One Of The Best I Have Ever Witnessed

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2001)

Anime is not my thing. Certainly, there have been those films which I have enjoyed, but so few and far between were they that as a whole, I had little hope of ever finding a REAL film amongst them. then, this came along. A classicly styled fantasy epic, so vividly brought to life that it almost makes you cry at the commitment its creators have demonstrated. And it was animated, which was the perfect choice for this story. The music, sound effects, the direction, which honestly I have never been able to detect in an animated feature before, the story-it all boiled down to one of the greatest viewing pleasures I have ever had.
Now, if there is a complaint to be made, it is that there are sequences which seem a little overdone, or bits of dialogue that somehow seem out of place, or at least badly performed, which is surprising being that the voice casting of the English dub for the film is extraordinary. Aside from that, EVERYTHING else is pitch perfect.
This is a film where you can usually count the digits on a hand, and come up with the right number. Where when the breeze sweeps through a persons hair, not only do you see it, but you can nearly feel it yourself. A film that has the courage to show its audience something profound in a format which, in the United States, is sorely lacking. In this country, the creatures would all be cute, not menacing. Here, even the most docile of creatures has a realistic edge. It would have none of the philosophy this contains, and most heartbreaking of all, it would be overlooked entirely, all for the simple fact that it was animated. This proves the point that animation is an art form. CARTOON does not apply in this case. The film isn't for children, & I would never recommend this to anyone under 13. Not because of excessive violence, foul language or nudity, but rather because the tone and the complexities of the story will probably not keep the interest of most under the aforementioned age, or even interest them in the first place.
This is a film, which, when compared to live action features such as Excalibur, Gawian and the Green Knight, Dragonslayer, Conan, Beastmaster-it has only one difference: the freeing majesty afforded it by virtue of being animated. I mention these films as they are similar in tone and texture to this, yet, somehow, this surpasses them all. Not just the greatest animated film of all time, but perhaps the greatest fantasy film in cinema history. If you have ever read the ancient myths and legends of mankind, if you thrilled to the "Lord of the Rings" series, then this is the film for you, one which manages to capture on screen what your imagination once conjured.