Castle in the Sky

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Starring: Mayumi Tanaka
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Release Date: 2003-04-15
Running Time: 124 minutes
Number of Items: 2
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 04/15/2003 Run time: 125 minutes Rating: Nr

One of Miyazaki's more adventure-based films...
I love almost all of Miyazaki's works (with the exception of Porco Rosso), and Castle in the Sky is no different. Miyazaki's story-telling style tends to be rather slow-paced, which is fine, but I really enjoyed this movie for its faster, more energetic pacing. Almost immediately, the action starts, and it doesn't let up until the momentous climax.
The story itself is filled with entertaining fantasy elements- including sky pirates, princesses, and exciting chase scenes. Overall, the story is not too deep (there is some environmentalist themes in there), it is more of a adventure-driven tale. While watching this movie, I was repeatedly reminded of some of my favorite RPG games-- and that's a good thing. Castle in the Sky is also helped along with some very humorous parts (especially Dola), so it never got dull. I must also say that I enjoyed the English dub and found no problems with it. So, if you love whimsical fantasy tales, then this may be the film for you.

P.S.- While the movie is excellent, the dvd bonus features are rather lacking. This is unfortuneate, since bonus features are one of my favorite aspects of a dvd. The only thing included is a short sequence on the English voice actors (it's okay), a storyboard (who watches those anyway?), trailers (how I love watching ads), and an "introduction" by John Lasseter (what is the point of this?). As for that last part, I have no idea why Mr. Lasseter feels the need to spend five minutes telling us how great the movie will be. He does this on every Miyazaki film (seriously, can they really ALL be his favorite one?!). Well, anyway, I would've liked to have a nice making-of feature, but don't let the dvd ruin your enjoyment of this great film.

Not A Children's Movie
Apparently most, if not all the reviewers, did not mind subjecting their children to a very violent movie. I do not care what artistic wonder this film may be, it is definitly not a movie for children under 8 or 9 years of age.

Totally cool.
This movie took me a few watches to get to like, but ended up really liking it.

terrible voice acting
the voice acting was atrocious, from top to bottom with the exception of mark hamil. unbelievable voicing, it really hurt the film to have this constant feeling that "Yes I'm reading my lines from a page, and I do every line the exact same because I am a terrible actor."

It's a great film, but the voicings ruined it for me. It probably wont make much difference to kids, though, so this film gets the 5 stars, they won't notice how terrible all the voice actors are.

Beautiful animation and wonderfully written story
Castle in the Sky is a 1986 anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released by Studio Ghibli.

The story begins with a young girl named Sheeta being taken to an unknown area by Colonel Muska. When sky pirates attack the flying vehicle, Sheeta is able to grab the pendant from Colonel Muska and escape. But when the sky pirates try to capture her, Sheeta falls off the vehicle. Her pendant emits a blue light and allows her to float gently to the ground. A boy named Panzu sees her floating and catches her.

Panzu and Sheeta become friends, and Panzu shares that his deceased father saw Laputa, an ancient city that, according to myths, floats in the sky. Panzu was the only person to believe his father, and Panzu is determined to find the city someday. Panzu and Sheeta have some adventures together, and Panzu ends up learning that Sheeta is actually part of the royal family of Laputa. When they're ambushed by government agents, Panzu and Sheeta are separated. During the rest of the film, Sheeta learns more about her heritage and connections with Laputa, while Panzu ends up teaming up with the sky pirates to rescue Sheeta.

This DVD release was a bit of a disappointment. While the film itself is great, there isn't much in the way of bonus features. The first disc includes an introduction by Pixar's John Lasseter (which is exactly the same as what you see at the beginning of the film), a "Behind the Microphone" feature that features most of the voice actors from the English dub (however, Anna Paquin, the English dub voice of Sheeta, is noticeably absent from the documentary), and the original Japanese trailers (but the trailers only run for slightly over four minutes). The second disc just contains the storyboard version of the film.

Castle in the Sky combines beautiful animation and a wonderfully written story. During the film there is action, adventure, drama, and even a giant robot. While the DVD release is a little disappointing, you should still acquire it for your DVD collection if you're a fan of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, because the film itself is worth the money you spend on buying the DVD.