Castle in the Sky (1989)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Brilliant and touching

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I don't have anything against animated films per se, it's just that I don't find them as engaging as a live screen performance. At some point I tend to lose focus and then it becomes a bit of a chore to finish the story. Like all the Miyazaki films I've seen, this is well drawn and colorful and given to plenty of action, with the creative premise of an etherium crystal at the heart of the story. Beyond that it was a good guys versus bad guys type of story that didn't fully engage this viewer. That's not meant to be a negative in terms of recommending the film to anyone else, it's just that animated films fail to move me for the most part. This one was not an exception.

An absolute masterpiece this one! This film is the stuff fantasy adventures should be. Flying islands, fire blazing robots, terrifying and funny pirates...this film has them all but what makes it a classic are the small artistic touches in the animation which clearly are a Ghibli trademark. Good voice work in the English version. My personal favorite is the voice- over by the pirate leader.Well worth watching for all ages.10/10

I had the opportunity to view this film in my watchlist when GKIDS was distributing this film to select cinemas across the US, including one approximate to my home. I took my parents to see it, and we had anything but regrets. To start with, the story sent a very powerful message against abuse of power, which in our world seems highly relevant. It presents, again, highly successful sci-fi elements that are intriguing on paper, but are especially wondrous in animated depiction. Speaking of which, the animation is of that kind of quality that seems not to age, which I'm sure had left many in 1986 speechless. The chaotic action scenes, the epic drama, and the comedy are all simultaneously explored highly successfully by what represents S tier Japanese animation. Some of the cast isn't too complex, but those that aren't are still very fun to watch that it didn't take away from the ones who were, namely Muska and Dola (who I couldn't tell until about an hour in who was the villain). The music is pretty brilliant as well, fitting in with every environment and enhancing my personal immersion. What it comes down to is that this film is only now receiving the admiration it deserves, as well as Miyazaki's other movies prior to My Neighbor Totoro. If you are an anime otaku, you WILL enjoy this film. If you're curious, don't at all give it a second thought. Once again, Hayao Miyazaki, I must bow before you to show that I view you as a gift to animation.

Sheeta with her crystal manages to escape from pirate Captain Dola and her sons. She falls out of the airship and ends up floating to the ground where she is rescued by young Pazu. Pazu and his community struggles to make a living in the mine. He is obsessed with finding the lost floating city of Laputa. His late father found it once but was ridiculed for it. With pirates and government agents after her, they have to rediscover the power of her crystal and the lost Castle in the Sky.This world is imaginative. The story is a bit muddled. The dialog is a little clunky. The slapstick comedy is broad. I'm not sure that every motivation makes sense. I'm not sure why Dola joins Pazu to help Sheeta. The pirates are shooting up everybody to get the crystal in the beginning and I don't understand why they switch sides. I'm not sure why Pazu was let go especially since he seems to be a great way to control Sheeta. Some of the motivations are confusing but this does have the Ghibli inventiveness.