Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Surprise! I've been planning on doing a Studio Ghibli marathon for a while now, but life kind of got in the way.  But I'm currently recovering from knee surgery and am stuck on the couch for the next 3 months while it slowly heals, so I figured... why not kick off a movie marathon?  Starting with Studio Ghibli's first full-length feature film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984).

SYNOPSIS:
1,000 years into the future, humanity is living in a post-apocalyptic world in small pocket kingdoms.  Most of Earth is poisoned, covered in toxic spore-ridden forests full of dangerous building-sized insects. Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind kingdom, has learned to live in harmony with the deadly forest and its creatures near their borders. But a war has broken out between two other nearby kingdoms, and the small, peaceful Valley of the Wind finds themselves caught up in the middle. Can Nausicaä quell the warring nations, save her people, and broker peace between humans and insects?

REVIEW:
This film is based on the first two volumes of Hayao Miyazaki's manga by the same name. It's important to note that, while this film is considered a Studio Ghibli film, it was actually released a year before Studio Ghibli was created. Hayao Miyazaki, along with Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki, and with funding from Yasuyoshi Tokuma (the founder of Tokuma Shoten), created the studio in 1985 to continue producing films in a similar vein to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984).

Studio Ghibli's current official logo, inspired by their film My Neighbor Totoro (1988).

It's also important to note that, even though Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are sometimes used interchangeably when it comes to certain genres of family-friendly anime films, not all Studio Ghibli films are works of Hayao Miyazaki, and vice versa.  This marathon will focus on the full-length feature films produced by Studio Ghibli itself, regardless of who might be in charge of the production; this first film being the sole exception since it inspired the studio's creation.

Hayao Miyazaki has strong anti-war and anti-industrialist views, having grown up watching forests, rivers, mountains - nature in general - be destroyed in the name of socioeconomic progress.  You will see a lot of his views reflected in his works.  He is a realist, tortured by the reality of the world and its evils within.  He uses his films as a sort of escapism, showcasing a world that can be better than the one we currently live in.  It's his hope that his animated worlds will inspire people to grow up better and with more love and care in their hearts toward others and the world we live in.

As such, you rarely see a solid good vs. evil story in a Studio Ghibli film.  Everyone, even the "bad guys," are typically relatable characters who usually have justifiable reasons for their actions.  This makes Studio Ghibli films very complex and emotional.  You're not just along for the ride, watching a good guy save the day, but you're bombarded with all sides of an issue and you're left to think for yourself about who is right and who is wrong.  And sometimes, you find yourself understanding or agreeing with the motivations of supposed antagonists.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) is no exception.  It leans heavily into the man vs. nature themes, pointing out how humanity, in its greed and warmongering, destroyed the planet.  Our limited civilizations that remain are forced to live in isolated pockets that are less contaminated than the rest of the world, and are constantly fighting off the ever-growing toxic forests that are trying to claim the planet.

Nausicaä exploring the toxic forests.

Nausicaä herself is a bit of an outlier, choosing instead to explore the toxic forests and learn from them.  She's a pacifist, refusing to harm any living creature, and works hard to find a way for humans and insects to live in harmony.  She discovers that only the top layer of earth is contaminated, and that the forests and its plant life can grow safe and harmless if exposed to non-poisoned soil and water deep underground.

Nausicaä is a strong feminist icon, being a highly intelligent and respected leader of her kingdom who throws herself in harm's way to protect everyone, human and insect alike.  Despite being threatened and taken prisoner by a warmongering princess from another kingdom, she makes every effort to save the princess's life when things get hairy.  She's always the first person to step into the middle of conflict and attempt to resolve it without violence or intimidation.

Hayao Miyazaki has been celebrated for his strong positive female characters in his films.  There's no objectifying of women in his films, nor sidelining or disrespecting anyone based on gender.  He doesn't like to be called a feminist, instead believing that mutual respect across the board should be the base standard we all aspire to, not a labeled sect of our social structure. He also claims that women are more interesting to see in lead roles than men, which is why he has so many strong women protagonists in his films.

Nausicaä trying to save someone from a rampaging Ohmu by calming its rage.

Meanwhile, two nearby kingdoms end up fighting over an ultimate weapon from 1,000 years past - an unhatched pod bearing a "Giant Warrior," which is a massive bio-weapon used by ancient civilizations to conquer nations.  The conflict literally crash-lands on the shores of the Valley of the Wind, turning the peaceful nation into a war front.  Nausicaä is taken as leverage in the war and finds herself entangled between two destructive kingdoms, who are hell-bent on controlling the world-ending weapon and destroying the delicate but poisonous forests.

The Giant Warrior pod, incubating in the Valley of the Wind. Look at those menacing green eyes and massive teeth!

This film, when it released in America, got hacked up for American audiences. 22 minutes of footage was cut and the environmental message was removed.  Also a lot of the warring between nations was edited out and the giant insects (known as Ohmu) were made into the main antagonists.  The film was originally released in America under the title Warriors of the Wind (1985) and even changed characters' names.  The original message of the film was removed, instead turning it into an action/adventure tale for children about surviving rampaging giant insects.  It enraged Hayao Miyazaki so much that when Princess Mononoke (1997) was set to release in America, he personally sent a katana (Japanese curved sword) to Harvey Weinstein, with a letter that read, "NO CUTS!"

Hayao Miyazaki, on his way to threaten Harvey Weinstein.

Fortunately, when Disney bought the rights to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), they released a full, unedited version in 2005 with a new star-studded English voice cast, including talents such as Patrick Stewart (Lord Yupa), Mark Hamill (Mayor of Pejite), Tress MacNeille (Obaba), Uma Thurman (Kushana), and Shia LeBeouf (Asbel).

Apparently, I've only seen the old American cut from the '80s, because I was surprised at all the additional story included in the film during this recent viewing.  I'm watching the full film for the first time today!  I remember this film being kind of slow and boring, but with all this additional story, it actually flowed much better, with a much more entertaining plot.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a classic story about respecting nature and all its creatures.  It's a little darker than the average Studio Ghibli film, and despite Nausicaä's pacifism, there are plenty of PG deaths portrayed.  Even Nausicaä gets a few kills in when she flies into a rage, which she later regrets.  The film doesn't shy away from the horrors of war, but does censor it enough for most audiences to enjoy it without trauma.  This was a great start to Hayao Miyazaki's independent filmmaking career, and I highly recommend you find the 2005 Disney remaster if you plan to watch it.  Or the original Japanese language film, if you prefer to watch it as it was originally released (as is my personal preference).