A.K.A. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
(天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta)
Directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki; the man behind the epic Princess Mononoke

Miyazaki’s projects (Ghibli Studios) include talking animals, adventures, family based animation and Castle In The Sky can be categorized as one. Laputa means a floating island that is also described in Gulliver’s Travels.

It was once believed according to legend, that since humans were fascinated with the sky they created ways of lifting aircraft from the ground which led to flying cities and fortresses. Unfortunately, these cities came crashing back to the ground, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. But one ancient city, concealed within swirling clouds much like a violent thunderstorm remained.. and that is Laputa. Eversince, this floating island was sought after by believers.

While being escorted by agents of Colonel Muska, Sheeta and the whole airship was ambushed by a bunch of sky pirates led by an old woman, Dola. The pirates are after the blue jewel. Was Sheeta lucky to fall from the ship and plunges towards the Earth…

On the ground, a spirited young boy named Pazu works down the mine with his mentor, the Boss. Pazu saw a bright, blue light that seems to be floating towards the ground while he was collecting lunch for his Boss. The radiating blue light was caused by the pendant also making Sheeta float. Pazu witnessed this in amazement and catches Sheeta. He brought her back to his home, where then Sheeta finds a photograph of Laputa. Pazu explains that this picture of Laputa was taken by his deceased father but nobody believed him, which made Pazu want to prove someday.

From here begins a great adventure for this two youngsters who then soon became the best of friends. To avoid spoilers, I will just mention other things you can see here in this movie:

- armored train
- more airships from small to big ones (looks like giant beetles)
- old abandoned mines
- houses cut across giant mountain gorges, locomotives, and Model T’s
- android robot (giant robots)
- flying fortresses, gliders (yes, a lot of flying objects)
- mass of clouds and thunderstorm
- gigantic gargantuan tree

Some points to ponder on…

Who is Sheeta and where did she get that blue jewel?
Who are the protectors of the legendary city?
Why are they after this blue jewel?

My take

As a Peter Pan fan, I loved the animation and the classic feel of this 1980s film. This is one of Miyazaki’s work that I’ve watched, the other is Princess Mononoke which I’ve already mentioned, and Howl’s Moving Castle. Why I said that this animé is like Peter Pan is because of the flying things and the pirates. In the classic Peter Pan series, there was also a time that they have this floating stones that made their ‘boats’ float. That’s about the same concept here in The Castle in The Sky.

The Castle in The Sky gives a heart warming bliss as some describes it. It tackles about friendship, dreams, loyalty, respect, adventure, nature, environment, science/technology (invention), and fiction.

You can choose to watch this in English or Japanese version with subtitles. I prefer the Japanese version since I like Japanese language. After watching and reading, I will watch again to re-capture and appreciate the wonderful animation. Sometimes, the English dub doesn’t really match the exact translation since they have to incorporate the words with the movement of the mouth, so I recommend watching (or reading) it in Japanese version. ^^v

It’s very thrilling to watch this animé (animation). There are a number of chases not only on the ground but high above the sky. Like I said, its message is also about preserving our nature. Laputa, the lost city in the sky also pertains to our virgin forests. It’s better to leave them that way and preserve them. It’s also fulfilling finding your long-awaited dream to come true, well in this case, Pazu’s dream of finding the Laputa. (No, La puta is not “the whore” as in Spanish).

What else can I say.. just watch it and there’ll be no regrets.

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Tagged as: anime, movie review