10 Studio Ghibli Films Everyone Should See

4. Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984)

Despite being created before the official founding of Studio Ghibli, Nausicaa is in many ways Miyazaki's most important film to date. Within its fantasy setting and character design lies the blueprint for almost all of Miyzaki's subsequent fantasy epics and for even anime as a whole. Against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, Princess Nausicaa desperately tries to hold her polluted kingdom together, despite warring factions and the threat of large mutated creatures who live close by in the wilderness.

This cautionary but ultimately optimistic tale shares a vital environmental message that was butchered upon the film's original release in America. After cutting over 20 minutes of the final edit, US distributors renamed the movie Warriors of the Wind and seemingly went out of their way to make it as terrible as physically possible. These days, we call that process 'Michael Bay-ing it'.

Why You Should Watch It: Nausicaa was an inspirational badass princess all the way back in 1984 but it's only now that Western studios are even remotely beginning to catch up. Watch out Western animation. You just got burnt!