Knowing the greatness that is to come, Nausicaä seems a bit like an early (but good) draft of a greater story. All the elements are there, but it feels like a little something is missing. Maybe it was something about the dialogue, or depth of characterization, that could have been a little deeper. I almost hate to say anything critical at this point, because I'm comparing to it later works that I've already seen.
Again, I watched it in the original language with subtitles. One of the special features on the disk shows the all-star cast of English speaking actors used for the dub. It seemed like they put so much effort into it, and had so much fun doing it, that I should re-watch it using dubbed voices. But I feel like that is a side pursuit I don't need right now. I'm having enough trouble staying on track.
Another special feature showed the history of Studio Ghibli up to the release of Howl's Moving Castle, I think. It also showed twice as many movies by Ghibli and/or Miyazaki that I even knew existed. I'm still not entirely clear on who made what, but I'm quickly getting the sense I should focus on whatever Miyazaki was personally involved in (and not just produced by his studio).
