'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind' is another anime film by famed animator Hayao Miyazaki. Like 'Princess Mononoke', which is perhaps Miyazaki's most important and famous work, 'Nausicaa' has an environmental message. The film's protagonist is Princess Nausicaa (from the Valley of the Wind), who is a surprisingly skillful fighter and air glider. However, even with her skills in violence, Nausicaa is a very peaceful and nature-loving person. Nausicaa's love of peace, nature, and animals is tested when conflict arises between her people and the Tolmekians, a violent and war-like kingdom that wants to use a powerful weapon to destroy an entire forest.
Now, in regards to 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind' as a film, it's another good film by Miyazaki, though not necessarily one of his best. The animation is great, the soundtrack is good, and the dubbing is actually not that bad. The characters, plot, and themes are interesting. The film's running-time, however, may be a bit too long. The film can be slow and dreary at some points, which can be pretty exhausting at times. However, the film's slowness and long running-time is not too much of a problem, as 'Nausicaa' is still a good anime film with an all-important message for our society as a whole.
Picture 1: http://celestialkitsune.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/nausicaa.jpg?w=450
Picture 2: http://geek-news.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind.jpg
Picture 3: http://malonewc.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/insect.jpg
Picture 4: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MC50TgauC1xEtlRB8xDkYqL7-YJcNqQ8LLQ9CWtIvEoe_C8oOJwJp2X0NuUY6-Nesl4YMVpxzoDSAa_OaQC6ird_cZF3qrKnKhr7UauWpRrfwl_Y0EXsZqm8S0gXLyhUu-cnaYNtf6xm/s1600/x5+Kushana.jpg
Picture 5: http://www.onlineghibli.com/nausicaa/img/pkus_nausicaa_f_z.gif
I can't believe this is our last blog!! sadface to that. I had no closure whatsoever on my blog so I'm just going to do one last blog before we're over and thus I'll have closure. Anyhow, I do agree when you say that Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke have a lot of similarities. Not only do they share the same hairstyle, they also have a love and connection with nature that the other characters in the films lack. Whether San, being almost a wolf and fighting for the forest, or Nausicaa, sacrificing her life (almost) just to stop the Ohmn from destroying everything, both of them have that sense of ecological connection and protection. Also, Nausicaa reminded me of Ashitaka when she yelled at the ship to stop. Ashitaka seems to yell at things at random, and he also was willing to give his life to protect others, that too.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, it was a good movie, it had a good concept, too bad it was so slow.
Yeah, Nausicaa was too long. I definitely fell asleep and missed like 20 minutes of it. But it was a nice movie with stunning visuals, namely the look of the plants in the poisonous forest. And the dubbing was excellent, I thought! Shia Labouef (sp?) and Uma Thurman!!! Princess Mononoke was, undoubtedly, the better movie. But I have to say that something I liked better about Nausicaa was the inclusion of giant, intelligent insects as the animals of confliction. I think that the use of such tiny beings, highly exaggerated as fantastical, ginormous beings, really showed the significance of every aspect of every living thing in nature. But yeah, anyway, good review of both movies. And I totally agree with you that the similarities between the two are striking. I think that a big difference between Ashitaka and Nausicaa is their levels of compassion. Ashitaka sort of just does what he intuitively knows is right, and Nausicaa has a great love for everything in the natural world, and harmony among humans and nature.
ReplyDelete