Castle in the Sky Highly recommended

Publisher
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Production
Studio Ghibli, Tokuma Shoten
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
120 mins
Year
1986

Castle in the Sky

By Adam Cook
27th Apr 04

Castle in the Sky was released in 1986 and was the first movie to be made by Studio Ghibli. Whilst the film was never a huge commercial success at the box office it has garnered a greater following over subsequent years, especially after its release in the west.

Castle in the Sky is set in a world where steam is still the dominant source of power and most of the technology in the film is a slightly skewed vision of the industrial revolution that occurred in the nineteenth century.
The story revolves around a young girl (Sheeta) who owns a mysterious pendant which possesses unique powers. She is being chased by both the army and by pirates and is united with a young boy (Pazu) who works in a mining village. Together they begin the search for the floating island of Laputa and to discover the girls' true routes.

Hayao Miyazaki has said that a lot of the design influences for the film are based on his visit to Wales during the Miners Strikes. The influences are very obvious with whole communities' dependant upon the mining works and the contrast between the strong industrial machines being surrounded by lush green agricultural land. The Welsh references even spread as far as the design on Sheeta's pendant which bears a mark similar to many Celtic symbols. Whilst the designs of the villages and the people that populate them have references to Welsh communities there are a number of references to early air travel. Air ships fill the sky and there are many strange aircrafts that would not appear to be able to get airborne in the first place. The world Miyazaki has created is a slightly warped version of our own Nineteenth century which provides the audience with familiarity but also wonderment at some of the stranger contraptions. The design work in Castle in the Sky is possibly Miyazaki's most impressive. There are so many little nods to other source material whilst still carrying the hall marks of Miyazaki's unique vision. Laputa is a prime example of the amalgamation of many different design styles co-existing together. The dominant vision of the floating island is reminiscent of Arthurian or Greek architecture, yet it has become over grown with plant life that seems to dominate a number of Miyazaki's movies. The technology that drives Laputa is full of hard lines, and cold metals and would not be out of place on many of the darker science fiction movies. This contrast always poses questions for the audience as they are asked to question what they are constantly seeing.

The story itself is a rather traditional adventure movie with lots of inventive and visually exciting set pieces that are punctuated with the more personal moments where the characters begin to develop and grow. Many comparisons have been made to the likes of Gullivers Travels and Treasure Island and both references are noticeable in Castle in the Sky. Pirates play a large part in the film, and whilst the traditional hunting ground for pirates (water) has been removed in favour of air travel, the sense of exploration is the same. In fact the sky acts in similar ways to water would anyway with clouds acting like waves. There are a number of fantastic set pieces throughout the film. One of the most impressive is a chase scene along a rickety train track suspended high above a deep ravine. The sense of scale in the film is very impressive, and throughout the scene the suspense is continually cranked up until the final frame of animation.

Whilst the film avoids any strong over riding moral message it does try to cover a few themes. How technology should be used responsibly and how it can not solve all problems but instead can breed greed is explored as is the role that the environment has within society (a favourite of Miyazaki's). Other themes such as how a person can change their own destiny are also covered but perhaps in more ambiguous ways.
The story is given a lot of time to develop, as are the characters, more so than most movies. Whilst this is a welcome change from the fast paced nature of most adventure stories occasionally the balance between character driven sequences and action segments is unbalanced. Whilst it may be unfair to criticise this aspect of the film too much, it can on occasion become slightly tiresome.

As mentioned earlier the design work on Castle in the Sky is exceptional. The world that has been created appears to be a believable and functioning community whilst offering enough unique Miyazaki touches to create a totally unique universe. The animation is, as always with Studio Ghibli, of the highest quality with some very impressive air battles, and the sense of scale and depth being perfect throughout.

Music is provided by Studio Ghibli stalwart Joe Hisaishi and as per usual the music is a fitting companion to the animation. There are a number of choral scores throughout the film which give some scenes an almost operatic quality.
I would recommend you avoid the English dub of the film though. Unlike most other Studio Ghibli films they seem to have got all the wrong voice actors to do this film. James Van Der Beek is the most obvious culprit for potentially ruining a great film. So stick to the subtitled version to enjoy the film to the full.

Castle in the Sky is a fantastic adventure film suitable for the whole family. Whilst some scenes are perhaps too long the sense of adventure never lets up and there are some truly breathtaking action set pieces that make up for some of the less successful scenes. Whilst the animation may not appear to be as impressive as the later work produced by the studio, the actual design work is faultless. Castle in the Sky deserves to be recognised as one of the great anime movies, and is a good starting point for people wanting to get into Miyazaki's work.

-- Adam Cook 27th Apr 04

Castle in the Sky Images