One of Miyazaki's best

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2020)

I've always found myself more of a mild fan of Miyazaki's films than most seem to be. I haven't come close to disliking any of them, and as far as numerical ratings go, I've given all of them 7s or 8s out of 10. I know this could be a somewhat controversial opinion, and I respect that it might be a cultural thing, being less well-versed in Japanese traditions and mythology, which I'm sure Miyazaki implements into all his movies. They're often uniquely Japanese affairs, and perhaps a greater knowledge of that country and its favourite storytelling themes and styles would help me love his films rather than merely like them a lot.
All that being said, there are absolutely aspects of his movies that can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of their culture or knowledge of Japan. I'm sure this is what has ensured Miyazaki and numerous other Studio Ghibli films to get the sort of international attention and acclaim they've gotten over the past few decades. Most obviously, all are absolutely beautiful to look at, with spectacular use of colour and traditional, hand-drawn animation. The music is always excellent too, and the worlds created are fascinating, engaging, visceral, and occasionally quite haunting.
All these positive qualities can be attributed and then some to 1986's Castle in the Sky. This movie is staggering to look at and listen to, and it's beyond impressive that this movie is over thirty years old yet still looks as great as it does. I believe if this movie were released in cinemas today, people would still rave about the animation and visuals, even if they were under the impression that it was a brand new movie. The music is as good as you'd expect from a Miyazaki film, and the world is absolutely gorgeous. It's worth watching the film just for that experience of seeing this place that Miyazaki and his animation team have painstakingly created.
Thankfully, many of my extremely subjective/ perceived shortcomings with some of Miyazaki's other films aren't issues here. Sometimes I feel like his films aren't terribly engaging when it comes to story or characters, which Castle in the Sky gets around by having what I thought to be a faster pace, and more general excitement and tension than some of his other films. Emotionally I wasn't as moved as I may have wanted to be, which is something that I have found with all his films I've seen so far. The visuals and score are often emotional in a way, on their own, but not so much the struggles of the characters, and here, I was somewhat invested, but not enough to make me unconditionally love the movie. I don't know why this is, but it's something I find with Miyazaki a lot of the time. Maybe it's a cultural thing, or maybe it's just emotions being subjective, but either way, when the film is still mostly well-paced and consistently beautiful, it isn't a huge problem. There are very few parts where the film truly drags, and it has a satisfying conclusion that makes all 125 minutes more than worth sitting through.
To my knowledge, Castle in the Sky isn't always regarded as classic Miyazaki, but in my opinion it should be. I thought this was on the same level quality-wise as the more widely celebrated Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, and as such, would highly recommend this to anybody who may have watched and enjoyed those while overlooking this one. It's a fantastic technical achievement from an animation perspective, and another good reason why Miyazaki has become such an adored figure within the filmmaking world.