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Laputa: Castle in the Sky review by Rebel
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Legend tells of an ancient city hidden in the clouds, but this is no mountaintop hideaway. This is the floating city of Laputa, a city rich in treasure, great in power, and lost to all mankind. Though it may not be lost forever, for corrupt powers and a pair of eager children are actively searching for this once great city.
Castle in the Sky is one of Miyazaki's older films, but it carries his same, and often heavy handed, message: when you become corrupt and choose war over living in peace with the earth and others, then you are utterly doomed. As always, however, there is hope. In this movie, it comes in the form of a young girl and boy (can anyone say Adam and Eve?) whose wholehearted innocence gives hope that not all is lost.
The plot in Castle in the Sky is a little transparent; once you find out who's involved and what's at stake, you can pretty much see where things are going from there. It often keeps you on the edge of your seat, however and throws enough twists at you to keep you from walking away. Castle in the Sky is rarely, if ever, boring and only feels slow for a moment or two. Not a superbly original plot, but a well done rewrite of it.
The animation of Castle in the Sky is old, but nonetheless quite stunning. Even though a few human details are left out, such as pupils, the average expression does not suffer from it. People tend to be a little exaggerated, such as the fat military general, the smooth talking yet crazy undercover agent, and the big breasted and toothless old woman. The attention to scenery and movement is not something that got ignored in the process. Scenes are detailed right up to that line of almost too detailed, but often in functional repeating patterns that do not distract, but add to the scenes. For its age and style, its level of detail surpasses even some of the best modern animes; detail is not something Miyazaki has ever lacked. Overall, it is VERY well done.
The voice acting in Castle in the Sky is pretty well done, although the young girl's "British" accent slips in and out and is a little comical at times. Aside from that, the voices are rather well done and the show is free from major defects such as badly-timed mouth movements or poorly-chosen voices.
Castle in the Sky is a must see for any Miyazaki fan, for any environmentalist, and for the casual anime fan who hasn't seen anything outside the latest pop-sensation. It is a superb film with a great and extremely accurate, if not somewhat harsh, message to its viewers. This is Miyazaki and this is what we love him for.
~ Rebel
