Tenku No Shiro Rapyuta Laputa Castle in the Sky

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2015)

Castle in the Sky was a whole new step for eminent Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki after the successful runs of his erstwhile pictures - The Castle of Cagilostro (1978) to Nausicca Valley of the Wind (1984). Not only was it the first film to be released by Studio Ghibli, Japan's own Disney studio, but it demonstrated how Miyazaki could recapture our childhood as the film swoops and soars through wide open clouds and into a world supposedly made up of dreams.
Prior to the release of Castle in the Sky, Miyazaki was baffled to see children wanting to see Nausicca, an influential animated film intended more for adults and teenagers. If children were to see his films, Miyazaki wanted them to be enthralled by the kind of magic brought up by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. The titular Laputa is, in fact, a fictional setting originally conceived by Johnathan Swift while writing Gulliver's Travels. A mysterious, floating island, Laputa was home to a once mighty civilization where the advanced technology and untold treasures eventually made the society hubristic. As far as legends go, Laputa and all of its people completely vanished, leaving even the smallest children to grow up believing such a place actually existed. Most recently, however, sinister government agents, as well as cunning air pirates, have learned the link to the lost castle in the sky: a mystical amulet owned by orphaned girl named Sheeta (voiced by Anna Paquin in the 1998 English-translated adaptation). Captured by the duplicitous Colonel Muska (voiced by Mark Hamill), Sheeta finds a way to break free after Captain Dola, a Ma Barker-like matriarch voiced by Cloris Leachman, and her family of boisterous pirates make way onto the palatial airship to seize the girl themselves. While trying to escape her captors, Sheeta seemingly plummets to her death, only to have her amulet miraculously float her body gently down to earth, where she enters the life of Pazu (voiced by James Van Der Beek), a loyal miner boy about her age and a fellow orphan as well. Together, Sheeta and Pazu must soon find a way to evade the government and the air pirates before the location of Laputa can be given to them.
Because the term "Laputa" was easily misconceived as a reference to the Spanish pejorative "La Puta," the titular Laputa was quietly removed on its release in the United States and other foreign nations. Other changes made to the American renditions have, on the other hand, become irrevocable. Although the primary concern regarding how 16-year old Anna Paquin (future star of True Blood) and 21-year old James Van Der Beek were too old to voice the youngsters who have barely hit puberty, the heroes of Sheeta and Pazu never cross into bratty or cloying territory as they experience a few life lessons during their grand adventure. Pazu is a simple boy growing into a man as he braves the dangers to rescue Sheeta, a Snow White-like girl whose charm and spiritedness wins the hearts of that of the hardened Capt. Dola and her crew. Pazu and Sheeta together represent the film's exhilaration as they go through a series of perils, battles, chases, and enchantment to uncover a mystery before their enemies do. Probably the sole thing wrong with these likable child heroes are how they, along with every other animated person created in Japan, share the common failure of differentiating the characters. Since U.S. rival corporations (Disney, Pixar, or DreamWorks) have yet to best the Japanese anime in terms of writing and visuals, they at least earn the praise for making each character's facial structures distinguishable since anime characters are so often uncannily Even if contemporary audiences criticize how Castle in the Sky isn't on par with some of Miyazaki's best work, this is still sophisticated filmmaking at best. Miyazaki was actually predating Pixar for years because his brilliant storytelling gels with characters you actually care for, a script devoid of any of the common flaws and clichés found in the modern films, and animation so rich that you can gaze upon without the use of 3D glasses. In truth, though, Miyazaki's films were the best thing to come in terms of animation after the quality of Disney feature began to falter during the early 60's. The appreciation and admiration Miyazaki had for ancient legends was used to such a strong advantage that his growing empire of influence was making Miyazaki a legend in his own right.