Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Still working my way through the films of Hayao Miyazaki, I turn to one of his earliest, 1984's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and I think it's my favorite so far. It's a lively adventure with, per his wont, a pro-environmental message.

We are in a time after wars that incinerated the Earth. The "toxic jungle" has taken over, where insects have grown to giant size and spores instantly poison people. Humans have settled into safe zones, including the Valley of the Wind, where Nausicaa is a princess. She has learned to live in harmony with the jungle, being able to communicate with giant caterpillar-like creatures called "ohmu."

The Valley gets caught between two warring cities, though. One, ruled by a bad-ass queen with a golden artificial arm, wants to burn the jungle down. Nausicaa has to play both sides, enlisting the aid of a young soldier to save the day.

In addition to his morality tales about nature, Miyazaki was also way ahead of his time on using female protagonists. It was a big fucking deal when Pixar finally had a female lead character, but Miyazaki has been doing it for years. Nausicaa is a great character, a girl who defines plucky. She's fearless but smart, and true to her principles. If I had a little girl I'd show this movie to her annually.

The film was re-released in 2005 with another all-star English-speaking cast. Allison Lohman is Nausicaa, Uma Thurman the wicked queen, with Patrick Stewart as the Valley's hero and swordsman. Shia LaBeouf is the young soldier, pre-wacky days.