The plot's a little muddled and unlike Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service or any one of Miyazaki's other films you sometimes hear yourself wondering "Why are they doing that?" The anti-war message is somewhat hamfisted as well. Of course, the animation is spectacular and the soundtrack is lush and beautiful as always. Not Miyazaki's best work, but Studio Ghibli beats the pants off Disney any day.
...so I went in expecting to be disappointed...and came away entranced. I liked it better than Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro (but Kiki's Delivery Service is till tops in my book).
The anti-war message was overdone, but Miyazaki captured the tendency of some societies to excitedly support militarism before wars start only to be appalled at the resulting violence and death. And Miyazaki admitted in a Newsweek interview that it was directed at the United States' run-up to the war in Iraq.
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