Hello there,

Quite a while ago I saw this cartoon (in a movie theather in
Venezuela) that I believe was called, in Spanish, something like “Los
Guerreros del Bien” which translates roughly into “Good Warriors” or
“Warriors of Good.” However, I doubt that was the original title. In
fact, I don’t even know if it was originally in English, Spanish, or
some other language.

Some of the things I can remember of the movie was that it was
animated (i.e. not live-action), that it had giant bugs (some of which
looked like worms and larvae, but huge) with many “eyes” all over
their bodies, and that there was this protagonist girl who had some
sort of a white flying device that looked sort of like an enlarged
boomerang.

I think the plot revolved around these giant bugs taking over the
planet (I’m not sure if it was Earth, probably not), or doing
something else destructive, and they needed to be stopped. I don’t
think the bugs were completely evil, though, they might have been just
living there and causing undesired collateral damage. I guess some of
the bugs could have lived underground coming out sometimes. Think of
them as being/looking a bit like the big bugs in the recent movie
Starship Troopers (but not the small, quick, insect-like ones).

I also think that in the end the protagonist girl sort-of sacrificed
herself, perhaps for the good of humanity, or some other such ideal. I
think the humans were trying to kill the bugs, and she knew they
weren’t evil, and she had some sort of connection or relation with
them, and thus at the very end all these magical things started
happening, and she started floating (being resurrected, maybe?) and
rays of light came out of her.

In retrospect, I suppose it could have been Anime (Japanese
Animation), since the theme seems to be kind of fit for that type of
thing. This is not necessarily the case, though. I also know that it
must have been around 10 years ago (so nothing recent), maybe even
more. I was really a child at the time (I’m 18 now, in 2002), which is
why I can’t remember more about it. I don’t know why, but this one
movie holds an immense mysterious feeling over me.

I am looking for anything that might help me find out more about it,
or even identify it. I’m interested in possible titles, the artists
who produced it, websites about it, etc.

Thank you very much.

Dear ajg36,

The movie you have in mind is "Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind", a
full-length Japanese anime made in 1983/84. The original Japanese
title is "Kaze no Tani no Naushika". An edited version saw video
release under the title "Warriors of the Wind". Since the Spanish term
for "wind" is "viento", this is very probably the source of the title
you remember.

"Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind" is based upon the tremendously
successful graphic novels of the same name by renowned Japanes manga
artist Hayao Miyazaki. For detailed information on these works, please
visit this website:

Nausicaa.Net: Kaze no Tani no Naushika - Manga, by Team Ghiblink
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/manga/nausicaa.html

Hayao Miyazaki also created the story and the screenplay for the
movie. The art director was Mitsuyoshi Nakamura, Kazuo Komatsubara
while was the animation director. The sountrack music was composed by
Joe Hisaishi. Please follow this link to find very extensive
information on the production and the staff of "Nausicaä of the Valley
of Wind":

Nausicaa.Net: Credits - Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, by Team
Ghiblink
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/nausicaa/credits.html

For comprehensive information on the movie, its plot and characters,
and all things related, including many links, I recommend this
excellent website:

Nausicaa.Net: Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, by Team Ghiblink
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/nausicaa/

Additionally, you can also have a look at this website dedicated to
this cult anime:

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, by C.N. "Ming" Yang
http://oei.physics.sunysb.edu/~daffy/nausicaa.html

Unfortunately, "Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind" is not available on
VHS or DVD currently. However, the edited video version is offered by
private sellers at Amazon.com, starting at $21.99. In case you'd like
to buy a copy, this would be the easiest way:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6302221684/qid%3D1036183982/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-7547528-1386306

I got this information, including all web links, from personal inquiry
at an expert in Japanese manga and anime.

Hope this is what you were looking for!
Best regards,
Scriptor

Excellent Work!

I am VERY satisfied with this answer. I can't believe someone actually
found it! I had been looking for information endlessly and in vain for
a long time.

Thanks a lot!

ajg36, 

If you liked Nausicaa, you might also like some of Hayao Miyazaki's
more recent films, and they are fortunately a bit easier to find
unedited. Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" is widely available on
English-dubbed and English-subtitled DVD and VHS:

Mononoke DVD
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00003CXBK/qid=1036188209/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-0058003-8141407?v=glance&n=507846
Mononoke VHS
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004T37H/qid=1036188209/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_5/103-0058003-8141407?v=glance&n=507846

This movie shares a lot of similar themes with Nausicaa, so chances
are you'll enjoy it. It's a much darker film than Nausicaa was,
though, so you might want to watch it and decide for yourself, before
you take young kids to see it.

His latest film, "Spirited Away", is in many US theaters now. It's a
great movie, very much worth the admission price, and fun for kids to
see, too.

Spirited Away
http://www.spirited-away.com/

Good luck, I hope you enjoy the movie!
-vorfeed