Reviewed on May 30th, 2006

Visually

Nausicaä is sophisticated, visually and textually, to find fans of all ages. Miyazaki's typical attention to detail finds particular expression in the wildly outlandish designs of the poisoned wastelands and their eerie denizens, and his sense for thrilling visuals and exciting story is as unparalleled as ever.

Audio

Audio wise, a superb job was done when Disney selected the voice actors for this movie. The voicing was perfect for this movie and no complaints from me. Disney did a great job on making sure we wouldn't have a fit with the dubbing.

Storyline

A thousand years after "the collapse of industrial civilization," humanity exists in a tenuous relationship with nature. The poisonous spores of the Sea of Decay (or "the Toxic Jungle" in the dubbed translation) are spreading across the planet, absorbing and destroying entire human towns and threatening the last of the human race. Nausicaä, the daughter of the headman of the rustic Valley of the Wind, is one of the few humans who doesn't fear the nearby Sea or its aggressive, immense insectoid protectors; she travels freely into the wasteland, researching and exploring.

But her calm, orderly life is disrupted when an immense airship crashes in the Valley, killing all aboard and leaving behind a throbbing, sinewy artifact. Soon, representatives of a savage and warlike nation, led by the cold-hearted Kushana (Thurman) and her ambitious second-in-command, Kurotowa (Sarandon), descend to claim the artifact, enslaving the Valley and murdering Nausicaä's father. Nausicaä, a brave, kindly girl who deplores aggression, ignorance and killing, is drawn into the war between forces who are alternately stirring up the Sea and threatening to destroy it. Only Nausicaä knows why both tactics are disastrous, but convincing the fearful and angry leaders on both sides is a daunting task.

DVD

The DVD is great and quite worth the buy. It comes with some great features that are worth the 5-10 minutes of your life to watch.

Overall

Disney's American dubs of Miyazaki movies have been a hit or miss situation, but Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind boasts a solid and capable cast, including Star Trek's Patrick Stewart as the wandering swordsman Lord Yupa. The voices are serious and naturalistic, and the dub script closely follows the original script. Disney did a much better job on this than they did with Porco Rosso.

by Aidan