ehalcomb: Laputa: Castle in the Sky || Anime Movie Review

Studio Ghibli is a special snowflake in that their movies are the only ones that I can have conversations about to just about anyone as almost everyone has seen or at least heard about one of the studio's movies. As some may know, Studio Ghibli's 'lost' film from 1991 is finally getting a U.S. release in late February of this year. In order to honor this movie's release and the potential end of the studio entirely, I am going to review every single Studio Ghibli movie. First off is one of my personal favorites, Castle in the Sky.

Objectively, Castle in the Sky is a pretty simple movie. In a way we've seen it many times as it is based loosely on the story of Gulliver's Travels. A young girl named Sheeta has a necklace that just happens to be a key to the ancient floating city of Laputa which our main hero, Pazu, has always dreamed of seeing for himself. The problem, however, is that two other parties are also on the trail of the city and need the key to get in. This puts Pazu and Sheeta in all sorts of dangerous situations and while Sheeta is in the hands of the military's nefarious General Muska, Pazu needs to team up with a band of sky pirates who also want get to the ancient land. So yeah; simple.

For Miyazaki's first big-budget theatrical release, the way he directs the action in this film is marvelous. Whenever somebody gets hit with a bullet or ship gets rammed at the side by another the audience feels the impact. Something about the camera angles and blur lines are simply very engaging to watch. The are also very vibrant, especially in the flying segments, and makes the important parts of the scenes really pop out. This is very noticeable when all involved properties land on Laputa. The top half is mostly a lush green with hints of tan and bright lights that make it feel like a living place. The characters are all very expressive and have an important role in the story. Besides Sheeta for about the first half of the movie. It was interesting seeing her learning about her past and the land of Laputa but as for her personality, there just isn't anything real special about her until she stands up for herself in the last act. Her accent is just a little bit jarring, too. Every other character has an American accent (in the English dub, of course) except for Sheeta, who has a distinct Australian accent. Mark Hamill as Muska is also disappointing as he doesn't have a whole lot of memorable lines and his voice inflection barely changes. I have no problem with the other characters, however. They are all memorable and fun.

Laputa: Castle in the Sky is wonderful adventure that I can watch over and over again. Memorable characters and great action is a trend the Miyazaki and will continue in his follow-up films.

Laputa was very fun!