Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

A post-apocalyptic ecological fantasy where medievally dressed people race around in planes that resemble WWII bombers and fight giant insects? I guess no combination is impossible when put together by a true visionary, which Hayao Miyazaki clearly is. The film won me over in the first fifteen minutes and held me tight until the end. (02/07/2023)

Magical Miyazaki knew how to captivate and move the audience from the very beginning. The theme of "boy and girl saving the world" is still unfinished, but adventurous ecological motifs, later expanded in Laputa or in Mononoke, were already working here. The only stumbling block is the overly drawn-out passage about the open war, but the rest pulled me into the irresistible world of Ohms, the Wasteland, and beautiful underground caves. (24/08/2007)

I appreciate the ecological subtext, which, given the time of the film's creation, seems almost visionary. Apart from the engaging animation, I really liked the accompanying music, but for my taste, too much space was given to the turmoil of war. I'd rather spend more time enjoying Princess Nausicaä's mysterious expeditions into a strange post-apocalyptic world. (65%) (09/04/2021)

Hayao Miyazaki is more mature in this film, if only because the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that has been destroyed by human activity and waste. Yes, it's an ecological advocacy, but if every environmental advocacy were presented in such a way, it would be fantastic. A beautiful story with great graphic ideas. (15/08/2017)

Miyazaki's imagination and enormous sense of grandeur is already evident in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the animation is as elaborate as it can be, and the number of strange creatures knows no bounds. At the forefront of it all is the brave Nausicaä, who masters (not only) so many martial arts that even Chuck Norris could envy her. The plot itself is well executed, but I had trouble thinking deeply about its meaning - too bad. Either way, this is a very promising early work from one of my favorite directors. (02/06/2011)