After reviewing The Cat Returns this week, I decided to focus on another Studio Ghibli movie. This one is about the legend of a castle, Laputa, which is said to exist somewhere in the sky.
Pazu is a boy who works at a mine doing maintenance until he sees a girl, Sheeta, falling out of the sky and hovering above the ground. She can do this because of a magical crystal. It doesn’t take long for Pazu to find out that a lot of people are looking for Sheeta and more specifically for the crystal she is wearing as it is the possibly key to finding the castle. Air pirates want to reach the castle as it is said to have a lot of treasure. The government also has a secret agenda which drives them to find the castle.
Whereas the Cat Returns feels like a small, intimate movie, this is not the case with Castle in the Sky. It feels big and has lots of action, things like firefights and air battles. This might be something that will shock smaller kids. Castle in the Sky’s animation is exquisite and has action, suspense and humour backed up by a great story.
The movie has been written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who has already been doing this for 50 years. He’s one of the founders of Studio Ghibli, which opened its doors in 1985. If you look at the various movies that the studio has released, you will see that a lot of them bear his name. You also notice recurring themes in his movies, like the effect of man on his environment (which you can see in Pom Poko, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke). He is one of animation’s best and has received various awards for his work.
Castle in the Sky possesses a lot of the magic other Ghibli movies have as well. I do think that the movie is just a bit too long, which resulted in losing a bit of interest as some points. Despite this small gripe I do think the movie is worth watching.
Score: 7
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