Kaze No Tano No Naushika (Japanese title)
Voice: Alison Lohman (English Disney dub)
Sumi Shimamoto (Japanese)
The Character
After last night, I felt in the mood to analyse another character and in my heart, I felt there was only one I could write about; the Ghibli Princess that started off the studio's success. Yes, I'm talking about Nausicaä. There has been some debate over whether she counts as part of the Studo Ghibli family. This is because Studio Ghibli did not exist as a formal company when Nausicaä was made, However, in recent DVD releases, it has the Ghibli logo on the cover and on the trailer of the Studio Ghibli film collection (a collection of quick trailers which I know appear on the UK releases), Nausicaä is a part of it. The film was also directed by Hayao Miyazaki. So, for argument's sake, I am counting her as a Ghibli Princess and not a Honorary Princess. To learn a bit more about the debate, go here.
Although Nausicaä is my third favourite Ghibli film (and in particular my third favourite Miyazaki film), the character Nausicaä is my favourite "Princess". The thing that gets me about Disney Princess is that they are mainly weak, rely purely on emotion and in some cases, although all the gals do fall in love, a good number fall in love at first sight. Of course, that never happens properly in real life and you can't help but wonder that after the likes of Cinderella and Snow White were married, you'd know they'd be divorced uickly for they got married before knowing nothing about each other.
Nausicaä is a woman in her own right and is only one of three Studio Ghibli females to actually be called a Princess (the other two are San from Princess Mononoke and Sheeta from Laputa but them two are for another entry). She takes charge of her own life and for msot of the film, her mind is clear and focused. She is truely one of the best examples of an empowered female.
She is a quick and agile fighter, unafraid to take on several male Tolmekia soldiers (and even killing them) solo when her father is killed. She is feisty and adventorous, always finding an excuse to go into the deadly toxic jungle. She is unafraid to take risks either.
Nausicaä's relationship with the male characters is an interesting one; she sees some as friends and two as father figures (Lord Yupa and her father, King/Lord Jihl). Even the only character that can be seen as a potential love interest (Prince Asbel) only comes as close as mere acquaintance. In fact, it is Nausicaä who saves Asbel when they first meet, rather than the other way round. In the case of all the male of the villagers, THEY look up to HER rather than the other way round.
However, although she represents traits of masculinity, she is not a butch female. She does girly things, such as naming her new fox-squirrel, Teto. She is giggly and unlike many other independent women, she is not one to hide her feelings under a cold, hard feelings. She says what she thinks and keeps her emotions under her sleeves. She is very emotional, thoughtful of others and most of all, she is a pacifist. She fights and does things in accordance by what is best for her village.
She also has an amazing gift. She is able to calm the ohmu and other beasts when they are enraged. She is also clever and is able, to learn via scientific experiments important secrets about the toxic jungle which leads her to be a middle-woman so to speak. She wants to protect her village and yet she wants to protect the beasts of the toxic jungle too. And who cannot love her Mehve (that's the thing she flies on!) The funniest line is when she states that her father thinks she has a lot to learn......how many of us viewers disagreed with that? I wonder if that was put in so she could be seen to have a flaw and not seen as a complete Little Miss Perfect?
What I find interesting about Nausicaä is that she is not looked in the typical female manner, in which no-one looks at her. When it comes to many female characters in her status, she has to look good or she has to stimulate the male gaze. She is not made like that in which her body is always covered by even a large coat and beggy trosuers or a long sleepsuit. Her only show for typical femininity is that she wears earrings.
Speaking of clothes, there is a debate over whether she wears a short dress and no underwear. I myself have made the mistake. Basically, in earlier releases of the film, the colours were fainter and rather than showing she wears a blue coat and yellow trousers, it does look like she is nude under a short blue dress. The latter is not the case as stated here.
The voices behind the character
Technically there are THREE versions of this film, one original Japanese and two English dubs. The first English dub was called "Warriors of the Wind" and if reviews and sources are correct, should NOT be watched by anyone who is a true fan. I have never seen it so cannot make a judgement but from what has been said, it should be sliced up and burnt! I mean, there is always a debate over the English dubs over Japanese originals but jeez, when one is universally disliked by everyone, you got a problem!
In my opinion with Alison Lohman and Sumi Shimamoto, it's kinda hard to choose which one is better, although to be fair, Lohman does sound a bit robotic at the beginning. She does however become much more natural after that, especially when she has to show emotion. Sumi Shimamoto is brilliant although when it came to the crying scenes, I felt like she was a wee bit over the top. Despite that, they each give Nausicaä a girlish charm that adds to her feminity (and shows everyone that she is not a cold hard-ass feminist Miranda Priestly style bitch!)
What can I say, they're both perfect in my heart. Can I just leave it at that? :-)
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