In a world filled with planes and airships, Sheeta is a young girl who has been kidnapped by government agents who seek her mysterious crystal amulet. While trapped aboard an airship, she finds herself without hope—that is, until the ship is raided by pirates. Taking advantage of the ensuing confusion, Sheeta manages to flee from her captors. Upon her escape, she meets Pazu, a boy who dreams of reaching the fabled flying castle, Laputa. The two decide to embark on a journey together to discover this castle in the sky. However, they soon find the government agents back on their trail, as they too are trying to reach Laputa for their own greedy purposes.
Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa follows the soaring adventures of Sheeta and Pazu, all while they learn how dreams and dire circumstances can bring two people closer together.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
JTurner
Retitled from its original Japanese name of Laputa (for being an offensive phrase, something which director Hayao Miyazaki was oblivious to at the time), Castle in the Sky is the master animator's third film, and it's one of his most beloved of all time. Initially a box office disappointment in its 1986 release, it has since been embraced by critics and audiences around the world. Inspired by Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", Castle in the Sky is a steampunk-themed action adventure tale about two young orphans -- young miner Pazu, and mysterious girl Sheeta (who wears a magic crystal around her neck) -- who teamup to find the long-lost island of Laputa, which is rumored to have great riches and gems. They are aided by a band of bumbling yet sympathetic air pirates led by the feisty Dola (who at first chase them, yet turn out to be true allies) and pursued by the government headed by its villainous topmost-secret agent, Muska, who wants the power of Laputa for his own benefit.
For anyone looking for an exciting way to spend two hours, this film is an excellent choice, featuring just the right amount of humor, exploration, wonder, and mystery to keep one interested. The artwork, although not as spectacular as in some of Miyazaki's later movies, is fantastic and gorgeous enough to watch with imaginative characters and locations, incredibly exciting action scenes, and breathtaking flight sequences that will make one feel giddy. And while the characters that populate this tale are less complex than Miyazaki's other works, each has a memorable, endearing personality that stays with the viewer long after the film is over. Dola, in particular, makes for a terrific comic character, shouting orders to her dimwitted sons one moment and being protective of Sheeta the next. Muska is one of the few Miyazaki creations to ever come across as an irredeemable villain, but like Dola, he commands every scene he's in with a sinister charisma that is both alluring and chilly.
Anime fans have often compared this movie to Gainax's sci-fi adventure series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. After all, both works share similar story and character elements... not to mention that they were both created by Miyazaki himself. Where both differ is in their execution. Nadia, although charming for the most part, suffered from taking a wrong turn at its midway point, devolving into cartoonish nonsense which all but distracted from the main plot, even though it did have a strong ending. Castle in the Sky, on the other hand, remains consistently entertaining and focused for its two hour running time, and is all the better for it. While the film's epic tone is sometimes broken up by some "cartoonish" moments, like a brawl between Pazu's boss and one of Dola's sons, it's never to the point that it detracts from the film.
While purists will probably prefer to listen to the original Japanese version, I am of the opinion that there's nothing bad about watching Miyazaki's movies in English, and this is no exception. That said, there are two different dubs of this film. The first one, dubbed by an unknown company but released by Streamline several years ago, was a hastily produced, badly acted, poorly written trainwreck briefly released in 1989 but quickly disappeared afterwards. The current version, produced by Disney in 1998, features an all-star voice cast and, interestingly, a rerecorded score by the film's original composer, Joe Hisaishi with the Seattle Music Orchestra. There has been a lot of heated debates arguing over which is the better version. Personally, even after seeing the Japanese version once and having distanced myself from it enough to appreciate it on its own terms, I'm ready to offer up the following: Disney's Castle in the Sky, despite its faults, is an entertaining listen in its own right.
The leads aren't the strongest voices in the dub; James Van Der Beek's Pazu sounds significantly more mature than his character, while Anna Paquin's Sheeta speaks with an odd accent that fluctuates at times (a problem which actually works in favor of the character). That said, both do good jobs overall and provide a fairly believable chemistry throughout. It's the lively supporting cast, however, that really make this dub so much fun, particularly Cloris Leachman's Dola and Mark Hamill's Muska. Both are perfectly cast and steal every scene they're in as the cantankerous sky pirate captain and treacherous agent, respectively. If there's any reason to see this dub, it's for these two. Another reason to check out the dub is for the aforementioned rescore by Joe Hisaishi. There are some instances where filling in some critically silent scenes from the original Japanese is a bit distracting (notably the journey through the dragon-infested storm cloud), but the overall reworking is fantastic and in many ways improves on the original, particularly the scene where a robot attacks the army's fortress and the climactic moments toward the end. Here, Hisaishi displays his musical versatility and genius for matching music to visuals. (The original Japanese track is on the DVD, complete with its original, unaltered score.) The script adaptation borders on the loose side at times--there's quite a bit of extra lines and/or commentary (some of which are pricelessly funny and others somewhat overdone)--but aside from at least one debatable alteration (Sheeta's speech in the climactic showdown "the world cannot live without love" as opposed to the original "you can't survive apart from Mother Earth"), the overall characters, story, and spirit remain fairly faithful to the original. On the whole, there is little point comparing the Disney version to the original language track; each puts their own stamp on this legendary masterpiece, and I like them both.
Either way, though, you can't go wrong with Castle in the Sky. It's one of Miyazaki's all-time greatest, and I highly recommend it.
Ilse
I know this movie is almost 30 years old, but I recently re-watched it and I cried reminiscing about my childhood and thought I should write my first review on it. Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa aka Castle in the Sky is tied as my favorite Miyazaki movie alongside Princess Mononoke; my 2 favorite movies as a child. The story of Castle in the Sky is about, you guessed it; a castle in the sky. There's a legend about a floating island castle, called "Laputa" that contains all the riches a person can ever dream of having. The main male character, Panzo believes that the castle exists,and dreams of one day following his deceased father's footsteps, and finding the castle for himself. The only problem is, he doesn't know where the castle is. Then there's the main female character, Sheeta whom Panzo finds falling/floating down from the sky with a shining sky blue necklace that has some sort of relationship to Laputa's location. Panzo and Sheeta begin a friendship, perhaps love relationship and they decide to go on a journey to find Laputa together. But they run into trouble with, and clowny pirates, the greedy army along with some mysterious men led by an even more mysterious man named, Muska.
Really the art and music is stunning. The theme song of Castle in the Sky: Laputa may actually be my favorite piece of music ever! Seriously, please listen to that song! It makes me tear up every time I hear it! Furthermore the voicing of each character was perfectly matched, nothing unusual that pops out. The portrayal of Laputa, the castle in the sky, was absolutely beautiful! I actually teared up thinking about how I'd never be able to see the castle in real life. The connection and peace between the the robotic beings, and nature (trees, wild animals, plants) on the Island was absolutely beautifully portrayed. None of the characters were drawn like weirdly; every character's looks were unique and memorable. And normally I hate robots, but I felt this weird connection and pity for the dying breed of robots on Laputa. I loved all the characters, except Muska (who is the villain, so my hatred for him is a good thing). The stupid army was really funny, as were the pirates. Panzo and Sheeta are your average Miyazaki main characters, absolutely tragic and lovable!
I think this is the best animated story in the world.. Honestly there's nothing to dislike about this anime and so much to love. It's truly a heart-pounding adventure story about friendship, loyalty, greed, and people's connection to nature. The anime starts off innocently and happily, but it quickly becomes darker as the evil ambitions of the antagonists make themselves known. The characters, good and evil, are all fully developed and interesting to watch. I remember watching this over and over as a little baby, and I still have a vcr tape of Castle in the Sky ^o^. If you haven't seen this movie yet, then I think no matter what age you are, you should watch it at least a couple times in your life. Thanks for reading my first review!
Qin
Castle in the sky is the third film made by Hayao Miyazaki, who I've come to believe is one of the most masterful storytellers. The story is based on the Laputa of Gulliver's Travels, a floating city of scientists and ideologist, which is a legend, a dream of explorers. The young miner Pazu in the story has a goal, which is to find Laputa just as his father did before. And one day, a girl Sheeta who is wearing a magical necklace drifting down from the sky into Pazu's arms, their adventure begins. The movie has a touch of magic and science fiction. Muchof the film takes place in the air. Miyazaki does have a brilliant means to deal with the scenes in the sky. The huge military dirigible floating in the sky, air pirates fly in unwieldy flying machine, Pazu and Sheeta travels in tractive kite filling the scenes with action, adventure, battles and wonder.
Some political statement is implied in Miyazaki's animation with a fantasy, giving deeper meaning to his story. In Castle in the sky, environmentalism has been the central to the film. The landscape is overexploited. The towns and valleys look dirty and in great need of heal while the floating island Laputa is so beautiful and peaceful. There is an underlining message about the environment as well as the need for balance with the earth. But that seldom appears in the ordinary old stories that make it a delight to watch.
The music of the film is fascinating.Composer Hisaishi made the music contain a little sense of melancholy in a nursery rhyme flavor. The melody is clean and pure just like the laputa in the magical story, so mysterious and untouchable. Hisaishi and Miyazaki reached the best connection in the music creation. The commemoration of the past and the call for the love is perfectly delivered by the simple notes.
The opening theme music and its chorus version The Girl Who Fell from the Sky will surprise you with its great penetration. The amazing charm, which Hisaishi’s music bring even overflow the Miyazaki’s animation and create a unprecedented imaginary world for the audience. The symphony version of the theme music, comparatively speaking, is more like a great piece of fantasy anthology. The violin entered with a slow and melancholy tone then turned sweet and joyful. Followed by the piano, the music immediately sublimates a surge of power, which simply shakes the soul. The rhythm repeats and becomes more and more powerful. It is so well-timed that the music could easily enhance the atmosphere of the whole movie and arouse the resonance between the audience and the story.
Anyway it's worthy to spend 2 hours to watch this film. It will be a fantastic experience and hope you really enjoy it. ^^
Optigisa
Studio Ghibli is the most illustrious Anime film studio ever conceived, and might as well be one of the best movie studios of all time, even outside the realm of Anime. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata have both produced some of the most imaginative works ever put to the animation medium, and their genius efforts show in most of their creations. Add in to the fact that Joe Hisaishi is one of the best soundtrack composers in all of Anime, and you’ve got yourself a trio that has produced works that were nearly perfect in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, a group of professionalsand talents can’t always emulate perfection in every work they create, as consistent quality is something that is impossible to achieve, especially with the quantity of movies that Ghibli has put out throughout the years, and every person or studio will have their ups and downs every now and then. In Ghibli’s case, it's futile failure had to be a movie known as Castle in the Sky.
Considering that this movie has one of the highest review mean scores ever, it seems hard for someone to dislike it. Unfortunately, this movie never managed to be appealing nor striking nor cathartic in any way, shape or form, as this one is the most laborious and unimaginative movie Ghibli have ever produced, even with the fantasy elements sprinkled all over it. Saying that this movie should not be given such harsh criticism considering the old age of it is fair, but people tend to forget that Ghibli had made a movie two years prior to Laputa, which has aged extremely well, and that movie is called “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”. It’s really not about the age of the work at the end of the day, since a really old work can stand firmly against the test of time when given well executed directing and a well thought out script and characters. This wasn’t the case with Laputa though, as it’s plot feels trite now after it’s release, and so do it’s characters, due to several factors that is. Perhaps not having a manga to adapt to movie form, and it being the studio’s first film with no source material to work with, turned it into such a nauseating catastrophe.
The plot tries to implement a sense of mystery with a missing father that the two main characters have to find, but unlike My Neighbor Totoro, the mystery is not intriguing nor does it work in any way. Isao Takahata was needed in order for the mystery to work, but he wasn’t there to save this film, and an amateur Hayao Miyazaki wasn’t enough to save it on his own as well. The plot is also unoriginal, compared to some of the better Ghibli movies out there, which have the same exact premise but are filled to the brim with better execution and directing. The characters are all one dimensional archetypes, be it the cartoony villains who switch from being evil to the side of good very easily, or the main heroine who resembles every other Ghibli heroine, only much less developed this time around. All of this wouldn’t be so bad if the movie was made by a third rate studio, but unfortunately, Studio Ghibli made this movie. Studio Ghibli, one of the best studios when it comes to creating memorable, well written characters in the short span of one to two hours only, made such vacuous and poorly thought through, simplistic characters with this movie.
Perhaps it was trying to be simplistic, but with that, it deemed itself unwatchable for an older audience, and mostly became a movie for kids. It doesn’t tackle the same mature themes that others within the same studio tackle, and it lacks the directing genius that Miyazaki would later go on to showcase in his later works. As far as themes go, there is no theme exploration here, especially the environmentalism theme which Miyazaki likes to preach about in most of his other works. If there was theme exploration, then it was handled and conveyed in a much better fashion in most of his other works. The comedy displayed here is lackluster as well, and the emotional catharsis is nowhere to be found. Nothing, I felt nothing while watching this movie. It lacks the depth of Princess Mononoke, it lacks the imagination of Spirited Away, it lacks the emotional catharsis of Kiki’s Delivery Service, and it falls short in most regards, especially when it comes to creating emotion and resonating with people.
The animation has not aged well at all, and it shows throughout most of the movie. At least Nausicaa had some memorable art and colossal amounts of imagination poured into it, something that made it age all the more better, even when it’s animation was flappy at times. What also made Nausicaa age very well, is how extravagantly Joe Hisaishi’s tracks flowed with the movie’s memorable moments and gave them a certain feel that is hard to find anywhere else. Laputa felt much worse than Nausicaa when it came to the animation aspect, add in to the fact that the atmosphere was not intriguing, and the artwork was not memorable, and you’ve got yourself a work that is inferior to it’s predecessor in almost every aspect. Laputa fails in the animation and visuals department, and even when it comes to the directing and memorable scenes, it fails as well.
Moving on to the final aspect of the film, which is the soundtrack - it was neither striking nor memorable, nor could one say it was good, even as a standalone soundtrack and without having to compare it to Hisaishi's other works. This is rather surprising considering that this is a movie which composer Joe Hisaishi worked on. No track stood out, unlike some of the top Ghibli movies out there, and neither were the tracks immersive or good.
Other contentions a viewer would have with this film is that it is excruciatingly slow, as scenes take forever to translate. This movie is also too long for it's own good, spanning a length of two hefty hours. Any movie which fails in the audiovisuals department, in the script department, and in the characters department, must at least redeem itself by not having the viewer tortured for hours on end. A perfect length for a movie is to span between an hour and an hour and thirty minutes, which are more than enough to tell an entire narrative. Two hours is very long for a movie, even the Studio Ghibli ones, especially when the movie has nothing of value or substance to convey.
Aside from all of this, what is truly astounding about Laputa, is the fact that this movie might as well have one of the highest review mean scores an Anime could have, as there has yet to be a negative review for it. It being higher than movies such as Kiki’s Delivery Service and Only Yesterday in general mean scores adds more insult to injury, especially due to the fact that those movies surpass this one in almost everything - from sheer imagination, to directing, to the raw emotion poured into them, etc.
All in all, there really isn’t much else to say about this movie. It is not memorable in the slightest, bordering on nauseating boredom. The animation has not aged well at all, and the soundtrack is neither striking nor helps in making the scenes better. It’s technicalities would have been forgiven if it had a good story or characters, but alas, it is boring and trite, especially for those who have seen many other Ghibli movies, which have taken the same exact premise and executed it in a much better fashion. Laputa is Ghibli’s first feature film, and the studio would go on to write and produce some of the best and most memorable Anime movies ever made, leaving this one in the dust, right where it belongs.
AndoCommando
Studio Ghibli is arguably one of the greatest anime film studios of all time, setting the standard for Japanese animation many times over since its inception. They are responsible for producing some of the best animated films ever seen; blessing anime fans with several classic films over the decades and creating countless spectacles along with them, many of which were made under the guidance of legendary director and Studio Ghibli founder, Hayao Miyazaki. Together, their library includes the likes of Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and of course the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away. But before all that, the studio giant had to begin somewhere. Andwhile both Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli were involved in the making of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, their first official film was released in 1986: that film being Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa, more commonly known as Castle in the Sky.
The tale of Ghibli’s first feature film is set in a world parallel to ours, except here there is a much greater focus on, you guessed it, the skies. Floating castles, gigantic airships and pirates in the sky are all featured prominently over the film’s 2-hour runtime and in the sky is where we find our heroine of the story, Sheeta. She is held against her will in an airship when suddenly, pirates attack in an attempt to kidnap the girl. However, through all the commotion, Sheeta slips and falls to what appears to be her death, only for her strange-looking necklace to glow and cause her to slowly descend towards the ground, where a young boy sees her and catches her. This all takes place before the 10-minute mark and already we are given so many questions to be answered throughout the film. But thankfully the film never tries to get complicated with the narrative. From the beginning we are thrown into this new, fantastical world that is begging to be explored and from there it takes us on an adventure where two children go out to find Laputa, the Castle in the Sky.
Some may find the overall narrative of Castle in the Sky simplistic, and I would agree with them, but simplistic does not equate to ‘not good’. For 2 hours, this film is full of action and adventure that will have you entertained from the start. This film is one of the few anime that I believe can be enjoyed by all ages and this is mostly because of its simplicity. Compared to other Ghibli films, Castle in the Sky is not trying to be an allegory of any kind, instead looking at the story’s sense of scale and adventure through the eyes of a child. While I would never consider it to be Miyazaki’s magnum opus in terms of his most developed, breath-taking or meaningful work, it is near-perfect for what it tries to be: an authentic vision of a childhood fantasy, that has the charm to bring out the child in anyone watching.
Studio Ghibli is responsible for creating some of the most enjoyable cinematic universes in animated form, as they seem to always be able to bring forth these rich, vivid settings that despite feeling similar, are each unique in their own way. Castle in the Sky is the first of a dozen examples of this. There are so many different working parts of this world of imaginative architecture, advanced technology and charismatic personalities. For this film specifically, Castle in the Sky manages to make a distorted version of the industrial revolution, featuring the likes advanced elaborate aircraft to giant robot guardians, seem like something made out of pure imagination as well as something we could very well see made in the not-so-distant future. It also features some environmental commentary towards the end if you are interested at all. But considering that this film was directed by Miyazaki, all of his familiar yet welcome quirks – strong, independent female characters, ecology, aviation and young children – are present in this film.
Speaking of the characters, the lead duo, whilst basic, fit this kind of story exceptionally well, fitting the orphaned child archetype whilst coming off as sympathetic protagonist that you want to see succeed in their dangerous quest. The boy who found Sheet in the beginning is Pazu, who is trying to find the castle in the sky as his father years before had seen, but was disregarded as a liar by those around him. Pazu has a clear goal in the film, and Sheeta is like Pazu’s angel, literally falling into his life in the beginning and supporting him, while also looking out for his safety. Sheeta also changes overtime in the film, slowly but surely becoming more independent and confident, common characteristics of Miyazaki’s heroines. The rest of the characters however are rather one-note and interchangeable. They still play their part well for a film like this, but I am disappointed that they were not as memorable as anything else in the movie.
Regarding the production side of Caste in the Sky, it is everything that you would expect from Studio Ghibli. The animation is beautiful, even for today’s standards which, for a 1986 movie is a pretty amazing feat. Throughout the entire film there is no lack in artistry; the backgrounds, characters and sequences all look great. Laputa also happens to be blessed with wonderful cinematography, capturing the overall look of the fantasy epic in every action scene this movie has to offer.
As for the music; it sounds stunning! The entire soundtrack fits the tone and style that this movie has, and it is not surprising given that Joe Hisaishi was behind the music. Hisaishi did a great job with the entire soundtrack. If there were any issue on the soundtrack however, it would be that there is no standout themes there, at least in my opinion. Some people really love the main theme for Castle in the Sky, but to me, it cannot compare to some of his other tracks like Legend of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke. The English dub for this is also solid, but given that Disney was behind the dub, it should come as no surprise it would be anything but. The dub can make the two leads sounds more mature than their character implies, but in no way does it detract from the overall enjoyment you will have when watching this Ghibli classic.
If I haven’t made it obvious enough, Castle in the Sky is a film that despite the score, means a lot to me as a fan of anime. It is a very well-executed adventure story that is not hindered by age, and as long as you watch it for what it is: an adventure, you will enjoy it. There is more that I could talk about regarding this film, but that would be at the cost of spoilers and I want everyone who reads this that has not seen Castle in the Sky to go into it as blind as possible. It is essentially the film that put Ghibli on the map, and set the standard for what you should expect from one of the greatest anime studios of all time.
AironicallyHuman
'Laputa: Castle in the Sky' is incredibly similar to a much loved TV series from years gone by called 'Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'... which is hardly shocking when you consider that Miyazaki, the director of Laputa, came up with the idea that later became Nadia! In case you are unaware, the story of Nadia and its titular heroine goes like this: a girl wearing a mysterious pendant is being pursued by people, including a secret organization, because of the pendant's power. Somehow, it is connected the mythical lost land of Atlantis. Nadia spends most of her time running with a boy, whom happens tobe an inventor, in an attempt to evade her pursuers.
And in case you are curious why this is at all relevant: if you were to replace the above with Laputa, you would have close to the same basic plot blurb. I actually prefer Nadia because of the additional Anno (director/creator of psychological trauma series Evangelion) characterisation and far more relatable characters. Miyazaki's characters mostly tend to feel very... hollow to me. The magic of adventure typically mask the failings of his characters. I honestly can not even recall the names of Laputa's lead duo!
Laputa's first half was far from amazing. A girl falls from the sky, gets found by a boy, they bond WAAAAY too quickly and end up running away together. The girl then gets captured and the boy saves her... that pretty much sums it up. It was predictable and I was left unable able to connect with either of them because of the lack of development; the focus being almost entirely on running away from people in impressively animated sequences. This is where being a movie instead of a TV series really hurt the narrative.
The second half was much improved, thankfully. The duo join a pirate ship and, for a short period, the focus switches to the smaller picture for some downtime. Then, the story finally reaches the titular castle in the sky. This reminded me the themes of adventure and exploration seen during my younger days in PS1 JRPG Grandia, where a young adventurer sets off on a journey in order to reach Alent--a place of legend no-one knows if is real. It was not quite as exciting reaching the castle in the sky in Laputa because it had not taken much time or effort for the to reach it (at least not when compared to longer works), but it did make me feel kind of nostalgic and immersed me in the world more.
With the castle in the sky's reveal, the story became much more interesting and difficult to predict. There was still the same running away and chasing loop that had gone before, but the new and unknown setting made it come across in a different light. Where as I had been able to take breaks earlier because of a lack of interest, my eyes were now glued to the screen. And, while some of what occurred at the end was a tad too convenient (the placement of a ship, for example), it did leave me satisfied overall. It would have been nice if an epilogue had been added in after the credits, mind you.
In summary: Laputa is definitely a classic worthy of its praise, complete with Ghibli's trademark art-style and enough visual splendor to compensate for many of its failings. I would not go so far as to call it perfect due to me being unable to connect with the lead duo due to a serious lack of time spent on development, and the first half was rather boring side at times. However, it is hard to deny that Laputa is a charming film that has aged well, both in terms of the visuals and story.
If you are a fan of adventure stories, you should definitely watch it at least once.
1buki_Mioda
Last night I watched Castle in the Sky with my club, and after having watched Spirited Away for the last movie night, I was excited for another Miyazaki film. I have to say though, I'm very disappointed. I want to start by saying that I didn't watch Ghibli movies as a kid. I know a lot of people who say they love Ghibli movies but I suspect that that was because of nostalgia, and they aren't realizing that each of these movies needs to be judged with a more critical, mature eye. I liked Spirited Away a lot, but Castle in the Sky is just worse itpretty much every way. But let's talk about the good first.
The music is fine. Good, even. It's not as good as Spirited Away's but the main theme is pretty good and helps make some otherwise awkward moments feel a bit more dramatic. And the art style, outside of some weird moments where it just changes for no reason, is really nice.
But onto the awful parts of the movie: there is not a single - not one - good character in this entire film. The best character is probably the robots, but they don't really count. The main characters are just dumb and naive, and its really annoying to watch them constantly fall for the villain's plan just to win off of deus ex machina or whatever. It's actually infuriating watching this movie, I swear.
The main villain is so annoying and mustache twirling that I can't take a thingle sing he does seriously. It's actually impressive how terrible this is. Pretty much nothing about him is interesting or unique or original, even back when the movie first came out. He's just... bad. Really, really, really, really, really, really bad.
The world of the movie is also just not interesting. It's so hard to tell what time period it's supposed to be set in, because you have clearly fantastical towns mixed with modern military and steampunk airships, alongside a magical floating castle and robots and whatever? It feels like Breath of the Wild minus any of the consistency of Zelda's world. Honestly just appalled at how fucking terrible this movie is made.
If you like Ghibli, watch this film and you'll probably like the art and music like I did. But if you just want a good anime movie, I would not recommend.
angelsreview
I feel like the studio and Director would be a give away that this would be good. I don’t know what to fully talk about as everything about this show is amazing from the story to the animation to the dub. Even the comedy doesn’t get in the way of the great story that lies within this show. Only one or two things bother me but they aren’t that big, like when Pazu jumps off his house and ends up breaking through bricks into his basement with no broken bones or nothing. Of course, these problems are minor and don’t happen all that much. Miyazaki seemsto always have a moral to his stories, this is no different. I think the moral is that any civilization can fall if they think they are to powerful. Laputa, a place that seemed like it was a perfect place had power, wealth, and even a sense of magic. They had something special but even they ended up falling. The story line is full of spoilers if I try to explain even more but there is a beautiful story that is as mysterious as it is sad and thoughtful.
The animation is so beautiful and stands up even to this day. All hand done with so much detail and the painting of the backgrounds… I could just go on. If you seen others by Miyazaki, you know his style and he never falters. This is one of those times where I just feel speechless to how wonderful his style of art is, the colors just pop even though at times they do end up taking very small short cuts. I also didn’t really notice any times where the characters would just stop moving for a very long time with only their mouths moving. He would have them moving even slightly and it would feel realistic. There are even small things like how a character would eat from the dainty way Sheeta eats to the mess that Dola’s sons make. One thing I did notice (And it’s a slight spoiler I guess) is that his characters sometimes look better with short hair then with long hair. Not telling you what that means but you will find out. The opening is much different then the actual show, feeling more like it was done in a rather old style, highly detailed, even more so then the animation and like they were from detailed renders.
The music is so beautiful, with amazing orchestral sounds that you could just fall asleep to. I love everything about Studio Ghibi’s work and the music is one of those that I wish I had all the soundtracks. They do not let much go past them that isn’t quality controlled. I could listen to it for days without it getting boring. The English dub is spot on, I’m extremely happy it didn’t turn into a flop like one of their first tries for English translation.
If you have not seen this yet, you have to see it soon. It’s a must watch.
NeonKazma
A friend of mine told me to see a 1986 anime called Castle In The Sky, due to that he went apeshit over it and begged me to see it (can't say no to a friend i guess..). So I sat down and watched Castle In The Sky, one of Miyazaki's most phenomenal work to date and it is quite an effort that he made. Castle In The Sky continues the tradition of art and storytelling to new heights, thanks to Miyazaki's wonderful written characters, engaging story and mystery to the floating city of Laputa. So let's get started. (Fun Fact: The name "Laputa" wasmentioned in the story of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift).
Castle In The Sky is about Pazu (voiced by James Van Der Beek), a young boy who sees a girl falling from the sky very slowly towards the earth and Pazu catches her in the nick of time. Pazu takes the girl to his home and when she wakes up, the both meet in the ceiling of Pazu's house. The girl is named Sheeta (voiced by Anna Paquin) and she is also alone with no parents, but she has a crystal pendant as a necklace and was a gift from her mother. Sheeta then sees a picture of a floating castle in the sky and Pazu tells Sheeta that it was a picture of the city of Laputa, a city that it was made for flying, but got destroyed by some catastrophe and years later, Pazu's father was the one who saw the city of Laputa and took the picture, but nobody believes him and called him a liar and a fraud, in which it lead to his death. However, their conversation get interrupted, as Pazu and Sheeta get chased by a band of air pirates, led by a very awesome mother named Captain Dola (voiced by Cloris Leachman) and they also get chased by military personnel and a government agent named Colonel Muska (voiced by Mark Hammil). During an epic action sequence on the military base, Pazu, now befriending the pirates to help them get treasure, and Sheeta fly together and they fly to the city of Laputa, where Pazu can finally prove that the city exists. But when Muska gets to Laputa and threatens to kill all humankind, Pazu and Sheeta must work together to stop Muska to save all the things that matters in the world.
Castle In The Sky has a very simple plot, but with a very complex message about the consequences of technology and that no matter how many things we can do with technology in this world (like making weapons, missiles, tanks or anything technology based), the planet cannot live without harmony and love, and we must let go of our past to move and make things better if we want to survive as a human race. The characters are fantastic, i love Dola and she is very funny, but also a very deep hearted person that has more faith in our main heroes. i also love Dola's family of pirates, in which they are full with personalities and very nice charisma, but Colonel Muska steals the show as the main antagonist. Muska is a bastard, constantly stalking Sheeta and Pazu as the heroes find the city of Laputa for his own secret agenda and let me tell ya, the twist that reveals Muska's agenda will slap the living fuck out of you (Don't worry I will not spoil this). The main heroes, Sheeta and Pazu are fantastic in this movie as well and their chemistry works really well through the entire film and of their big stand out moment was the climax and again, I will not spoil it, but it's just epic.
The animation by Studio Ghibli is outstanding to look at and I goddamn love the effort and imagination that the animators put on the film. The detail and structure of the land of Laputa is breathtaking to admire, with it's architecture that feels grand and where it's made to be a floating flying city, it's really magnificent to witness and the garden in Laputa.... Jesus Christ! It looks like Heaven to the eyes. Character models are expressive and full of different but well drawn character models to boot and this was a film in 1986 and it still looks damn good. The action set-pieces are very fun, like how the film starts with a bang, where pirates invade the airship and how Sheeta must escape from them or the part where the robot awakens and causes killer destruction to the base, while trying to protect Sheeta as well. The soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is amazing as well and it's very overlooked by many music fans, but it really shouldn't be overlooked, cause it's just breathtaking to hear it and it really sets the mood for the movie, so what the hell?!. Overall, Castle In The Sky is engaging, wonderful and just an imaginative piece of work, it's Miyazaki at his best and well worth the look, if you're a major Miyazaki geek and anime fan for that matter.
Narudatsu
First of all, this is Hayao Miyazaki. Nothing is bad. Let's just all understand that. Me personally, this was my first Studio Ghibli film. I was swept away. Introduction: The story is about a boy named Patsu and a girl named Sheeta who are in search of Laputa, the Castle in the Sky. They encounter dangers and triumphs in their journey there. But, something else is brewing. When they meet, Patsu notices a peculiar necklace worn by Sheeta. Could this necklace change their fates? Story - 10: Such a unique story. The idea of a journey to a castle in the sky is definitely fairytail style. Iloved the story itself. It was very clear and easy to understand. In addition, the story can fit into a lot of categories. Adventure, Romance, Tragedy, Slice of Life just to name a few. The story feels timeless and every time I watch this, I just feel like a 6 year old (first time I ever watched this movie).
Art - 10: Gorgeous characters and animations. It fits the kid-like tone to the storyline.
Sound - 9: This movie is old so the sound on it isn't as spectacular as newer movies and animes. The sound effects are old but I guess it would've been top of the line back in the 1980s.
Characters - 10: There are only a few characters that I actually remember from all the mangas and animes I've encountered. I can easily remember every character from this movie. Each character is unique and doesn't remind me of anyone else from other stories. They're colorful, young, bright, and courageous. Everyone, from the worst bad guy, to the heroes of the story.
Enjoyment - 10: I've watched this movie at least 10x in 2012. Not counting the times before then. It's magical every single time. I don't often watch movies over and over. This is one I can watch at least 9001 times. Every second is a masterpiece.
Overall - 10: I can't say much else about this movie. I can recommend this without a 2nd thought to anybody. Heck I can walk down 5th Ave and talk to every single person about this movie. It's just that amazing.
Wildflower3
My mind played a trick on me, convincing me I watched this when I was a child. Guess I was wrong (or I really can’t remember it at all). So before reading this review please note that there is no nostalgia involved which will clearly affect my rating as well. Animation 7/10 As expected from Studio Ghibli movies the art is beautiful and makes you feel like you entered a completely different world. However, compared to other Ghibli movies I watched, it seems to lack in some aspects. It’s still beautiful and lovely. Especially considering the time this movie was made. I’m sure it wasa milestone for future movies in many aspects.
Story 6/10
I can really see the appeal this movie had for many people and that it was ahead of its time. So a part of me understands why it’s so popular and beloved among anime fans. That being said… For as much as it was hyped to watch it I’d have expected more and ended up being disappointed when it comes to the plot. With most of these movies they appeal of course to children but watching them as an adult makes you view them from a different perspective, making them as intriguing (if not even more). That’s what makes a good children’s movie or book. If it can still be enjoyed by an older audience. Not implying it’s a bad story but personally I felt it wasn’t really captivating. So in itself the story was rather average. Girl who is special because of her roots, a mystic artifact many people are after and two orphans who bond during their adventure and develop a beautiful friendship. Which is really nice but unfortunately the most focus of this story was on the chasing as well as on the more “action” loaded scenes, making the story weaker than it could have been without that (or at least a little less chasing). Like I’ve mentioned before I have no nostalgia for this movie so I’d probably feel different about it if I had. But to me it’s more for kids than for adults who enjoy anime (and this comes form someone who absolutely loves fairytales and even some kids shows. To be fair towards most of them I still feel very nostalgic). My point is that I don’t really get the hype this movie got in the past while at the same time I kind of understand. At least when it comes to personal attachment you have to something you watched in the past (sorry if this doesn’t make any sense to you). The time-frame in which it was set was also a little confusing to me. On one hand it seemed to play in the past and then we had Sci-Fi elements which I wish would have been explored a little bit more (but I guess that was simply to show how different and advanced people from Laputa were).
Characters 6/10
Except for the pirates maybe, most of the characters seemed rather blank to me. And while I liked Pazu and Sheeta as well as their friendship, they didn’t seem fleshed out enough. At least for being the main characters. Pazu had a little more depth because what I could really appreciate about him was the fact that in the beginning he didn’t ask questions, he simply accepted Sheeta’s situation and helped her regardless of what it meant for him (then again it lead him to an adventure he was striving for to begin with and while he worked hard before it didn’t seem to matter to him). But the main villain was probably among the worst I’ve ever seen. You could smell his schemes miles away. And even the reveal about his own background fell flat to me. Like at that point I didn’t even care about him anymore. But once again I want to point out how much I loved the pirates. As much as I hated them in the beginning because they were the stereotypical bad guys. They still were at the end of the movie but I simply love them. Especially Dola. There’s only one tiny detail that bothered me… The pirates going on about how cute Sheeta was. How old was she supposed to be? Maybe 11? It crept me out a little to be honest. But I really want to believe it was simply to show they had a soft side to them.
Music 10/10
Music and themes is really something Ghibli movies can’t do wrong in my opinion. There is nothing more to say. Except for maybe I’ll listen to the OST more than I’d rewatch this movie.
Overall 6/10
If you would ask me if I would recommend this movie I’d be torn. Because I don’t think it’s a waste of time but I also didn’t enjoy myself. For me it was a movie I always wanted to watch (mostly due to the hype and high expectations this fostered). So if you go into this not knowing anything about the movie, maybe don’t expect too much. Because I think it’s mainly this beloved because of nostalgia and those who can see its value. I think maybe you should judge it for yourself and maybe you will end up loving it and having an entire different opinion about it. One thing I’m going to admit is that I think this movie changed a lot and had to exist so other beautiful anime movies could be created. This alone makes it worth it in my opinion. (Still, probably never going to re-watch it).
Chi-Chibi
This was my first anime EVER and my gateway to the anime world. So I have a very high respect for it in those regards. Story: 9 I love the story and I think it was very interesting. I first came across this movie while browsing pictures on the internet. I was searching for cartoon adventure pics of some sort and when I saw the sophisticated style of the castle in the sky pics I was very impressed. The story looked interesting and the art was outstanding. So I read a brief synopsis of the story, however, I misinterpreted it to be that Sheeta, the heroinefell of Laputa rather then the airship, but nevermind that.
Art: 10
Like I said, the art was stunning. Especially after having searched through cartoons and then finding that. It was detailed, clear, and realistic in a cartoonish sort of way and I loved it!
Sound: 10
Awesome soundtrack composed by Joe Hisaishi. Awesome voices, even for the dub. Loved it.
Character: 9
The characters pretty deep from this anime although I don't believe they reached perfection.
Enjoyment: 10
This is my most watched anime to this date (I've seen it over 30 times) and I've started making sure to watch it at least once every other month, as I owe a lot to it.
Overall: 10
Please watch. You'll enjoy. Although being by Miyazaki and all, I'm not sure I need to tell you that lol. ^-^
-Zero-Requiem-
Miyazaki's Masterpiece. Many consider "spirited away" to be Mr. Miyazaki's finest product of art. I may be in the minority here, but I think "The castle in the sky" is far better in every single way. The first thing that may come to mind when talking about this movie, is it's music. It is euphoric and phenomenal. It matches the atmosphere perfectly. The imagery and cinematography is also excellent. Miyazaki is well known for his animation, even his weakest movies has some of the best animation ever put to screen, and this movie is no exception. Like many other Miyazaki movie, the mystical and wondrous aspectof the movie is often in the spotlight. However, where the story lies strongest is in the tone and feel of an adventure. When you're done watching it, you'll feel like you've been on something special. You'll wish that these characters and places were real, much like so in Harry Potter. I also enjoy the philosophical commentary in this movie. It may seem as if I'm just gushing about this movie, but I do not have any real problems with the movie. The only con I can come up with is the English dub. The English version has done som excellent changes to some of the music near the end, but the voice-acting are not very believeble especially do to their age. I reccommend the japanese version far more. I love everything about this movie, the characters the music, the imagery, the story and also the creativity. It may not be the best animated movie ever made, but it IS my favorite.
BurrZurrCarr
This is what started it all for me. This is the first movie that I ever watched that truly lifted me off my feet, sucked me into it's world, and made me never want to leave. For reviews about stuff I like, I try to highlight the stuff I don't like to make it more evenly balanced and try to weigh the good and the bad more evenly with each other, but I think this review kind of broke my objective perspective a little bit. I just love this movie to damn much. Story 9/10: Although not perfect, there aren't any major noticeable problems or potholes that Ican point out. The story does a great job of giving things a reason to happen, and for the most part everything that does happen makes sense in it's universe. The only improvement I could offer would be to make the entire story longer to stretch out the narrative and give the hypersonic speed of the plot a little more room to breath.
Art 10/10: This was made well over 30 years ago, but you could honestly tell me the animation was made last month and I would believe you. The color pallet was beautiful, the character designs where inventive and easily distinguishable, and all the mechanical moving parts were outstanding. Nothing to say here besides amazing.
Sound 10/10: The opening theme alone is enough to give this a 10. I realize this is more subjective, but Girl Who Fell From The Sky is probably my favorite single piece of OST of all time, and it still send chills down my spine when I hear it. The rest of the soundtrack ranges between perfect and perfecter, no complaints here whatsoever. Disliking the soundtrack to this should be classified as a cardinal sin.
Character 8/10: I don't feel they deserve a 7, but anything above 8 just isn't fair. The weakest link in this movie by a landslide. Not because they're bad, but because everything else in this movie stands miles above the bar, even by today's standards. The movie is so laser focused on showing you everything all at once and wowing you with an amazing spectacle of animation and world building, they almost forgot about the characters necessary to pull it off in the first place. It feels like they never have enough time to fully flesh out the characters to the extent I would have preferred, but I won't count that against the movie that hard; it's extremely difficult to do anything even resembling this with only 2 hours of runtime, and they did a great job with what they had to work with. The main characters get the short end of the stick for this movie, and have the common Shonen trait of being the least interesting people in their own story. The rest of the cast was amazing though, but lets talk about the MCs:
Pazu: Teeters between being a gigachad knight in shining armor and a straight up overpowered Gary Stu, and he occasionally makes decisions that don't entirely make sense. However, he never does anything that would actively slow down the plot or wouldn't make sense for his character. Overall, he did a good job, but was definitely not perfect and I could understand why people might dislike him.
Sheeta: A damsel in destress, and moves the plot forward by having Pazu saving her over and over again. She wasn't that bad though, she did things that made sense for the most part as well, had a decent character arch, and great chemistry with Pazu and the rest of the cast.
Enjoyment 10(11?)/10: It's one of the greatest works of pure escapism I've ever had the joy of diving headfirst into, to say I enjoyed this would be an understatement. It starts off fast, and ends faster. Everything about this movie bleeds action, adventure, and a childlike sense of wonder, exploration, and discovery.
Overall: 10/10: While I realize it's not everyone's Magnum Opus, you'd have to be made of stone to genuinely not feel anything watching this masterpiece. I saw this movie when I was 10, and I vividly remember this being THE thing that sparked my fascination with storytelling as a whole. Watched this 7 years later, it's still just as wonderful. Do yourself a favor, and set aside 2 hours to bask in the glory of this film, however cheesy it may be.
kekekeKaj
When I originally watched "Laputa: Castle in the Sky", it felt pretty similar to the rest of Miyazaki's works, but now that I'm older, watched more of his films and more anime in general and written more reviews, I've come to realise that it does contain quite a few elements that are not the norm for his other works. At the time of viewing, I could feel a kind of raw, unbridled joy radiating from the film that's missing especially from Miyazaki's later, more polished works. Now I realise that it's because this film is unburdened by the usual heavy, central moral message that is foundin most of his films. It's a film that, at its heart, is just about innocent, lighthearted fun.
Another thing that's different is the cast that make up the film. But at first it looked for the world like the main characters are a text book copy of the ones from other Miyazaki stories. I was like: oh god, not another female lead... and one who unsurprisingly has a similar appearance to all the other female leads that Miyazaki's ever created. Sheeta, the character in question, could be easily passed off as the sister of Nausicaa from "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" and Kiki from "Kiki's Delivery Service". I remember inwardly suppressing another groan when more unsurprises followed as the typical main girl is joined by a typical boy sidekick named Pazu. But luckily, the way this relationship is fleshed out is a bit different. In this film, Sheeta has a much more vulnerable air about her than the other Miyazki heroines, and as a result the Pazu has to fill a much more central role than the other typical Miyazaki's boy sidekicks to try and protect her. It is perhaps because of this that the bond between them feels unusually strong, and is coloured by a hint of rose tinted romance. Interestingly, "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" also has one of the very few real villains found in Studio Ghibli films.
It occurred to me while watching this film that it's probably provided the inspiration for one of my favourite anime "Last Exile". Part of this gave off a very similar vibe to "Last Exile". The feel of a grand, epic fairy tale, Pazu's ambitions to follow in his dad's footsteps (his dad was a pilot) and achieve the dream that his dad was reaching for, and the whole fabulous sense of the joy found in flying across the skies, all these aspects from this old film are reflected in that modern series... even the feel of the music used is similar.
"Laputa: Castle in the Sky" is thrilling ride from start to finish, it's a family epic of a film that's hard to beat when it comes to pure, lighthearted entertainment. It's the kind of film that you can just sit back and enjoy without reservation.
Skarmory
*Review based on the English Dub* I loved this movie! The characters were great. I loved how the story played out. The music was fantastic. The animation is magnificent for the time period it was made. And what I really loved the most was the hilarious dialogue! I'm not sure if that was there in the original Japanese, but it was very good dialogue and voice acting. The Miyazaki staple of having really really disturbing and unexplained weird stuff does not show up in this movie. It's definitely a more normal movie, just animated. Because of that this is a great movie to introduce people who arenot familiar with Japanese animation.
If after watching Spirited Away you were like: "Well that was disturbing, if all of Miyazaki's movies are like this I'm not sure if I wanna watch anymore." I'd watch this one next.
LibraOtaku
Castle In The Sky is an intriguing story about a 13 year old girl called Sheeta, who has a magic necklace, that can save her, and help her when she needs it. At the beginning, she falls over an airship, into the arms of a 13 year old boy called Pazu. Anyway, i'm not saying anything else in case you are reading this and you haven't seen the film, but I would definitely recommend it. It is a great film Oh, and if you like Castle In The Sky, then you might also like Whisper Of The Heart :)
ggultra2764
Laputa is notable among long-time anime fans as being the first official Studio Ghibli film made in 1986. This steampunk fantasy-adventure film focuses on our main pairing of Pazu and Sheeta seeking out the whereabouts of the mysterious land in the sky, Laputa, while evading both a gang of sky pirates and members of the military seeking Sheeta to guide them to Laputa for their own varying ends. With this plot, Laputa builds up its plot development around Sheeta's connection to the titular floating island and those concerned for her well-being getting dragged into the conflict. The movie's two hour length provides enough time to exploreits world, flesh out Sheeta's origins, and explore the motives of the sky pirates and military for desiring Sheeta. Pazu and Sheeta get fleshed out that explore their back story and get some development with both their relationship and growth throughout the span of the movie with their adventure. The sky pirates are also shown to have their redeemable traits when our pairing ally with them later in the film against Muska and the military. The movie is unique in that it is a rare Ghibli film to have a clear villain in the form of Muska, who is sadly not too intriguing as a character due to his typical manipulative and power-hungry character type. The ending is also somewhat of a letdown with its rather convenient resolution to the film's conflict.
Presentation-wise, Laputa sports great quality animation that still holds up remarkably well today in spite of being over 30 years old. The film sports gorgeous scenic shots and the typical character designs employed with Ghibli's animation style. There is consistent fluid movement depicted throughout the span of the movie, this impressively shown during many of Laputa's flight scenes involving airships, the flying devices of the air pirates, and the technology employed by the titular flying island. Musically, the film consists of mysterious, tense and dramatic tracks masterfully composed by Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi, as the tracks fit in seamlessly with all of Laputa's notable scenes.
Overall, Laputa made for an engaging fantasy-adventure film delving into the mystery surrounding the titular floating island and Sheeta's connection to it. It is a definite recommendation for fans of Studio Ghibli's works.
xm0123
The summer of 2007 was when I stopped hating anime. You can thank the older Fullmetal Alchemist series and Adult Swim for that. But while FMA proved to me that anime didn’t have to be a merchandise vehicle (Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh) or an “edgy” OVA, it wasn’t truly earth shattering. That didn’t come until a month or so after that fateful evening I first watched FMA. I went to Hollywood Video sometime during that summer. Yes, video stores still existed back then, and I did remember that they carried anime. I decided to check around the store, hoping beyond all hopes that they would have somethingother than Dragon Ball Z movies. To my luck, there were DVDs of movies from a guy called Hayao Miyazaki. I knew Miyazaki because one of his movies won an Oscar, and I remember English-speaking anime fans lost their shit when that happened. That movie, Spirited Away, was there, but I had something else in mind. An acquaintance of mine was using the internet in high school (we had free time) one fine day, and he was looking up top-rated anime to watch. I saw one of the ones he was looking at: Castle in the Sky. The article said that Castle in the Sky was “The Casablanca of anime.” Because of that, I rented Castle in the Sky.
First correction: Porco Rosso is the Miyazaki movie like Casablanca, not Castle in the Sky. Whoever wrote that article was a noob. Second correction: Castle in the Sky is too good to be compared to anything else, even a masterpiece like Casablanca.
When I finished watching Castle in the Sky for the first time, I left my house and went for a walk. My mind couldn’t stop thinking about the movie. Not only that, I felt something I rarely felt when experiencing a work of fiction; a renewed purpose in life. I thought about the world we live in, how beautiful and delicate it was. I thought about civilizations, how they built many great things, but were often toppled by the greed and cruelty of destructive men. I thought about all the Japanese video games I had played that were clearly inspired by Castle in the Sky, how a lost culture would leave behind technology that could be used for both good and ill. But above all else, I thought about the movie’s message about compassion, compassion for people, nature, and technology.
I feel no need to summarize Castle in the Sky. It’s a single movie, not a lengthy series. It’s the first movie under the Studio Ghibli banner; even people that avoid anime (like my younger self) would make an exception for this. And, while it’s not a multi-part epic like Fullmetal Alchemist or even Miyazaki’s own Nausicaa manga, (Also highly recommended by me!) Castle in the Sky is still an epic. It achieves this by doing something most other animated films aren’t; be long. It’s two hours long. Most animated films are less than 90 minutes in length. It makes sense, for animated film is time-consuming to make, and they are often for children, and children have short attention spans. Yet here comes Castle in the Sky, also for children, yet manages to weave a wonderful world setting that most fantasy movies should be jealous of. The world is like ours, but it isn’t. There are steam-powered machines, flying ships, guns, cameras, and other early twentieth century technology, yet there is also the civilization of Laputa, with its mysterious, almost god-like technology, technology that inspires both awe and fear. The film manages to convey so much without wasting a single second of screentime, allowing the runtime to go by much faster than it ought to.
I first saw the movie on DVD. Early 2000s DVD technology is a disservice to the works of Studio Ghibli. Do not watch this movie in anything less than a 1080p resolution. Artistically, it is not the best-looking Ghibli movie ever. By anyone else’s standards, nearly every shot of this film is a work of art onto itself. Most of the film is far more smoothly animated that nearly every other work of animation at the time, and even the scenes with less-fluid animation honestly don’t look that much worse than the rest of the film.
The character art is typical Ghibli: simple faces and hair, nice variety of clothes, semi-realistic eye size. Simple and effective. In this day and age of rushed moe artwork, Ghibli character and vehicle designs have stood the test of time by not trying to be marketable or gimmicky or anything other than what they are. They just…are. The art suits the story, not anything else. The camera movements suit the story, not to show off anything cool. Most people, myself included, go on and on about the beauty of Ghibli, but that aesthetic appeal is just a side bonus: everything is in service of the script. It’s just that the scenario Miyazaki conceived of requires painstaking attention to detail, especially the background art.
Oh boy, the background art. This, more than anything else, is where Ghibli is number one in the anime industry. If you’re not convinced of this opinion of mine, take note of my favorite scene in the movie, that being when Pazu and Sheeta finally arrive at Laputa. Words cannot describe the majesty of Laputa, its forests, its robotic guardians, the creatures that thrive long after the humans abandoned Laputa, all of which comes to extremely vivid life thanks to Ghibli’s impeccable background illustrations. No matter how many times I see this movie, my mind is in awe of this scene, and my heart is lightened by the beauty of what was and still is.
I first saw this movie with the English dub that Disney recorded in the late 1990s. It’s the one with Cloris Leachman as Dola and Mark Hamill as Muska. It isn’t the best dub that Disney did for Ghibli—heck, it’s probably the “worst” one they did—yet it’s grown on me by sounding both natural and well-casted, especially when compared to nearly every other English dub from that time. I’ve also seen it in Japanese, but I’ve come to prefer Castle in the Sky in English, as it’s easier for me to laugh at the funny moments when I don’t need subtitles. Miyazaki has said he would prefer his movies be watched in whatever language the audience is most fluent in, so if anything, I’m honoring the author’s wish in doing so.
Then there’s the soundtrack. There’s two, both by the inimitable Joe Hisashi. The original synthesized 80s score, and the 90s re-orchestration. Debates abound over which one is better. Both are masterful, but I prefer the 90s score, as I feel it suits the epic nature of Laupta better, but that’s just personal preference. If you buy the blu-ray copy from Gkids, you can actually change which score to use if you want to watch the English dub. Options!
I don’t have a single favorite movie of all time. I once tried to write a list of top-ten favorite movies of all time, and yes, Castle in the Sky was on it, but I still didn’t find it satisfactory. (I really have something more like a top 40 favorite movies of all time list). I can safely say it’s both my favorite animated theatrical film and my favorite adventure film. Think about that for a moment: a children’s cartoon from Japan is a better adventure movie than all of the Indiana Jones movies. Indy never made me care about preserving the environment. This is a movie that, in my view, stands shoulder-to-shoulder with films like Raging Bull, Schindler’s List, Spider-Man 2, On the Waterfront, and Inside Out.
If you don’t know where to start with Ghibli’s library, start with Castle in the Sky. I did fourteen years ago, and I won’t regret doing so for as long as I live.
