Before Ghibli
Following the global war the planet is vastly different and the Valley of the Wind is on the edge of the jungle where mankind lives by the sea. But that jungle is full of large, powerful insects. Under the guidance of Princess Nausicaä the people seek to restore the balance between mankind and the Earth.
When I think Hayao Miyazaki I think three things; the first of these is beautiful animations and whilst his more recent movies, those which have come out of Studio Ghibli have impressed me you can see the beginnings of these movies in "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind". For me it lacks the flow of more recent animations and frequently has a static look when it comes to the backdrops but it still beautiful has a certain beauty.
The second thing I think of when it comes to Hayao Miyazaki is story telling and this is where "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" is a let down because this story fails to draw me in and keep me interested. The trouble is that the dialogue far too often treats the audience as if they are simple, telling us stuff rather than showing it which doesn't feel at all natural. When you combine the forced dialogue with the lack of movement it just doesn't draw you in and I wonder whether in the dubbing and translation something was lost or it was done because whoever was in charge of the dubbing thought animation and tried to dumb it down for children.
And the third thing which comes to mind when I think of Hayao Miyazaki is environmental message which this clearly has. But again the translation and dubbing has made it lack any of the subtlety which you expect and it makes it come across as being preachy which adds to what doesn't work for me.
What this all boils down to is that "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" is one of Hayao Miyazaki's movies which doesn't work for me and I am sure part of the issue comes from it being a dubbed. But there is also the animation work and whilst it is still good looking the element of flow you get in the movies which were to follow from Studio Ghibli is lacking here.
