Not nearly as epic as his most famous works, and somehow seemingly rooted a bit more in reality even amid all the fantastic sea creatures, it's still very commanding of your attention and the story still hits those emotional highs without being pedantic in usual Miyazaki form.

The voice cast is a little off, as they seemed to try and stick too closely to the mouth forms, and Matt Damon especially seemed to be phoning his bit part in. But the kids sound like kids and that's certainly the most important thing, as they're the focus of the movie.

Definitely recommended for parents and their kids, though I can see a 10 year old boy maybe getting bored without shit blowing up left and right. But there's no violence, and not really anything overwhelmingly creepy like in Spirited Away. Just one of those sweet parables that make you feel good.