Lovely, contemplative tale of famed aeronautical engineer.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
Scary scenes of an earthquake taking a train off course and causing mass destruction and loss of life. A fire sweeps through the country and also wreaks havoc on the land and people. People are injured, weep, and cry (especially kids) for help. It's clear that the planes are used in war to drop bombs. Planes crash during testing. An important character dies of tuberculosis (off camera).
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
The main characters and friends smoke -- including in the presence of an ailing person -- and often ask for cigarettes and discuss the differences between Japanese and German brands.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Mitsubishi is mentioned as one of the rival companies to make war planes.
Positive Messages
a lot
Never give up on your dreams. If you give yourself over to your dreams, with hard work, discipline, ambition, and dedication, they can come true. Work shouldn't be your only outlet. To work hard, you should also have people you love to come home to, or your life won't have any balance or beauty. You need people to share your dreams with -- both in a professional and a personal manner. The movie is also a big plug for engineers: "Engineers turn dreams into reality," a famous aeronautical engineer tells the main character.
Positive Role Models
a lot
After realizing he can't become a pilot, Jiro dedicates himself to becoming an aeronautical engineer and the beauty of airplanes, though he knows abstractly that his designs may be used for war. As a young kid, he stop boys from bullying others, and eventually grows into a man of honor and integrity. Jiro's fiancée Naoko is loving and supportive, despite her poor health.
Diverse Representations
some
The film is inspired by a real-life Japanese figure, Jiro Horikoshi, who may not be well-known outside of Japan, and features historical events told from a Japanese perspective. Although Naoko plays an important part in Jiro's life, she and other female characters primarily exist in supporting roles.
Parents need to know that the Oscar-nominated drama The Wind Rises was reported to be anime legend Hayao Miyazaki's final feature-length film, until it was announced in 2021 that he would come out of retirement for a new project. The movie poignantly chronicles the life of Jiro (voiced by Hideaki Anno in the original version and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the English dub), a famous Japanese engineer who was responsible for designing the infamous zero bomber. Jiro repeatedly demonstrates his integrity and perseverance as he struggles with many external and internal conflicts. Because of the historical setting, real-life disasters and catastrophes are depicted in the movie, like the Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and World War II. There's also an upsetting subplot about the engineer's beloved, who suffers from tuberculosis, and many, many scenes of men smoking cigarettes. Because of the themes and the mature subject matter, this is an animated film best for inquisitive older kids and teens. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
There is a lot of smoking in this movie and there is a non-bloody earthquake that happens. I really don't understand why this is PG-13. The earthquake could be a bit scary for a kid under 6, but it really is pretty mild overall.
I wonder if the rating is due to the fact that it is a slow film -- not something that will hold the attention of the average ADHD child of today. That seems silly. Something should not be PG-13 for being boring.
That said, as an adult, I found it a bit boring sometimes. It is a good message overall, but the characters were a bit underdeveloped and the movie is a bit longer than average these days. If your child can tolerate a slow plot, I wouldn't hesitate letting them see this. If nothing else, the animation is beautiful.
This is a beautifully-nuanced film that introduces several complex subjects in a way that feels historically and ethically authentic. Many of the conflicts that are introduced are not resolved, but this does nothing to reduce their moral force. It is for instance an anti-smoking film that shows its young protagonist smoking. It is an anti-war film whose protagonist designs war planes. It shows a non-obvious choice between protecting a dying loved one and letting them choose how they want to live. None of these conflicts are answered, explicitly, but Miyazaki appears to trust the viewer (even a young viewer) to understand how real people might confront them.
Positive values: the film celebrates constancy, charity —even when refused; having a sense of purpose, the dynamic mixture of cultures; the beauty of nature, and of math and engineering, and the fight against fascism.
The Wind Rises's anti-war message has been questioned: some critics (especially in Japan) wanted a more explicit condemnation of Jiro's complicity in the war machine he helped design. Our family felt Jiro suffered gravely in consequence of his actions, losing everything including his country, the love of his life and his dream.
At the end of the film he is admonished to live: that would not have been easy.
What's the Story?
THE WIND RISES is a fictionalized biography of Jiro Horikoshi (voiced by Hideaki Anno in the original version and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the English dub), a legendary Japanese aeronautical engineer who was responsible for designing bombers used in World War II. As a boy, young Jiro dreams of becoming a fighter pilot, but because of his nearsightedness, he realizes that's not meant to be. In a dream, he encounters the world-famous Italian aeronautical engineer Giovanni Caproni (Nomura Mansai/Stanley Tucci), who encourages Jiro to design planes even if he can't fly them. Jiro grows up, saves a young girl and her nanny during the Kanto Earthquake of 1923, goes to engineering school, and then joins an engineering firm that's competing for military contracts. Throughout his adulthood, Jiro travels and refines his vision of making beautiful planes for the glory of Japan.
Visually, this is a gorgeous film. The Wind Rises doesn't include any mythical creatures or fantastical worlds; it's all Japan, the sky, the fields, the wind, and the beautiful planes of Jiro's dreams. This is a contemplative tale that requires a patient audience. Young kids used to high-octane adventures may not be ready for this introspective tribute to a visionary man, who may have known in the abstract that his designs would one day be used in war but who really just wanted to make his dreams a reality.
The second half of the film features a heartbreaking romance between Jiro and the now grown-up girl he once ushered to safety during the 1923 earthquake. Naoko (Miori Takimoto/Emily Blunt) is herself an artist who loves landscapes. They long to marry, but Naoko suffers from tuberculosis, a disease even the brilliant Jiro can't troubleshoot. Their scenes together are romantic but also devastatingly sad -- like when he spends a night finishing blueprints with one hand firmly grasping his ill young wife's hand. The storyline isn't exactly a nail-biter, but this is a quietly powerful movie about what it takes to have a singular vision and dedicate your life to it; a tale of a genius, one can only assume, much like Miyazaki himself.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the theme of dreaming and creating in The Wind Rises. How are they tied together? What does the film have to say about striving for your dreams?
Jiro doesn't consider himself a part of the military and doesn't think too much about how his planes will be used -- just that he wants to make planes. Does he bear any responsibility for being the creator of warcraft?
Critics have mentioned that this film is a lot more serious and less whimsical than other Miyazaki films. Do you agree? What are some of your favorites?
MPAA explanation:
some disturbing images and smoking
Last updated:
July 2, 2024
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By Sandie Angulo Chen
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