Good adventure film for all ages.

Rating: Null/10 (11 June 2017)

I saw this when it first hit the home video market, and was enamored with the scope and scale of Miyazaki's imagination. Like a lot of good Japanese animation (anime) this one doesn't stick with giant robots or sadistic antagonists, or other familiar tropes that pervade anime and science fiction in general.
Having said that there is a military bent or element placed in the film. As with some other Miyazaki offerings the military is seen as a tool that is often misguided or misused for other people's schemes. So it is that Paizu, the main character, and Sheeta, the damsel in distress with a family secret, are challenged by the local authorities as they seek to discover her origins and the source of intrigue regarding her past.
The film is an anime epic, long in scope and vast in imagination, and filled with both action and adventure as well as more reflective moments. And when I said this was a good adventure film for all ages, I meant it. Where there is some military violence, there's no blood shed, and the sexual intrigue is kept G-rated, PG at worst (and in a very Japanese cultural vein), unlike a lot of science fiction offerings from Japanese animation usually aimed at teenage boys and older. Families can watch this, though very young viewers may get apprehensive or questioning at some of the action.
"Castle in the Sky" is a riff on a story element from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" regarding a flying city, hence the title of the film. Though unlike Swift's tale this story doesn't take place in the 18th century, but in the Victorian era with what is often referred to as a "steampunk" setting.
As with a lot of Japanese "anime" offerings, the animation, though vast in scope and impressive in the tale it brings, it's not Disney. That is to say the animation is somewhat stilted, though a bit smoother than a lot of anime of the time. Even so it is still a pleasure to watch, though older children might get a little impatient with it.
A great Myazaki offering. Watch it on a lazy weekend afternoon, or perhaps when there's nothing else on during the week. Either way, enjoy.