Anime of the Month (March 2005) - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

[JShaggy]

This month's Anime of the Month is the highly anticipated classic from director Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Here is a brief synopsis of the film.

(Courtesy of Anime News Network)

In the post-apocalyptic future, large parts of the world have been swallowed up by forests of poisonous fungi. The remaining humans live near the fungus and its monstrous insectoid inhabitants, trying to prevent its spread. One of the human kingdoms, the peaceful Valley of Wind, loves its gentle Princess Nausicaä and her father the king, but their peace is about to be broken, as they are swallowed up in the machinations of their larger, warmongering neighbours. However, Nausicaä has hidden potential, and may yet change the fate of the world.
The movie is now available on 2-Disc DVD.

You may now discuss the film here. As with all Anime of the Month titles, please use spoiler tags where necessary.

[Artimus Gigan]

Hardly anyone discussed last month's AoTM, Twelve Kingdoms...

Anyways on a somewhat related Nausiccaa note, does anyone know what are the last two books of the 4 book series from the old VIZ searialisation in the new Serialisation?

[Conekiller]

it's cuz noone stickies these things


STICKY THIS!

[Mynd Hed]

I never noticed that stickiness makes much difference to these thread... apparently people like the Anime of the Month selection process WAY more than they like actually discussing the AotM for some reason.

Oh, I edited the thread title to correctly reflect the current year. Don't worry, I still make that mistake too. (-:

[Keldran]

Somehow I felt this (http://slashdot.org/articles/04/02/20/1537220.shtml) was relevant.

I was actually rather impressed with the dub but I really wish the Anno commentary track was included.

As for the movie I feel that this was made early enough in Miyazaki's career that he may have actually believed in some of the premises of saving the earth and the other such optomistic areas he seems to explore.

[Lord Dalek]

It was shocking how good a dub Nausicaa had recieved (Except for Mononoke, the last few Ghibli dubs haven't been nearly "pitch perfect" as this one).

Still prefer "Sea of Corruption" over "toxic jungle" though.

[lostrune]

As for the movie I feel that this was made early enough in Miyazaki's career that he may have actually believed in some of the premises of saving the earth and the other such optomistic areas he seems to explore.
Heheh. Miyazaki was a communist when he started Nausicaa. You could see how his views gradually changed over the 10 years it took for the manga to finish.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

It was shocking how good a dub Nausicaa had recieved (Except for Mononoke, the last few Ghibli dubs haven't been nearly "pitch perfect" as this one).

.
Really? Most people consider Mononoke one of the worst Ghibli dubs. Especially Clare Danes and Thornton's performances, which didn't jive with the film.

Personally, I think Spirited Away pretty much tops them all. Probably much of it due to the fact that they got actors to fit the actual characters instead of a bunch of "big names".

[Funkmasta Zeph]

If its true that the movie skips the whole Dorok kingdom part, then I can't imagine it lives up to the manga.
That also means Namulith isn't in it. Hes the coolest ever!

[raykremer]

Bought the manga a while back. It's great. Will buy this DVD soon. Buy all three new Ghibli DVDs and get one of the old ones free, and I do still need Spirited Away.

[Youko Recca]

Ah, good choice. Something I would have voted for. Going to actually buy the thing in a few days.

[Dudley]

I haven't seen this dubbed, but I know it's an awesome movie, that made me cry at the end.

Did you know the animation was produced at Japanese studio Topcraft, who did the animation to some of the Rankin-Bass productions like Thundercats?

[Lord Dalek]

If its true that the movie skips the whole Dorok kingdom part, then I can't imagine it lives up to the manga.
That also means Namulith isn't in it. Hes the coolest ever!Miyazaki hadn't written that part yet. Hence it isn't in the movie.

[KasumiTen]

I don't care much for Miyazaki's enviromental efforts. I prefer titles such as Spirited Away and Kiki. To me Nausicaa didn't live up to all the hype. Of the three I picked up my favorite was the non Miyazaki, The Cat Returns. I have to give a big thumbs up on the dub cast for that one. And the story was wonderful with beautiful animation.

[Czar Gato]

I went to Best Buy to get this yesterday, but I couldn't find it anywhere (though I saw Porco Rosso and The Cat Returns). Did everyone order theirs?

[lostrune]

Did you know the animation was produced at Japanese studio Topcraft, who did the animation to some of the Rankin-Bass productions like Thundercats?
IIRC, Miyazaki even formed Studio Ghibli from the animators of The Last Unicorn.

[Captain Harlock]

http://ia.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/79/60/68m.jpg
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Starring:
Alison Lohman ... Nausicaa
Patrick Stewart ... Lord Yupa
Chris Sarandon ... Kurotawa
Uma Thurman ... Kushana
Cam Clarke ... Prince Milo

Plot Outline: Nausicaa, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, struggles to stop the warring nations of the world from destroying the planet.

Harlock's Take: If there's one common thing in all of Miyazaki's movies, it's that the animation looks beautiful. From the opening credits all the way to the ending, Nausicaa looks gorgeous. Each of the main characters has their own unique look that establishes them in the film (Yupa's facial hair / Kushana's body armor). This high quality animation in conjunction with the film's musical score really showcase the film as epic. Miyazaki's writing is also solid. His recurring themes of preserving nature and the empowerment of women are clear as day. Which may seem to be a negative point because he uses it so often. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that the writing is successful is because of the voice acting. Alison Lohman gives a decent performance as Nausicaa, but Patrick Stewart really shines as Lord Yupa. Voice acting veterans such as Cam Clarke and Mark Hamil are great in the supporting roles. Put all of these seperate elements together, and Nausicaa becomes a paragon of how an anime movie should be.

Rating: 8 out of 10 Jolly Rogers.

http://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpghttp://img239.exs.cx/img239/705/roger8ef.jpg


http://i140.exs.cx/img140/6008/title5ow.jpg http://i140.exs.cx/img140/9970/flying2ud.jpg

http://i140.exs.cx/img140/8432/yupa7if.jpg http://i140.exs.cx/img140/2971/fox0bb.jpg

[JDNobodi]

You know Entertainment Weekly last week had a short review on Nausicaa. They recommend buying it.

Anyway, I haven’t gotten around to seeing the dub yet, but I’ve seen it subbed. I feel the manga far surpasses the anime. I just have a hard giving Nausicaa a good grade because of it. I kind of wished Nausicaa the movie was released earlier, so I could've seen it before the mangas.

[lostrune]

Somehow I felt this (http://slashdot.org/articles/04/02/20/1537220.shtml) was relevant.
Heh, some people pointed this out:

The principle problem with a working mehve is that Nausicaa rides over
the top of it. If Nausicaa hung from the bottom then a working mehve
would have been flying a long time ago. With Nausicaa riding on top
she puts the craft's center of gravity above the center of lift. This
makes mehve dynamically unstable in flight and without some sort of
computer control system mehve would be uncontrollable.


A counterpoint:

Is it possible? In a word; Yes. Is it practical? Maybe.

It doesn't matter if the weight is above or below the wing. I fly a
low wing plane and virtually everything is above the center of lift.
True, it's not as stable as a High wing, but it's fast and rides
turbulence well.

The problem in this case (it's really a flying wing) is the drag,
center of lift, and center of gravity. The model has a *lot* of
dihedral and that is a plus. Depending on how much above the wing the
pilot's body extends will determine just how large they will have to
make the wing. They may not be able to do it with the size desired
and still end up with something controllable by any one other than an
expert. There are planes flying with neutral, or negative stability
that are not computer controlled.

[Dark Fact]

I kind of wished Nausicaa the movie was released earlier, so I could've seen it before the mangas.

It was. It was called Warriors of the Wind and it was butchered horribly! :(

[Golgo13]

If its true that the movie skips the whole Dorok kingdom part, then I can't imagine it lives up to the manga.
That also means Namulith isn't in it. Hes the coolest ever!
If you watched the documentary on the Nausicaa DVD, you'd know that Nausicaa was intended as a stand alone movie, but the studio wouldn't approve it without a manga to back it up. So the script was written BEFORE the manga.

[Duke]

I never knew Hideki Anno animated the Giant Warrior scene. No wonder that scene friggin rocked.

Gotta love how the narrator pronounces it "Eee-van-jell-ee-on" though. :P

Wow. Grave of the Fireflies with My Neighbor Totoro. Talk about a mis-match.

As for the movie itself, I liked it, but not as much as Spirited Away or Castle in the Sky. It's more complete than Porco Rosso anyway.


Personally, I think Spirited Away pretty much tops them all. Probably much of it due to the fact that they got actors to fit the actual characters instead of a bunch of "big names".If Disney just got random big names, why would they go after people like Alison Lohman, Edward James Olmos, Kimberly Williams, and Susan Egan? None of those are even near the star power of, say, Samuel L. Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks, or Leonardo DiCaprio. Then there's the fact that the voice actors aren't listed anywhere on the DVD Front cover, instead relegated to the extras listing on the back. (BTW, I just noticed something. Mark Hammil isn't listed on the back cover with the rest of the actors/actresses.)

Besides, when has Disney ever been about star power alone? Especially with animated films?

[Dudley]

I just got it but I'm not going to watch the whole thing until the weekend.
But answer me this:
Unlike in the commercials, do they pronounce Nausicaa's name correctly in the movie?

[Duke]

But answer me this:
Unlike in the commercials, do they pronounce Nausicaa's name correctly in the movie?
They pronounce it "Naw-see-cah"

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I never knew Hideki Anno animated the Giant Warrior scene. No wonder that scene friggin rocked.

Gotta love how the narrator pronounces it "Eee-van-jell-ee-on" though. :P

Wow. Grave of the Fireflies with My Neighbor Totoro. Talk about a mis-match.

As for the movie itself, I liked it, but not as much as Spirited Away or Castle in the Sky. It's more complete than Porco Rosso anyway.

If Disney just got random big names, why would they go after people like Alison Lohman, Edward James Olmos, Kimberly Williams, and Susan Egan? None of those are even near the star power of, say, Samuel L. Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks, or Leonardo DiCaprio. Then there's the fact that the voice actors aren't listed anywhere on the DVD Front cover, instead relegated to the extras listing on the back. (BTW, I just noticed something. Mark Hammil isn't listed on the back cover with the rest of the actors/actresses.)

Besides, when has Disney ever been about star power alone? Especially with animated films?
I'm thinking of Mononoke and Laputa here. Nausicaa came out at the time I made the comment so I hadn't watched it yet. Geez.:yawn:

[Dudley]

They pronounce it "Naw-see-cah"Those sons of a....!