Ignore the comments of the unenlightened--this is a beautiful and even soulful tale that will get under your skin and stay with you--not a common thing these days.
There is a gentleness and subtlety to this film that makes it a genuine relief from the overwrought, overstimulating movies we've been stuck with.
It is also refreshing that Disney (or more likely, Lasseter) is presenting us with something that has a different style and a different manner of storytelling than the Disney style that has also become the style for every other studio in town.
In the past, I never quite cottoned on to the Miyazaki genre, but this one really got to me. And my kids. And from what I could tell, the rest of the theatre.