Sky Pirates

Rating: 6/10 (10 February 2015)

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
The general plot of the film is pretty interesting, with its sky themes and pirates. Was this an influence on Disney's "Tailspin"? The voice actors are all quite good, though it is curious that somehow Andy Dick was hired.
Composer Joe Hisaishi was commissioned to rework and extend his original synthesizer-composed 39-minute soundtrack into a 90-minute piece for symphony orchestra in an effort to make the film more accessible to US audiences who are accustomed to a more substantial musical accompaniment. Newer sound effects were included as well, presumably to bring the film up to theatrical standards. Mayhaps the original would not be rated quite so high were it not for this improved score?