The Studio

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki

Not just because it’s Earth Day – really. This comic book series and animated feature length film are highly recommended at any time!  Nausicaä has a strong ecological theme. So it seemed appropriate to write about it today. The message is timeless and important. Read the graphic novels, watch the DVD.

My movie review: In the post-apocalyptic future, pacifist and environmental warrior Princess Nausicaa lives in Valley of the Wind, a small rural territory at the edge of an expanding wasteland. When a ship carrying a weapon from a long-gone industrial age crashes nearby and soldiers come to retrieve the cargo, she and the people of the Valley struggle to prevent conflicting nations from destroying one another and the declining planet.  (read more)

See a selected list of environmental-themed documentaries.

Hayao Miyazaki is regarded as the anime director for those who don’t really like anime. For those who do enjoy anime, he’s regarded as a lesser deity. One person has taken his devotion to a very particular extreme and made this:

Yep, that’s the Catbus, from the Miyazaki classic My Neighbor Totoro. And the person who made it is selling it on Craigslist for less than 3 grand.

Even if driving a fur covered van with a kitty face isn’t your cup of tea (or saucer of milk, as the case my be), you can’t go wrong with a Miyazaki classic. Check one out from the Library (I’m partial to Spirited Away, myself), and you’ll quickly find out why he’s known as the “Walt Disney of Japan.”

Just read that Warner Bros. is adapting one of the most well-known and revered manga titles and anime films, Akira, into a live-action film possible starring Leonardo himself! On the one hand, I think a live-action version could be incredibly cool (not that I know what cool is), but I also have to agree in part with angry asian man that there are some aspects of Akira that should not be messed with!

Read more here.

What’s your favorite anime film? Would it make a good live-action film?