Take one from anime legend Hayao Miyazaki in laying out his trademark spiritual fantasies and captivating ecological fables. Nausicaa has plenty of charm and a beautiful design to delight the senses. However it does feel somewhat a dry run for higher achievements to come. Thematically he covered the same ground again, with greater richness and depth in Princess Mononoke. The ideas are here, and, it must be commended, were somewhat ahead of the game, cropping up again and again in later western films such as Ferngully and Avatar, as well as much of Miyazaki's subsequent work. However the storytelling and character development is clunky. Heroes are po-faced and humourless, and even though the plot is simple, I frequently had to remind myself who was doing what to who and why, as motivations are not well defined. Worth seeking out, especially for fans of studio Ghibli. But not quite the early masterpiece sometimes claimed.
Rating: 3/5
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