DTA At The Movies: Castle In The Sky

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Steampunk

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Year: 1986 (English release in 2003)

Number of Times Seen: 8

Owned: Yes

Govt Rating: PG

DTA Rating: 9/10

Reasons for Loving/Hating: Absolutely beautiful work of art, compelling story, and overall magical experience as one would expect from this master of animation. The English voice cast was somewhat miscast, though.

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This was the one Studio Ghibli film that I was unable to watch before purchase (as my local video store didn’t have a single copy and I hadn’t yet acquired Netflix), a fact which tortured me for several years. I finally took it on faith that it would be worth the money and bought it. And it absolutely was. It quickly became one of my favorite Japanese imports, right up there with Pocky.

The story is typical Miyazaki-sensei: Two youngsters from different walks of life find themselves involved in an epic war and must save the world using magic. They sort of fall in love, but it’s ambiguous, as is the ending.

The art is absolutely top-notch even for the master, and the characters are immediately likable. I even liked the villain, Muska, just for his infinite creepiness.

The floating city of Laputa

The kids, Sheeta and Pazu, are uber cute and likable, though they do look like pretty much every main character ever done by Miyazaki-sensei (with the exception of Howl’s Moving Castle’s main characters, who are much older). But there’s that classic charm of innocence about them that works so beautifully.

The only objection I have to the characters has nothing to do with the art. It’s the English voice cast. Pazu is voiced by James Van Der Beek, best known as Dawson from Dawson’s Creek. And his voice doesn’t fit the character at all. It’s too gruff and deep for a kid.

Anna Paquin, who voiced Sheeta, on the other hand, really works, though I couldn’t help giggling every time I heard a little Rogue in her voice.

Sheeta and Pazu

The other super cool thing about this movie was the use of sky pirates. That’s right. Flying pirates. So totally awesome. So amazingly steampunk.

Anyways, I recommend it highly, and don’t want to spoil the plot by trying to outline it further. Just find a copy somewhere and watch it. I guarantee the best viewing experience you’ll have this year.

-DTA