Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Class Superlative: The Ambitious Trendsetter, Redux
In a Land of Pure Imagination
The title says it all! Or, OK — backtrack. The story starts with a young girl named Sheeta falling from the sky. She’s in possession of a crystal amulet that both the military (under Colonel Muska) and sky pirates (led by Captain Dola) are both after. And hey, it’s a crystal plotline that doesn’t suck! (Hint hint, Secret Circle.*)
Anyway, Sheeta also befriends a boy named Pazu; together, they’re on a quest to find the legendary Laputa, aka the castle in the sky, and they must keep the crystal from falling into the wrong hands.
*I will never stop contriving ways to bring up the terribleness of that show.
Adorable Child Alert
There were some cute kid villagers, but no standouts.
Lovable Anthropomorphic Sidekick
The robots! They’re totally the precursor of The Iron Giant.
Wait, WTF?
I submit this moment, without commentary.
Another thing that weirded me was how the henchmen — grown-ass men — were, like, in love with Sheeta. She’s a cool chick and all, but she’s supposed to be a pre-teen in the original Japanese version, Humberts.
Castle in the Sky also endured a lot of behind-the-scenes shenanigans (so says Wiki, anyway). I’m pretty sure I watched the 2010 re-release, thankfully.
Famous Voices
FPJ’s lil sisRogueSuh-keeAnna Paquin as Sheeta- the Beek from the Creek, James VDB, as Pazu
- national treasure Cloris Leachman as Dola
- intergalactic treasure Mark Hamill as Muska
- my name twinsie Mandy Patinkin as Louie
- Andy Dick, as Henri
- Tress MacNeille as Okami; and
- Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron!) as Madge
Class Superlative: The Ambitious Trendsetter, Redux
Actual start of Studio Ghibli now! Castle in the Sky touches on some similar themes as Nausicaä, but they’re still completely different entities. Sheeta and Pazu are just ordinary kids in extraordinary circumstances. (Well, as ordinary as a girl who fell from the sky and the boy that found her can be, at least.) And she’s not a grandma, but Dola has all the makings of a kickass gram! Castle in the Sky is a lot of fun, but it also has a sneaky amount of depth. It’s easy to see how Studio Ghibli had captured the audience’s imagination right from the start.
Exploring the Studio Ghibli Vault
