rigertd

The first thing that struck me about this film was the detailed animation and vividness of the colors. The TV series was known for it's quality animation, and the movie is far better. The story, however, is completely different from the TV series. If you watch this movie, don't compare it to the series, since it's a different story that uses the same characters. The story is fairly dark, but compelling. For action fans, you will find a lot of that in this movie, but romance fans may walk away disappointed. Overall, not great, but a good movie. 6 of 10.

I saw this movie the day it came out. The theater was packed, even though I'm living in the boonies (I had to get there an hour early!). It uses a lot more CG that previous Miyazaki films, and there are some quite impressive scenes because of it. I don't mean the obnoxious CG that stands out from everything else, but the kind that blends in perfectly. Graphic-wise, it's a very beautiful film. Story-wise, well, I wouldn't call it Miyazaki's best work, but it is still very entertaining. There are many "interesting" creatures in this movie, along with a few that you might recognize from previous Miyazaki movies. All in all, entertaining, but nothing spectacular. The thing that bugged the the most were some of the voices. In particular, the black guy that kind of looks like the villain from the "Scream" movies. That had to be one of the worst casting jobs I've ever seen. It's worth seeing at least once, but seeing how movies cost $15 a pop here, I'll probably be seeing it only once. 6 out of 10.