I saw Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind over the weekend with my sisters, and it has been stuck with me all day! Hayao Miyazaki is an incredible film director. I’ve been extremely impressed with all of his movies, and I have a goal to collect all of the ones that he’s made. During all my classes today, I’ve had the theme song in my head (so powerful and beautiful!) and when I got home, I watched short clips from the movie over and over.
Why do I love his movies so much? Besides the beautiful music and the incredible quality of the animation, I’d have to say the fantastic worldbuilding in his films and the way he uses character to make the stories so meaningful…
Nausicaa was about a struggle between mankind and the Earth, and how man’s lust for power destroys both man and Earth. First, Miyazaki shows us a mysterious post-apocalyptic world, where a toxic jungle is overtaking the last vestiges of humanity. Then, he introduces us to Nausicaa, a princess who has a really cool glider, loves her people, has a connection with nature and the animals that is uncanny, and is otherwise just very likeable and real. Then we see the Ohm–this giant scary monstrous creature that is really dangerous, and after that, we see the valley and get immersed in that world.
When the conflict starts to get intense, the thing that really makes it meaningful is how much it hurts the princess, and how she struggles to stop it. By this time, we’re so immersed in the world that we don’t want it to fall apart–and we love the princess so much that every time she gets hurt, it hurts us too. That’s what makes it so meaningful–we care about this character and her quest to make peace between humans and nature that when stuff happens to her, we really care.
It’s like that in all the Miyazaki movies, I think.
In Howl’s Moving Castle, the immersion happens right from the start, in Sophie’s hat shop, and starts getting really deep when Sophie finds the castle and settles down in it. The magic is just incredible–even though I have no clue what’s going on, when Sophie tries to tell Suliman that Howl is a coward, and Suliman and Howl have a face off, that is just incredible.
But by far the most powerful scene of all in that movie is the one where Sophie goes back to Howl’s past and shouts out “find me in the future!” At that point, everything is falling apart, Sophie is hurt, Howl is turning into a monster, and you’re really on the edge of your seat because you care about these characters. And then she goes back, and it’s so emotional, because of the feelings that these characters have for each other–it just works, because the characters are so well done.
In Castle in the Sky, my favorite part was when they were on the pirate ship. The worldbuilding there was done so well that I came away wishing that I could be the captain of a steampunk airship just like it! But it wasn’t just the airship–it was the characters. That was the point where you find out that the pirates aren’t as bad as you thought they were, and as the main characters start to realize this and develop a meaningful relationship with these guys, it gives you this really serene, really good feeling, because you realize that the characters are going to be ok. And you care about that.
I haven’t seen Spirited Away yet, but I’m sure it’s just the same. A world that totally engulfs you, with characters that you intensely care about. I really need to see that one–maybe this next weekend.
I think that’s the key. As great as Miyazaki is, his films are not always internally consistent. When I rewatched Nausicaa, there were several parts where I said “you know, this is kind of inconsistent here,” or “this aspect of the world just wouldn’t work.” For example, the whole ecosystem with the Ohm and the toxic jungle wouldn’t evolve after 1,000 years–it would take geologic ages for something so alien to evolve so completely. And when Lord Yupa jumps down onto the captured Peggite ship, he would definitely break at least a few of his bones, if not die from the impact. When do the Tolmekian ships refuel, and how is it that they can take off vertically and yet get shot down so easily? And towards the end, where Nausicaa hijacks the Peggite helicopter pod (the physics of that pod just don’t work at all, by the way), why did they follow through on their agreement to drop her off in front of the stampeding Ohm? After all, she had to put her gun down in order for her to be at the bottom of the tow cable with the baby Ohm–why didn’t the Peggites just say “screw this” and take off?
But the really incredible thing is that none of that really matters–even with the little inconsistencies here and there, it’s an incredible experience and a memorable story! True, tying up these points could have made it stronger, but it’s already remarkably well done as it is.
I could go on and on about Miyazaki. The man is pure genius. If anyone ever wants to know how to shop for me for Christmas or my birthday or anything else, something you can always fall back on is getting me something having to do with Miyazaki! I’m contemplating buying the Nausicaa soundtrack, but it’s kind of expensive and would require importing it. But even so, it may just be worth it.
