Rating of
4/4
Terrific animated comedy-romance-adventure!
JTurner - wrote on 05/31/09
Out of all the Japanese Anime I've seen, the works of Hayao Miyazaki rank as must-see, five-star classics. This was his first feature as a director, and while it doesn't have the artistic polish of some of his later projects, it still holds up pretty well today. This is a fast-paced, funny, suspenseful, and occasionally romantic romp with showstopping action set-pieces, characters one can care about, and a joyful sense of fun and whimsy that never loses its appeal. All in all, classic entertainment. This movie was dubbed into English several years ago by Streamline Pictures; I haven't seen this version, so I can make no comment on it. However, I will confess that I DID enjoy this more "updated" English track by Manga (the sometimes excessive profanity not withstanding). The cast is well chosen and sound like they're having a great time hamming it up.
