Interesting setup but lack of focus and engagement ruins this

Rating: 4/10 (16 January 2016)

Interesting setup but lack of focus and engagement ruins this.
A young girl, Sheeta, escapes from the clutches of some mysterious pirate-like villains. She ends up in a small village and is befriended by young boy, Pazu. However, the villains track them down, as do a variety of other people who seem keen to get their hands on the girl, and soon Sheeta and Pazu are fleeing for their lives...
Pretty much your standard Hayao Miyazaki movie: intriguing and original setup, making the first few scenes quite interesting, followed by random, unfocused plot development and lack of character depth or development. Just becomes a mindless adventure story without any point.
Animation is so-so. You can't put this down to being made in the 1980s - Disney films of the 1940s and 50s had better animation.
The linear, rambling storyline and lack of thinking required should make this ideal for kids, though the long duration of the movie and jumbled plot might be too much for their concentration spans. This is certainly not a movie for intelligent adults.