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{{tab
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|back color = #00A2E7 |font color = white
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|height = 2.2 |max width = 20
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|tab1 = Overview |link1 = Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  +
|tab2 = Characters |link2 = :Category:Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
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|tab3 = Gallery |link3 = Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind/Gallery
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}}
 
{{Infobox film
  
{{Infobox film
 
| name = Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  
| name = Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
−
| image = [[File:Nausicaa_original_affisch.jpg|250px]]
 +
| image = Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.jpg
 
| caption = Japanese theatrical poster by Yoshiyuki Takani
  
| caption = Japanese theatrical poster by Yoshiyuki Takani
 
| kanji = 風の谷のナウシカ
  
| kanji = 風の谷のナウシカ
Line 11: Line 18:
 
| story =
 
| story =
 
| based on = ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' by Hayao Miyazaki
  
| based on = ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' by Hayao Miyazaki
−
| narrator =
+
| narrator = Hal Smith (1985 dub)<br>[[Tony Jay]] (Disney dub)
−
| starring = Sumi Shimamoto<br>
 +
| starring = Sumi Shimamoto<br>Gorō Naya<br>Yōji Matsuda<br>Yoshiko Sakakibara<br>Iemasa Kayumi
−
Gorō Naya<br>
  
−
Yōji Matsuda<br>
  
−
Yoshiko Sakakibara<br>
  
−
Iemasa Kayumi
  
 
| music = [[Joe Hisaishi]]
  
| music = [[Joe Hisaishi]]
−
| cinematography = Koji Shiragami<br>
 +
| cinematography = Koji Shiragami<br>Yukitomo Shudo<br>Yasuhiro Shimizu<br>Mamoru Sugiura
−
Yukitomo Shudo<br>
  
−
Yasuhiro Shimizu<br>
  
−
Mamoru Sugiura
  
 
| artdirector =
 
| artdirector =
−
| editing = Tomoko Kida<br>
 +
| editing = Tomoko Kida<br>Naoko Kaneko<br>Masatsugu Sakai
−
Naoko Kaneko<br>
  
−
Masatsugu Sakai
  
 
| studio =
 
| studio =
 
| production = Topcraft
  
| production = Topcraft
Line 34: Line 32:
 
| language = Japanese
  
| language = Japanese
 
| budget = ¥108 million
  
| budget = ¥108 million
−
| gross = ¥1.48 billion (gross)<br>
 +
| gross = ¥1.48 billion (gross)<br>¥742 million (rentals)
−
¥742 million (rentals)
  
 
}}
  
}}
 
'''''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''''' (風の谷のナウシカ, ''Kaze no Tani no Naushika'') is a 1984 Japanese animated post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure film written and directed by [[Hayao Miyazaki]], based on his 1982 manga of the same name. Isao Takahata produced the film for [[Tokuma Shoten]] and Hakuhodo, with Topcraft animating. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's musical score. The film stars the voices of [[Sumi Shimamoto]], [[Goro Naya]], [[Yoji Matsuda]], Yoshiko Sakakibara and Iemasa Kayumi.
  
'''''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''''' (風の谷のナウシカ, ''Kaze no Tani no Naushika'') is a 1984 Japanese animated post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure film written and directed by [[Hayao Miyazaki]], based on his 1982 manga of the same name. Isao Takahata produced the film for [[Tokuma Shoten]] and Hakuhodo, with Topcraft animating. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's musical score. The film stars the voices of [[Sumi Shimamoto]], [[Goro Naya]], [[Yoji Matsuda]], Yoshiko Sakakibara and Iemasa Kayumi.
Line 43: Line 40:
   
 
== Plot ==
  
== Plot ==
−
One thousand years have passed since the "Seven Days of Fire," an apocalyptic war which destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem. Scattered human settlements survive, isolated from one another by the Sea of Decay. The Sea of Decay is a jungle of giant plants and fungi swarming with giant insects, which seem to come together only to wage war. Everything in the Sea of Decay, including the air, is lethally toxic.
 +
One thousand years have passed since the Seven Days of Fire, an apocalyptic war which destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem. Scattered human settlements survive, isolated from one another by the Sea of Decay. The Sea of Decay is a jungle of giant plants and fungi swarming with giant insects, which seem to come together only to wage war. Everything in the Sea of Decay, including the air, is lethally toxic.
   
 
Nausicaä is the agile and cheerful young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind. Although a skillful fighter, Miyazaki's Nausicaä is humane and peace-loving. She has an unusual gift for communicating with the giant insects (particularly with the Ohm, the gigantic, armored, caterpillar-like insects who are the most intelligent creatures in the Sea of Decay). She is also noted for her empathy toward animals, humans, and other beings. An intelligent girl, and inspired by the mentor figure Yupa, a wandering samurai type possessed of great wisdom, Nausicaä frequently explores the Sea of Decay and conducts scientific experiments in an attempt to define the true nature and origins of the toxic world in which she lives. Her explorations are facilitated by her skill at "windriding"; flying with an advanced glider-like craft with a jet assist called a möwe. Yupa is searching for the mythological man in blue who, according to the legend, will appear surrounded by a sea of gold and reunite the people and nature.
  
Nausicaä is the agile and cheerful young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind. Although a skillful fighter, Miyazaki's Nausicaä is humane and peace-loving. She has an unusual gift for communicating with the giant insects (particularly with the Ohm, the gigantic, armored, caterpillar-like insects who are the most intelligent creatures in the Sea of Decay). She is also noted for her empathy toward animals, humans, and other beings. An intelligent girl, and inspired by the mentor figure Yupa, a wandering samurai type possessed of great wisdom, Nausicaä frequently explores the Sea of Decay and conducts scientific experiments in an attempt to define the true nature and origins of the toxic world in which she lives. Her explorations are facilitated by her skill at "windriding"; flying with an advanced glider-like craft with a jet assist called a möwe. Yupa is searching for the mythological man in blue who, according to the legend, will appear surrounded by a sea of gold and reunite the people and nature.
Line 53: Line 50:
 
Kushana attempts to return to Tolmekia, with Nausicaä and several others as hostages. Before their departure, Nausicaä reveals to Yupa a hidden garden of jungle plants, that are not toxic because they are growing in sand and water from a deep well. Nausicaä explains that the jungle is only toxic due to the toxic soil that is everywhere on the surface of the earth. The airships with Kushana and Nausicaä are attacked by a Pejitan gunship and several of the ships are forced to make an emergency landing in the Sea of Decay. There, Nausicaä communicates with several ohm and discovers that the pilot of the Pejitan gunship is still alive. With the help of her glider, Nausicaä rescues the pilot from a swarm of enraged insects. However, they crash and end up in a strange, non-toxic world that is below the Sea of Decay; the plants in the Sea of Decay purify the polluted soil, and in this way produce clean water and sand, which remains hidden in this underground world. The pilot turns out to be Asbel of Pejite, the twin brother of princess Lastelle.
  
Kushana attempts to return to Tolmekia, with Nausicaä and several others as hostages. Before their departure, Nausicaä reveals to Yupa a hidden garden of jungle plants, that are not toxic because they are growing in sand and water from a deep well. Nausicaä explains that the jungle is only toxic due to the toxic soil that is everywhere on the surface of the earth. The airships with Kushana and Nausicaä are attacked by a Pejitan gunship and several of the ships are forced to make an emergency landing in the Sea of Decay. There, Nausicaä communicates with several ohm and discovers that the pilot of the Pejitan gunship is still alive. With the help of her glider, Nausicaä rescues the pilot from a swarm of enraged insects. However, they crash and end up in a strange, non-toxic world that is below the Sea of Decay; the plants in the Sea of Decay purify the polluted soil, and in this way produce clean water and sand, which remains hidden in this underground world. The pilot turns out to be Asbel of Pejite, the twin brother of princess Lastelle.
   
−
Nausicaä and Asbel return to Pejite, which turns out to be destroyed after the Pejite people lured the insects from the Sea of Decay into their town in order to kill the occupying Tolmekian forces. The Pejite people reveal that they will do the same thing to the Valley of the Winds in order to recapture the God Warrior. To prevent Nausicaä from alerting the Tolmekians, they capture her, but she escapes with the help of Asbel. With a gunship, she returns to the Valley, but along the way they encounter a enormous herd of enraged Ohm who are on their way towards an injured baby Ohm, which is used by the Pejite people to lure the Ohm to the Valley. Nausicaä releases the baby Ohm and gains its trust.
 +
Nausicaä and Asbel return to Pejite, which turns out to be destroyed after the Pejite people lured the insects from the Sea of Decay into their town in order to kill the occupying Tolmekian forces. The Pejite people reveal that they will do the same thing to the Valley of the Winds in order to recapture the God Warrior. To prevent Nausicaä from alerting the Tolmekians, they capture her, but she escapes with the help of Asbel. With a gunship, she returns to the Valley, but along the way they encounter an enormous herd of enraged Ohm who are on their way towards an injured baby Ohm, which is used by the Pejite people to lure the Ohm to the Valley. Nausicaä releases the baby Ohm and gains its trust.
   
 
In the meantime, the Tolmekians try stopping the herd with armored vehicles they brought with them but to no effect, later Kushana arrives with the God Warrior to stop the Ohm herd, but the Warrior, woken too early, dies in the process. However, Nausicaä, with the baby Ohm, is finally able to stop the Ohm herd, but she is overrun and slain in the process. In front of the Valley people and the Tolmekian forces, the Ohm use their gold-colored tentacles to revive Nausicaä, whose dress has turned blue by the baby Ohm's blood; thus Nausicaä turns out to be the mythological "man" in blue mentioned in the beginning. The film ends with fragments of a future where people and insects live in peace with each other.
  
In the meantime, the Tolmekians try stopping the herd with armored vehicles they brought with them but to no effect, later Kushana arrives with the God Warrior to stop the Ohm herd, but the Warrior, woken too early, dies in the process. However, Nausicaä, with the baby Ohm, is finally able to stop the Ohm herd, but she is overrun and slain in the process. In front of the Valley people and the Tolmekian forces, the Ohm use their gold-colored tentacles to revive Nausicaä, whose dress has turned blue by the baby Ohm's blood; thus Nausicaä turns out to be the mythological "man" in blue mentioned in the beginning. The film ends with fragments of a future where people and insects live in peace with each other.
Line 69: Line 66:
   
 
The film was originally released by [[Toei Company]] in Japan on March 4, 1984,and sold almost a million tickets.
  
The film was originally released by [[Toei Company]] in Japan on March 4, 1984,and sold almost a million tickets.
−
A heavily edited and English-dubbed version of the film was released theatrically in North America, shown on HBO and released on VHS by New World Pictures & Manson International in the 1980s as "Warriors of the Wind". According to Nausicaa.net, the voice actors and actresses were not even informed of the film's plotline and more than 30 minutes of the movie were cut from the film because New World felt that "the parts were slow moving"[5]. As a result, part of the film's narrative meaning was lost; some of the environmentalist themes were diluted as was the main subplot about the Ohm, altered to turn them into aggressive enemies. Most of the characters were renamed (for example, Nausicaä became "Princess Zandra"). The cover for the VHS release featured a cadre of male characters, who are not part of the film, riding the resurrected God Warrior — including a still-living Warrior shown briefly in a flashback. It was released around the world under various different titles, such as Sternenkrieger (literally "Star Warriors") in Germany. It was rumored that June Foray provided the voice of Zandra, though this has been proven as untrue.
 +
A heavily edited and English-dubbed version of the film was released theatrically in North America, shown on HBO and released on VHS by New World Pictures & Manson International in the 1980s as "Warriors of the Wind". According to Nausicaa.net, the voice actors and actresses were not even informed of the film's plotline and more than 30 minutes of the movie were cut from the film because New World felt that "the parts were slow moving". As a result, part of the film's narrative meaning was lost; some of the environmentalist themes were diluted as was the main subplot about the Ohm, altered to turn them into aggressive enemies. Most of the characters were renamed (for example, Nausicaä became "Princess Zandra"). The cover for the VHS release featured a cadre of male characters, who are not part of the film, riding the resurrected God Warrior — including a still-living Warrior shown briefly in a flashback. It was released around the world under various different titles, such as Sternenkrieger (literally "Star Warriors") in Germany. It was rumored that June Foray provided the voice of Zandra, though this has been proven as untrue.
   
−
Many fans of Nausicaä, along with Miyazaki himself, dislike this version; Miyazaki suggested that people should put it "out of their minds."[5] Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have asked fans to forget its existence and later adopted a strict "no-edits" clause for future foreign releases of its films. On hearing that Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein would try to cut Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable, one of Studio Ghibli's producers sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".[6]
 +
Many fans of Nausicaä, along with Miyazaki himself, dislike this version; Miyazaki suggested that people should put it "out of their minds." Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have asked fans to forget its existence and later adopted a strict "no-edits" clause for future foreign releases of its films. On hearing that Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein would try to cut Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable, one of Studio Ghibli's producers sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".
   
 
The rating of this film is PG in both the United Kingdom and US.
  
The rating of this film is PG in both the United Kingdom and US.
Line 86: Line 83:
 
! Japanese voice actor
  
! Japanese voice actor
 
! English voice actor<br /><small>(New World Pictures, 1985)</small>
  
! English voice actor<br /><small>(New World Pictures, 1985)</small>
−
! English voice actor<br /><small>([[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], 2005)</small>
 +
! English voice actor<br /><small>(Disney, 2005)</small>
 
|-
  
|-
 
| '''[[Nausicaä]]''' || [[Sumi Shimamoto]] || [[Susan Davis]] (Princess Zandra) || [[Alison Lohman]]
  
| '''[[Nausicaä]]''' || [[Sumi Shimamoto]] || [[Susan Davis]] (Princess Zandra) || [[Alison Lohman]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Asbel]]''' || [[Yoji Matsuda]] || [[Cam Clarke]] (Prince Milo) || [[Shia LaBeouf]]
 +
| '''[[Jhil|King Jhil]]''' || rowspan="2" | [[Mahito Tsujimura]] || rowspan="2" | Unknown || [[Mark Silverman]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Kushana]]''' || [[Yoshiko Sakakibara]] || || [[Uma Thurman]]
 +
| '''Muzu''' || [[James Arnold Taylor|James Taylor]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Yupa]]''' || [[Goro Naya]] || || [[Patrick Stewart]]
 +
| '''[[Obaba Hisako]]''' || [[Kyōda|Hisako Kyōda]] || Linda Gary (Old Lady) || [[Tress MacNeille]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Obaba Hisako]]''' || [[Kyōda]] || [[Mona Marshall]] (Old Lady) || [[Tress MacNeille]]
 +
| '''[[Yupa]]''' || [[Goro Naya]] || [[Russell Johnson]] || [[Patrick Stewart]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Kurotowa]]''' || [[Iemasa Kayumi]] || [[Peter Cullen]] (General) || [[Chris Sarandon]]
 +
| '''[[Mito]]''' || [[Ichiro Nagai]] || [[Arthur Malet]] (Axel) || [[Edward James Olmos]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Jhil|King Jhil]]''' || [[Mahito Tsujimura]] || || [[Mark Silverman]]
 +
| '''[[Gol & Gikuri|Gol]]''' || [[Kōhei Miyauchi]] || rowspan="3" | Unknown || [[Frank Welker]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Mito]]''' || [[Ichirō Nagai]] || [[Arthur Malet]] (Axel) || [[Edward James Olmos]]
 +
| '''[[Gol & Gikuri|Gikuri]]''' || [[Jōji Yanami]] || [[Jeff Bennett]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Gol & Gikuri|Gol]]''' || [[Kōhei Miyauchi]] || || [[Frank Welker]]
 +
| '''Niga''' || Minoru Yada || Mark Silverman
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Gol & Gikuri|Gikuri]]''' || [[Jōji Yanami]] || || [[Jeff Bennett]]
 +
| '''[[Asbel]]''' || [[Yoji Matsuda]] || [[Cam Clarke]] (Prince Milo) || [[Shia LaBeouf]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Lastelle]]''' || [[Miina Tominaga]] || || [[Emily Bauer]]
 +
| '''[[Kushana]]''' || [[Yoshiko Sakakibara]] || Linda Gary (Queen Salena) || [[Uma Thurman]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Mayor of Pejite]]''' || [[Mugihito]] || || [[Mark Hamill]]
 +
|'''[[Teto]]''' ||colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| [[Rihoko Yoshida]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Lastelle's Mother]]''' || [[Akiko Tsuboi]] || || [[Jodi Benson]]
 +
| '''[[Kurotowa]]''' || [[Iemasa Kayumi]] || [[Peter Cullen]] (General) || [[Chris Sarandon]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''Narrator''' || || || [[Tony Jay]]
 +
| '''[[Lastelle]]''' || [[Miina Tominaga]] || [[Susan Sheridan]] || [[Emily Bauer]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''[[Teto]]''' || [[Rihoko Yoshida]] || || [[Frank Welker]]
 +
| '''[[Mayor of Pejite]]''' || [[Mugihito]] || [[John Hostetter]] || [[Mark Hamill]]
 
|-
  
|-
−
| '''Muzu''' || [[Mahito Tsujimura]] || || [[James Arnold Taylor|James Taylor]]
 +
| '''[[Lastelle's Mother]]''' || [[Akiko Tsuboi]] || [[B.J. Ward]] || [[Jodi Benson]]
  +
|-
  +
| '''Narrator''' || || Hal Smith || [[Tony Jay]]
 
|}
  
|}
−  
−
===Additional Voices===
  
−
*Japanese:  [[Chika Sakamoto]], [[Tarako]]
  
−
*1985 Version: [[Daamen J. Krall]], [[Neil Ross]]
  
−
*Disney Version: [[Newell Alexander]], [[Robert Clotworthy]], [[David Cowgill]], [[Ike Eisenmann]], [[Bridget Hoffman]], [[Sherry Hursey]], [[Edie Mirman]], [[Peter Renaday]], [[Paul Butcher]], [[Ashley Edner]], [[Ashley Rose Orr]], [[Grace Rolek]]
  
−
===Uncredited===
  
−
*[[Jeff Winkless]] - Gun Theft Victim
  
−
===Additional Voices (Uncredited)===
  
−
*[[Dee Bradley Baker]] - Tolmekian Soldier
  
−
*[[Jeff Bennett]] - Tolmekian Soldiers
  
−
*[[James Arnold Taylor|James Taylor]] - Young Soldier
  
   
 
== Manga ==
  
== Manga ==
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The ''Nausicaä'' manga is published in English by VIZ Media. Earlier editions of the English manga and fan translations often used the title ''Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind'', omitting the definite article.
  
The ''Nausicaä'' manga is published in English by VIZ Media. Earlier editions of the English manga and fan translations often used the title ''Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind'', omitting the definite article.
−  
−
== Gallery ==
  
−
[[/Gallery/]]
  
−
<gallery>
  
−
Asbel and Nausicaa.png
  
−
</gallery>
  
   
 
==External links==
  
==External links==
  +
*[http://www.ghibli.jp/works/#nausica {{PAGENAME}}] on Ghibli.jp
−
*{{IMDb}}
  
  +
*[https://movies.disney.com/nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind {{PAGENAME}}] on Disney
  +
*[https://gkids.com/films/nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind/ {{PAGENAME}}] on GKIDS
  +
*{{IMDb title|0087544}}
 
*{{ANN}}
  
*{{ANN}}
   
−
{{Films}}
 +
{{Films|collapsed}}
  +
{{Hayao Miyazaki|collapsed}}
 
[[Category:Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]
  
[[Category:Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]
 
[[Category:Films]]
  
[[Category:Films]]

Revision as of 18:41, 2 April 2020

Overview
Gallery

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no Tani no Naushika) is a 1984 Japanese animated post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on his 1982 manga of the same name. Isao Takahata produced the film for Tokuma Shoten and Hakuhodo, with Topcraft animating. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's musical score. The film stars the voices of Sumi Shimamoto, Goro Naya, Yoji Matsuda, Yoshiko Sakakibara and Iemasa Kayumi. The movie has environmentalist undertones and was presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature when it was released in 1984. Nausicaä is ranked as one of the 50 greatest science fiction films by the Internet Movie Database. While created before Studio Ghibli was founded, the film is often considered to be the beginning of the studio because of the involvement of Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki and Joe Hisaishi. It is often included as part of the Studio's works, including the Studio Ghibli Collection DVDs and Blu-Rays.

The movie won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1984.

Plot

One thousand years have passed since the Seven Days of Fire, an apocalyptic war which destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem. Scattered human settlements survive, isolated from one another by the Sea of Decay. The Sea of Decay is a jungle of giant plants and fungi swarming with giant insects, which seem to come together only to wage war. Everything in the Sea of Decay, including the air, is lethally toxic.

Nausicaä is the agile and cheerful young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind. Although a skillful fighter, Miyazaki's Nausicaä is humane and peace-loving. She has an unusual gift for communicating with the giant insects (particularly with the Ohm, the gigantic, armored, caterpillar-like insects who are the most intelligent creatures in the Sea of Decay). She is also noted for her empathy toward animals, humans, and other beings. An intelligent girl, and inspired by the mentor figure Yupa, a wandering samurai type possessed of great wisdom, Nausicaä frequently explores the Sea of Decay and conducts scientific experiments in an attempt to define the true nature and origins of the toxic world in which she lives. Her explorations are facilitated by her skill at "windriding"; flying with an advanced glider-like craft with a jet assist called a möwe. Yupa is searching for the mythological man in blue who, according to the legend, will appear surrounded by a sea of gold and reunite the people and nature.

One day, an airship (a kind of large cargo airplane) crashes onto the cliffs near the Valley of the Wind. Nausicaä tries to rescue a hand-cuffed girl of her age from the burning wreck, but she dies after telling that she is Princess Lastelle from the kingdom Pejite and that the cargo of the airship must be destroyed. The airship is from Tolmekia and the cargo turns out to be a God Warrior (kyoshinhei embryo, Giant Warrior in the English release), one of the lethal, giant, biological weapons used in the ancient war.

It is later revealed that the God Warrior embryo was unearthed by Pejite, but it was stolen by the more powerful state of Tolmekia (Tormekia in the manga). While transporting the Warrior back to their realm, the Tolmekians were attacked by insects and subsequently crash-land in the Valley. The very next day, the Tolmekians, under the leadership of princess Kushana, invade the Valley to kill the Valley king and to secure and revive the Warrior. Kushana explains that the God Warrior will be used to burn the Sea of Decay, although Obaba, an old and blind Valley woman warns that attempting so will only enrage the Ohm and lead to more deaths.

Kushana attempts to return to Tolmekia, with Nausicaä and several others as hostages. Before their departure, Nausicaä reveals to Yupa a hidden garden of jungle plants, that are not toxic because they are growing in sand and water from a deep well. Nausicaä explains that the jungle is only toxic due to the toxic soil that is everywhere on the surface of the earth. The airships with Kushana and Nausicaä are attacked by a Pejitan gunship and several of the ships are forced to make an emergency landing in the Sea of Decay. There, Nausicaä communicates with several ohm and discovers that the pilot of the Pejitan gunship is still alive. With the help of her glider, Nausicaä rescues the pilot from a swarm of enraged insects. However, they crash and end up in a strange, non-toxic world that is below the Sea of Decay; the plants in the Sea of Decay purify the polluted soil, and in this way produce clean water and sand, which remains hidden in this underground world. The pilot turns out to be Asbel of Pejite, the twin brother of princess Lastelle.

Nausicaä and Asbel return to Pejite, which turns out to be destroyed after the Pejite people lured the insects from the Sea of Decay into their town in order to kill the occupying Tolmekian forces. The Pejite people reveal that they will do the same thing to the Valley of the Winds in order to recapture the God Warrior. To prevent Nausicaä from alerting the Tolmekians, they capture her, but she escapes with the help of Asbel. With a gunship, she returns to the Valley, but along the way they encounter an enormous herd of enraged Ohm who are on their way towards an injured baby Ohm, which is used by the Pejite people to lure the Ohm to the Valley. Nausicaä releases the baby Ohm and gains its trust.

In the meantime, the Tolmekians try stopping the herd with armored vehicles they brought with them but to no effect, later Kushana arrives with the God Warrior to stop the Ohm herd, but the Warrior, woken too early, dies in the process. However, Nausicaä, with the baby Ohm, is finally able to stop the Ohm herd, but she is overrun and slain in the process. In front of the Valley people and the Tolmekian forces, the Ohm use their gold-colored tentacles to revive Nausicaä, whose dress has turned blue by the baby Ohm's blood; thus Nausicaä turns out to be the mythological "man" in blue mentioned in the beginning. The film ends with fragments of a future where people and insects live in peace with each other.

The story holds deeper meaning than its depiction of war; there are both environmental and ecological subtexts in Miyazaki's narrative. Even the insects seem to be working toward some secret harmony and the lethal fungal forest seems to have a vital role in Earth's new ecosystem.

Release

  • 11 March 1984 - Japanese theatrical release
  • April 1984 - Japanese Laserdisc release
  • June 1985 - "Warriors of the Wind" English version
  • Winter 1991 - Japanese Newer VHS release
  • Winter 2003 - Japanese Newer VHS release
  • Winter 2005 - Release by Disney
  • May 2008 - Japanese DVD release

The film was originally released by Toei Company in Japan on March 4, 1984,and sold almost a million tickets. A heavily edited and English-dubbed version of the film was released theatrically in North America, shown on HBO and released on VHS by New World Pictures & Manson International in the 1980s as "Warriors of the Wind". According to Nausicaa.net, the voice actors and actresses were not even informed of the film's plotline and more than 30 minutes of the movie were cut from the film because New World felt that "the parts were slow moving". As a result, part of the film's narrative meaning was lost; some of the environmentalist themes were diluted as was the main subplot about the Ohm, altered to turn them into aggressive enemies. Most of the characters were renamed (for example, Nausicaä became "Princess Zandra"). The cover for the VHS release featured a cadre of male characters, who are not part of the film, riding the resurrected God Warrior — including a still-living Warrior shown briefly in a flashback. It was released around the world under various different titles, such as Sternenkrieger (literally "Star Warriors") in Germany. It was rumored that June Foray provided the voice of Zandra, though this has been proven as untrue.

Many fans of Nausicaä, along with Miyazaki himself, dislike this version; Miyazaki suggested that people should put it "out of their minds." Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have asked fans to forget its existence and later adopted a strict "no-edits" clause for future foreign releases of its films. On hearing that Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein would try to cut Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable, one of Studio Ghibli's producers sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".

The rating of this film is PG in both the United Kingdom and US.

An uncut and re-dubbed version of Nausicaä was released on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 22, 2005 for Region 1. This DVD also includes the Japanese audio track with English subtitles. Optimum Home Entertainment released the film in Region 2, and the Region 4 DVD is distributed by Madman Entertainment. The 2005 DVD version made it around the world uncut. 

Production

Nausicaä was produced with animators hired for the one movie and paid per frame. One notable animator was Hideaki Anno, who later produced Neon Genesis Evangelion. Anno was assigned to draw the challenging God Warrior's attack sequence, which according to Toshio Suzuki is a "high point in the film".

Cast

Character name Japanese voice actor English voice actor
(New World Pictures, 1985) 		English voice actor
(Disney, 2005)
Nausicaä Sumi Shimamoto Susan Davis (Princess Zandra) Alison Lohman
King Jhil Mahito Tsujimura Unknown Mark Silverman
Muzu James Taylor
Obaba Hisako Hisako Kyōda Linda Gary (Old Lady) Tress MacNeille
Yupa Goro Naya Russell Johnson Patrick Stewart
Mito Ichiro Nagai Arthur Malet (Axel) Edward James Olmos
Gol Kōhei Miyauchi Unknown Frank Welker
Gikuri Jōji Yanami Jeff Bennett
Niga Minoru Yada Mark Silverman
Asbel Yoji Matsuda Cam Clarke (Prince Milo) Shia LaBeouf
Kushana Yoshiko Sakakibara Linda Gary (Queen Salena) Uma Thurman
Teto Rihoko Yoshida
Kurotowa Iemasa Kayumi Peter Cullen (General) Chris Sarandon
Lastelle Miina Tominaga Susan Sheridan Emily Bauer
Mayor of Pejite Mugihito John Hostetter Mark Hamill
Lastelle's Mother Akiko Tsuboi B.J. Ward Jodi Benson
Narrator Hal Smith Tony Jay

Manga

Miyazaki's manga version of Nausicaä was written over a period of 13 years, with breaks taken to work on Studio Ghibli films. Serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine, the first chapter was published in February 1982, and the last chapter in March 1994. As can be expected, the story of the manga is far more complex than that of the film. The tale depicted in the film roughly corresponds to only the first quarter of the manga (which is all that had been written at the time the film was produced), with significant differences in plot.

In addition to the plot, there are other significant differences in the story – the characters are more developed and the environmentalist tone is more sophisticated, echoed in the complex worldview of Princess Mononoke. Nausicaä herself is portrayed as being much more potent, with abilities that are not always explained.

The Nausicaä manga is published in English by VIZ Media. Earlier editions of the English manga and fan translations often used the title Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, omitting the definite article.

External links


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