Laputa: Castle in the Sky

**Laputa:  Castle in the Sky** is a 1986 adventure anime film.  It was directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki, musically

    composed by Joe Hisaishi, cinematography by Hirokata Takahashi, edited by Takeshi Seyama and Yoshihiro Kasahara, and produced by Isao Takahata and Studio Ghibli.

## Plot

An airship carrying Sheeta, a girl who has been abducted by government agent Muska, is attacked by Captain Dola and her air piratesons who are in search of Sheeta's crystal amulet. In the resulting struggle, Sheeta falls from the airship but her descent is slowed by a mysterious power within the amulet. She safely lands in a small mining town where she is discovered by a boy named Pazu, who takes her into his home to recover. Pazu tells her of a mysterious floating island named Laputa which is visible in a picture taken by his father. Later, they are pursued by Dola's pirates, and then by Muska's soldiers. Eventually, the two fall into an abandoned mine, where they encounter the local eccentric Uncle Pomme, who informs them that Sheeta's amulet is made of 'volucite' crystal ('Aetherium' in the American release), a material used to keep Laputa and the other flying cities aloft.[2]

Upon leaving the mines, Sheeta tells Pazu that her full name is 'Lucita Toel Ul Laputa'. They are then captured by Muska and taken to the fortress of Tedis, where Pazu is imprisoned in a dungeon tower while Sheeta is imprisoned in a more lavish room. Muska shows Sheeta a dormant Laputan robot and reveals his knowledge of her secret name, which he interprets to be that of the Laputan royal line. Muska then threatens Pazu's life to obtain Sheeta's cooperation. For his own safety, Sheeta orders Pazu to leave and Muska offers him money to leave and forget about Laputa.

A distraught Pazu returns home, where he is ambushed by Dola's sons. After hearing Pazu out, Dola and her sons prepare to intercept and capture the crystal, allowing Pazu to join them. As preparations proceed, Sheeta recites an apotropaic verse and unexpectedly activates the amulet and the robot, which follows Sheeta, destroying the fortress along the way until it is overcome by the military's airship *Goliath*. Pazu arrives and rescues Sheeta, but Muska obtains the amulet. The pirates, accompanied by Pazu and Sheeta, return to their airship, *Tiger Moth*. They pursue the *Goliath*, which is following directions indicated by Sheeta's amulet to locate Laputa. Both airships arrive at Laputa on the following day, with the *Tiger Moth* having been shot down by *Goliath*. The two children, separated from Dola's pirates, discover the city to be ruined and overgrown.

Dola's pirates are captured and Muska's soldiers plunder the city's treasures. Upon gaining entrance to the city's central sphere, a vast repository for all of Laputa's scientific knowledge, Muska captures Sheeta and his agents open fire upon Pazu, who escapes and frees Dola's pirates. In the center of Laputa, containing the immense 'volucite' crystal and keeping the city aloft, Muska identifies himself as "Romuska Palo Ul Laputa", a member of another royal line, and uses Sheeta's crystal to access the advanced Laputan technology. He betrays his own soldiers and destroys the *Goliath* via unleashing Laputa's Weapon of mass destruction. During the mayhem, horrified Sheeta retrieves the crystal amulet and flees, but Muska pursues her. Encountering Pazu, Sheeta gives the amulet to him through a gap in the wall and is cornered by Muska in Laputa's throne room.

During her confrontation with Muska, Sheeta realizes and explains that the people of Laputa left the castle because they realized that man was meant to live on earth and not in the sky. Muska refuses her arguments, shoots off her braids and threatens to kill her unless the crystal amulet is given to him. Pazu requests to be allowed to talk with Sheeta; Muska grants them three minutes. Sheeta and Pazu recite a "Spell of Destruction", destroying much of the city, which breaks apart and crushes Muska to death. After surviving the collapse, Pazu and Sheeta reunite with Dola and her pirates and leave Laputa behind. When they part with the pirates, Pazu flies Sheeta home as he had promised her, to start a new life together.

During the end credits, the remnants of Laputa float in orbit, maintained by the volucite crystal embedded in the roots of the central tree.

## Why It Rocks

1. Beautiful animation.
2. Very appealing art style and character designs.
3. Good voice acting in the sub.
4. The main heroine, Sheeta, is a very interesting, willful, and caring character.
5. This was the first of Hayao Miyazaki's movies to have a villain who ended up becoming an ally.
6. Excellent soundtrack.

## Bad Qualities

1. The english dub is pretty lack luster.
2. Muska is a pretty uninteresting villain.  He just wants to rule the world, and pretty much has no motivation other than that.

## Reception

At the Japanese box office, the film grossed ¥1.16 billion[9] (US$8.1 million).[10] In Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$13.1 million[11] (US$1,679,853)[12] at the box office. The film's combined box office from both countries was US$9,779,853. In addition, the film earned another ¥583 million[11] (US$3,781,295)[13] from film rentals in Japan.[11]

In the late 1980s, an English dubbed version, produced by Magnum Video Tape and Dubbing[14] for international Japan Airlines flights at the request of Tokuma Shoten, was briefly screened in the United States by Streamline Pictures. Carl Macek, the head of Streamline, was disappointed with this dub, deeming it "adequate, but clumsy".[15] Following this, Tokuma allowed Streamline to dub their future acquisitions *My Neighbor Totoro* and *Kiki's Delivery Service*. The Streamline dub of *Castle in the Sky* was released only on the first Japanese DVD release along with the Streamline dub of *My Neighbor Totoro* and *The Castle of Cagliostro*. The initial Japanese DVD release is now out of print and the subsequent rerelease contains the Disney dub instead.

The Disney-produced English dub was recorded in 1998 and planned for release on video in 1999, but the release was cancelled after *Princess Mononoke* (1997) did not fare as well in the US as Japan, and so *Laputa's* release date was pushed back yet again; on occasion the completed dub was screened at select children's festivals. The film was finally released on DVD and video in the US on April 15, 2003 alongside a re-release of *Kiki's Delivery Service* and *Spirited Away*.[16] As with *Mononoke* and *Kiki*, critical opinion was mixed about the new dub, but Cloris Leachman and Mark Hamill's performances as Dola and Muska drew praise.[17] *Laputa* was reissued on American home video in March 2010 as a tribute accompanying the home video release of *Ponyo*. The film was released on Blu-ray in North America on May 22, 2012, alongside *Whisper of the Heart* and *The Secret World of Arrietty*. GKIDS re-issued the film on Blu-ray & DVD on October 31, 2017.[18]

The film currently holds a 95% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[19] In an audience poll (with 80,402 voters) of 100 best animations of all time, conducted by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2007, *Castle in the Sky* was the second highest-ranked animated film, and third highest-ranked animation overall on the list.[20]

The film received a re-screening on May 22, 2011 in Aberystwyth as part of a charity fund for Japan. The print shown was the original theatrical Japanese print with English subtitles.