The Essentials
Name: Castle in the Sky, Laputa
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: N/A
Released: August 2, 1986
Based On: N/A
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced By: Studio Ghibli
US Distribution By: Walt Disney
Major Japanese Cast
Sheeta: Keiko Yokozawa
Pazu: Mayumi Tanaka
Dola: Kotoe Hatsui
Colonel Muska: Nou Terada
General: Ichirô Nagai
Major English Cast
Sheeta: Anna Paquin
Pazu: James Van Der Beek
Dola: Cloris Leachman
Colonel Muska: Mark Hamill
General: Jim Cummings
Scores
Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 7/10 (x 5 = 35 pts)
Total: 148/180 (82.2%)
Review
Castle in the Sky is a movie about Sheeta, a girl who keeps a mysterious jewel around her neck - a jewel which it appears that both the military and a gang of pirates are after in order to reveal its secrets. The jewel reveals itself to have special powers after Sheeta falls off an airship but is saved when the jewel causes her to float down safely.
Pazu, a helper in a mine, catches the floating Sheeta and takes her to his house until she wakes up. Upon waking up and exploring the house, Sheeta sees a picture of the legendary floating island of Laputa. Pazu says that his father saw it, but was ridiculed as a liar by those who no longer believe that Laputa is real. Pazu says that he wants to prove that Laputa exists.
However, it’s not long until both the military and the pirates find Sheeta again and she and Pazu must run for it. What follows is an adventure filled story exposing the secret past of Sheeta, Laputa, and the men who wants Sheeta’s jewel.
There is some action and suspense, which gets heightened when the major twist in the story is revealed during the movie’s climax. Until the characters actually get to Laputa, the movie has a rather single minded plot: everyone is after Sheeta’s jewel. The military wants it because they want the power that Laputa possesses. The pirates want it because they believe (and rightfully so) that Laputa is full of treasure (a point that the military doesn’t miss either). Also, a mysterious man who is helping the military wants it for himself for his own person reasons as well.
While this film doesn’t have quite as strong of an environmentalist message as other Ghibli films, it still gives time to appreciate nature and one machine’s endless pursuit to keep the garden of Laputa upkept - a robot now immortalized as a model statue standing outside the Ghibli Museum.
Castle in the Sky is, overall, a pretty good family film. I didn’t think it was quite as exciting as other Ghibli films, but I still enjoyed it. The animation is pretty good considering it’s 1986 release and the music is excellent. The English dubs, as usual with Disney releases of Ghibli works, is very good as well. I think a lot of different people would enjoy this movie, young and old alike.
First Watched: March 2006
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes
Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #44 is now online! In this podcast, I review the movie Castle in the Sky.
