Hayao Miyazaki brings his love of flying machines and, more importantly, his pencil to this industrial fantasy about a young woman cursed into old age, finding refuge in the mobile home of a darkly heroic wizard. The result is consistently beautiful (flowery meadowscapes) and occasionally cute (comic-relief dog).
DVD Extras:
Still, camcorder extras which interview the English version's dialogue director and author Diane Wynne Jones rarely go beyond "My favourite bit is..." In the case of Jones, that's far too brief, her source novel being the perfect foundation for Miyazaki. Also, the director is sometimes too in love with his project to pace the plot, so, in order to examine this passion, it's a shame we're not given any artwork in progress or script decisions.
Still, if the voice talent is too Disney for you (Lauren Bacall and Christian Bale are great, Billy Crystal pushes it) - well, that's what language options are for. In Japanese or English, it's still masterful.
