- Gross worldwide
- $9,012,301
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