Castle in the Sky

I first saw this movie when it was released in US theaters as "Laputa the Floating Island." The mythical floating island of Laputa is taken from Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." Like Swift, Miyazaki cloaks a political statement with a fantasy, giving deeper meaning to his story. Environmentalism has always been central to his films, and "Castle in the Sky" is no exception.

Visual, the film is a literal flight of fancy. Much of the film takes place in the air. Air pirates travel in unwieldy flying machines. Giant dirigibles sail the skies. Travel by kite is an acceptable option. The animation is of the highest quality, as is the sound and acting.

The story may seem familiar to followers of animation. Miyazaki also work briefly on the script of "Nadia: Secret of Blue Water" using some of the same concepts. The story was also adapted by Disney as their film "Atlantis," sending the characters underground instead of up to the sky. However, "Castle in the Sky" is the story in it's original, best form.

I cannot recommend this film enough.


Anything But Trivial   May 23, 2004
Miguel B. Llora (Bay Point, California USA)
34 out of 53 found this review helpful

Miyazaki Hayao's Castle in the Sky is perhaps the most difficult but rewarding movie to watch, to contemplate on and to share one's thoughts about. Castle in the Sky is really a manga movie and not just your garden-variety animation offering either. Castle in the Sky moves forward on many levels and yet it pulls back on others. Castle in the Sky in a sense is trapped in its own circularity. Moreover, Miyazaki is a master at playing with the aesthetic of weightlessness. He uses 'natural elements' like the wind in place of a more mechanical source. Miyazaki compels us to consider the plundering of nature. He, moreover, asks us to pause and to reconsider man's need to conquer nature as well as the misuse of technologies. Like Sheeta we grapple with our own weightlessness, our own significance.

Castle in the Sky provides a sustained and critical assessment of our attitudes toward technology. Effectively this generation has inherited what technology it currently uses and lacks discipline and appreciation of the impact of our use of it. In moves similar to those made in Princess Mononoke, it is not so much technology that is the issue but rather the use (or misuse) we subject it to. The enemy is not technology but rather our use of technology that calls us to question our ideas on progress. In a sense, it could be argued that Miyazaki is nostalgic for a bygone era - to return to that zero point when we did not have technology on this scale. As mentioned previously, although less pronounced than Princess Mononoke, both stories converge in their subtle but sustained critique of progress and technology without really being a Romantic elegy of lost innocence. In this sense most anime can be seen to be exploring some postmodern themes -- but in my opinion only Princess Mononoke sustains a postmodern argument. Moreover, as a general rule anime takes into account issues of movement into its scenarios and players and the solutions are varied, of course, depending on specific anime sub-genre. However, there looks to be an overall tendency away from mechanical sources to sources of a more organic genesis. Although the use is more pronounced in Miyazaki's work, it is evident in the Cyborg and Mecha anime such as Ghost in the Shell, Akira and Armitage (all available on Amazon.com).

It could also be argued that both Castle in the Sky and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind are in a sense post-apocalyptic. In this sense most major anime offerings including: Barefoot Gen and Grave of the Fireflies calls to question the use of technology for destruction and ultimately domination. Miyazaki explores his Romantic notions by not only critiquing the use of advanced technology but by setting this movie in the early nineteenth century. The flying vessels all hearken back to a bygone era making the movie's signs almost period. This back and forth between technology and the bygone era disrupts a linear narrative making it, and I say this guardedly, postmodern.

Miyazaki's calling to the question the undisciplined use of technology elevates the movie beyond a good and evil bifurcation. Miyazaki calls to question the destructive force of unnatural creations and for domination by its users makes this (and all his other movies anything but trivial. The truth is, robots and similar technologies, are not in themselves the problem. It is rather to what use these implements are put. In anime we see moving scenes of robots protecting nests, befriending little animals as well as tending gardens as if we ascribe to these non-sentient beings the best of our qualities. Conversely, anime does not shy from the frightening scenes of the very same machines tearing up the countryside. With the juxtaposition, perhaps the mood is set to have us consider a back to nature approach.

Before I close, I wish to deal with the issue to the tragic and epic hero in Castle in the Sky. My sense of it is that Sheeta is, in a sense the epic heroine of the story in her reluctance and almost passive role in the movie. Castle in the Sky is steeped in an experience of floating, gliding and soaring -- hence weightlessness. Sheeta's flying stone is a passive tool in that it prevents her from falling. Sheeta does not fly. In Miyazaki's work -- like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service flying is a way to achieve weightlessness. Here, Pazu is the one who seeks to soar -- making him seem somewhat of an active but tragic hero. Flying is a key element in Miyazaki?s films and it is the flying machines that are less mechanical and more organic that are privileged. Optimizing the energy in nature is the desired configuration. Miyazaki is one that will survive the ages because his creations are very challenging but nonetheless accessible. Castle in the Sky is hinged on the prospect of a world prior to technology making the movie, at the risk of sounding condescending, anything but trivial.

Miguel Llora


Disney: Put this film on DVD!   October 1, 2002
David C. Rutledge (Ada, Oklahoma)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful

More than four years ago I rented the VHS tape of Kiki's Delivery Service, and there was an ad for Castle in the Sky before it. It was listed as "coming soon."

Since then, I've gotten the Japanese version of Castle in the Sky on DVD, and I love it. However, I'm still baffled by the fact that Disney has paid professional actors to voice the characters and gotten the film prepared for release in the US -- even advertised it -- and has since then just sat on it.

It's almost criminal to hold such great films as Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, and Pon Poko in your possession and not share them with the English speaking world.

If and when they see the error of their ways and make this film available, do yourself a favor and buy it. We need to let the media juggernauts know how much we love Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.


Most Admired and Adored Miyazaki Film   January 25, 2002
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

Laputa, Castle in the Sky, is the most creative, ambitious, and adventurous Miyazaki film I have ever seen. I like Miyazaki's work very much for its grandeur, originality, and imagination. Sadly to say that Disney has lost its creative edge. It has been copying stories all over the world. Disney promised to release the Castle in the Sky video in 1999 but they failed to keep their promise. (Disney, please include the original Japanese soundtrack on the US release because I don't like the English voice actor behind Pasu.)

After 16 years since Castle in the Sky was first released in the theatres, I still consider it the creme da la creme of all anime movies. Certainly Laputa's art direction cannot compare to today's S/B CGI and S/B 3D animation. However, the story is much more fascinating and breathtaking than KiKi Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and even Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke is a graphically stunning piece of art but Castle in the Sky is a wonderful story of courage and determination. While there are a few graphically violent scenes in Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky is packed with action without graphic violence.

I considered myself fortunate to be able to see it on the big screen (the original English version.) Castle in the Sky is a grand movie that deserves the big screen. I love the soundtrack of the movie very much. It is very uplifting and motivating. The title song, Carrying You, communicates the same kind of warmheartedness that permeates throughout all of Miyazaki's films.