Average Rating: 
Rating: - Fantastic animated adventure from Miyazaki!
CASTLE IN THE SKY is master animator Hayao Miyazaki's third film, and it's one of his most beloved of all time. This is not to say, however, that it was one of his greatest hits. It was actually a box office disappointment in its initial release in 1986, though its take of approximately ¥250 million (roughly two and a half million dollars) was decent enough to make it the highest-grossing animated film of its year. To this date, it has retained an enthusiastic cult following.Inspired by the works of Jules Verne and GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, the story centers on two young orphans -- young miner Pazu, and mysterious girl Sheeta (who wears a magic pendant around her neck) -- who team up to find the long-lost island of Laputa, which is rumored to have great riches and gems. They are accompanied by a band of bumbling yet sympathetic air pirates led by the quick-tempered Ma Dola (who at first chase them, yet turn out to be true allies) and pursued by government agents who want the power of Laputa for their own benefit. Miyazaki didn't know it, but LAPUTA is an offensive word in Spanish, which is why the film was retitled (for its US release anyway) from LAPUTA: THE CASTLE IN THE SKY to just CASTLE IN THE SKY. This does nothing to detract from the overall film itself, which is a marvelous animated achievement. The artwork, although not as spectacular as in some of Miyazaki's later movies, is fantastic and gorgeous enough to watch with imaginative characters and locations and breathtaking flight sequences that will make one feel giddy. The characters may not be as interesting or well-polished as in Miyazaki's later movies, either, but all in all, this cast of characters more than get the job done for an action-adventure that, even running at 2 hours, never once gets dull. On a side note, a 1989 Anime series called NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER bears many similarities to CASTLE IN THE SKY. Both films share similar ideas and, even more interestingly, were conceived by Miyazaki himself! NADIA originally started out as an idea for a TV series involving two orphans who meet Captain Nemo and the Nautilus while being chased by bad guys, but Miyazaki's idea was later tackled by angst-ridden Hideaki Anno. However, some elements of Miyazaki's original idea found its way into some of his later projects. CASTLE IN THE SKY was one of them. It is easy to compare this film to the popular TV show. Unlike NADIA, however, CASTLE IN THE SKY is shorter, its heroine (thankfully) is more sweet-tempered, and there are none of the stupid, extraneous sequences that almost sank the otherwise entertaining 39-part TV series. I know this seems off-topic, but I thought I would mention it since I at first thought of NADIA as a way to pass the time until CASTLE IN THE SKY. Of course, it turned out to be more than that (see my reviews on this show for your reference). As part of their distribution deal, Disney has dubbed this movie into English with the voices of James Van Der Beek (Pazu), Anna Paquin (Sheeta), Mark Hamill (best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in STAR WARS), Cloris Leachman (Ma Dola), and Mandy Patankin. It was supposed to be released to video in 1999, but was soon considered for theaters, as Joe Hisaishi rerecorded his beloved score for CASTLE IN THE SKY with the Seattle Music Orchestra. Unfortunately, the failure of PRINCESS MONONOKE in the U.S. -- and the fact that the films had not yet been released to DVD in Japan at the time -- delayed the movie from ever getting such a release. It was, however, screened at select festivals, but nothing has ever been said about a release... until now. I have not yet seen this English dub, but I will update this review when I do. I will say, however, that the rescored music (I own the soundtrack released in Japan) is remarkable. If rest of the dub lives up to what I was impressed with, I will be in Heaven. In the meantime, however, I -- along with many enthusiastic fans -- are stuck waiting for the release of this wonderful movie on DVD. (Come on, Disney! PLEASE release it!) It, like Miyazaki's movies, is a five-star marvel that should not be missed.
Rating: - Disney: Put this film on DVD!
More than four years ago I rented the VHS tape of Kiki's Delivery Service, and there was an ad for Castle in the Sky before it. It was listed as "coming soon."Since then, I've gotten the Japanese version of Castle in the Sky on DVD, and I love it. However, I'm still baffled by the fact that Disney has paid professional actors to voice the characters and gotten the film prepared for release in the US -- even advertised it -- and has since then just sat on it. It's almost criminal to hold such great films as Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, and Pon Poko in your possession and not share them with the English speaking world. If and when they see the error of their ways and make this film available, do yourself a favor and buy it. We need to let the media juggernauts know how much we love Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
Rating: - It's finally here
To start, I would just like to say that this movie was delayed not through fault of Disney, but by Studio Ghibli. The agreement between Disney and Ghibli stated that Disney could not release any of Miyazaki's films that hadn't already been released by Buena Vista in Japan. Specifically, Disney had to wait a certain time frame after the releasal of Miyazaki's films before releasing them in America. This prevented people from importing movies from American to Japan, thus losing Studio Ghibli a chuck of local royalties. And since Laputa: Castle in the Sky wasn't released until October of 2002, Disney could only release Castle in the Sky over here now.That being said, I'm glad this movie is finally being released here stateside. This movie certainly ranks among my top favorite Miyazaki films (I'd probably place it 2nd, behind Nausicaa [another movie I'm waiting for Disney to release], with Princess Mononoke coming in 3rd). This story has such a humanity to it, that it's hard not to get swept away in it's story. Perhaps that is the true beauty of this movie, it never tries to be more than it is. Just as all of Miyazaki's film, this movie is meant to spark your imagination and let your spirit soar, much like the wings that carry our characters to the Castle in the Sky. With animation, music, and characterization rarely seen this side of the Pacific, Castle in the Sky is not a film to be missed. My only hope (like many others) is that Disney included the Original Japanese Soundtrack and voice acting just as they did for Princess Mononoke. As much as I admire and enjoy Joe Hisashi's sound tracks, I don't like the fact that he went in and added more music just to make the soundtrack more accessibile to Americans. However, that does not detract from the wonderous adventure of this story. This movie has been in the waiting for almost 4 years, and I'm glad that it's finally getting the treatment stateside that it deserves.
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