Name That Movie!

September 14, 2005 10:06 AM

Name that Movie: Oceans of lava, people riding giant pillbugs, hot air balloons that might also be critters...

I saw this as a young lad in the late 80s and that is virtually all I can remember of it. It was on TV as a part of some fantasy movie marathon, I remember Krull came on after it, and The Beastmaster came on after that. It was in good company with those movies. Any ideas?

posted by sciurus to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Sounds a bit like Nausiccaa, one of the early films of Hayao Miyazaki. I believe it was released in the 80's as "Warriors of the Wind."
posted by junkbox at 10:38 AM on September 14, 2005

I was going to say Nausicaa as well. Just to check: cartoon or live-action?
posted by Hogshead at 10:47 AM on September 14, 2005

Here's the poster for Warriors of the Wind. Looks like a good companion piece to Krull and The Beastmaster.
posted by junkbox at 10:50 AM on September 14, 2005

Yeah, the style of that poster doesn't look anything like Nausiccaa.
posted by bshort at 11:18 AM on September 14, 2005

Hilariously enough, Warriors of the Wind is just a truncated version of Nausicaa. Who are all those people on the poster? I have no fucking clue... they're certainly not in the MOVIE.

If you're talking animated, Nausicaa has the giant bugs, but no major use of lava and only one ballon-type thing I can remember.

Live action I have no idea.
posted by selfnoise at 11:33 AM on September 14, 2005

Response by poster: I remember it as live action, with Baron Munchausen production values. I'm going to have to check out Nausicaa in any case.
posted by sciurus at 11:39 AM on September 14, 2005

David Lynch's Dune has people riding sandworms, which are kind of pillbug-like. It has deserts, but no lava. There are no hot-air balloons that I can remember.

The only reason I mention it is that I'm pretty sure I've seen almost every '80s fantasy/SF film with "Baron Munchausen production values" (barring, oh I don't know, Neverending Story II and I'm stumped.
posted by Prospero at 11:57 AM on September 14, 2005

Two more animated films to consider are Fantastic Planet and Time Masters.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:21 PM on September 14, 2005

My money is that this is a clouded memory of Naussica Valley of the Wind. Lord that Warriors poster is dumb. Why is skeletor there?! Aaggh!
posted by glenwood at 12:30 PM on September 14, 2005

(more than you'll ever want to know about Nausicaa)
posted by jazon at 12:46 PM on September 14, 2005

I seriously completely and fully love every movie that man has ever had a hand in.
posted by glenwood at 8:23 PM on September 14, 2005

No one will ever see this, since I found it so late, but just in case: I'm betting it's Heavy Metal which starts out with a girl riding on a bug and goes into more weirdness and is of the same rough time period as Beastmaster & Krull.
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:02 AM on September 17, 2005

Response by poster: That definitely has possibilities.
posted by sciurus at 9:40 AM on September 19, 2005