Well worth a road trip halfway across a state and back

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2001)

Before I begin, I want to point out that I was looking forward to this movie long before I even knew I had a chance to see it in the theaters, so that MAY make my opinion a little bias in the eyes of some, and maybe even in my own eyes. However, even when looking at the movie with as little bias as possible, I can still honestly say that this is one of the greatest animated films I've ever seen, if not one of the greatest films of any type that I've ever seen.
First off, the mastermind behind this film, Hayao Miyazaki, is a living legend in the eyes of many, including myself. Under his belt are titles like My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and the brand new Spirited Away, not yet over on this side of the Pacific. The majority of his films are moral-filled "child-oriented" movies that can be, like films such as The Lion King or Labyrinth, watched and thoroughly enjoyed by any age group. This film can be enjoyed by any age group, but isn't as much for the younger audiences as are Miyazaki's others.
The film opens up with some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen, and doesn't let up on the visuals until the end credits start rolling. Lush forests, rolling fields, old villages and booming industrial towns (of medieval Japanese standards, that is), with not a detail spared. The character designs are fantastic and, in the case of some of the creatures, very whimsical, and use of computer animation is practically seamless. Not only are the visuals stunning, but the soundtrack to accompany the beautiful eye candy was absolutely amazing, done by Jo Hisashi, who has done practically every Miyazaki soundtrack to date. To see only the landscapes and hear only the soundtrack in the theater was more than enough for me.
Miyazaki doesn't just leave things with sight and sound, though. Within minutes, the viewer is drawn into a plot that not only holds its own against some of the best movie plots of all time, but also has enough imagery and symbolism to make all but the hardest critics of straight-forward, unsubtle plots happy. Nature vs. Technology, East vs. West, the classic arguments of history are represented in this film to a degree that practically anyone can understand and enjoy, yet not "dumbed down" to the point of boredom and blatency.
I'll stop right there with any description of the plot. Practically everyone has heard of this film and, to some degree, what it's about, but to any that haven't, I'll ruin nothing. All I'll say more is that the film was worth a 90 mile drive to a small theater and a 90 mile drive back, along with being late for work that night, and that I recommend this to anyone who likes...well, I recommend this to anyone. Period.