Castle in the Sky (1989)

This is one of the best animated film i've ever seen, 10 out of 10 in my book, and my favorite studio Ghibli film of all time. The film is well paced, action is good, the floating city was not a let down like I thought it would, it was amazing and they did spend a lot of time on the city unlike what I thought. Also the characters were well developed and funny.

This movie is probably the the second best Mayazaki film, the first is Nausicaa, the only reason why is probably because of the two leads voice actors, not that there's anything too wrong with them, their not annoying, its just i couldn't match the voices with the characters, in nausiccaa the voices are perfect. but other than that this movie is probably better than some Disney films, i actually thought it was Disney when i saw it as a little kid. The soundtrack is amazing, the art used for this film is something out of a dream, in fact the plot seems like something out of dream as well, that is what a cartoon movie is supposed to do. Despite not liking the 2 leads voices i like their characters, i like the pirates, and all the townspeople, but i love the villain played by Mark Hamill, who I'm not kidding actually uses his iconic joker laugh in this movie, every time he showed up on screen i felt the tension increase, probably one of the best cartoon villains ever. The movie can be slow a few times, but it not that big of a deal, but when the action starts, your heart starts pumping faster. i prefer this film and nausiccaa to all of mayazakis other work only because here he had bloodless carnage and didn't use too much gratuitous violence or creepy images yet, i know those are his trademarks but i find them sometimes unnecessary, and i think this movie can prove that

I saw this when it first hit the home video market, and was enamored with the scope and scale of Miyazaki's imagination. Like a lot of good Japanese animation (anime) this one doesn't stick with giant robots or sadistic antagonists, or other familiar tropes that pervade anime and science fiction in general. Having said that there is a military bent or element placed in the film. As with some other Miyazaki offerings the military is seen as a tool that is often misguided or misused for other people's schemes. So it is that Paizu, the main character, and Sheeta, the damsel in distress with a family secret, are challenged by the local authorities as they seek to discover her origins and the source of intrigue regarding her past. The film is an anime epic, long in scope and vast in imagination, and filled with both action and adventure as well as more reflective moments. And when I said this was a good adventure film for all ages, I meant it. Where there is some military violence, there's no blood shed, and the sexual intrigue is kept G-rated, PG at worst (and in a very Japanese cultural vein), unlike a lot of science fiction offerings from Japanese animation usually aimed at teenage boys and older. Families can watch this, though very young viewers may get apprehensive or questioning at some of the action."Castle in the Sky" is a riff on a story element from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" regarding a flying city, hence the title of the film. Though unlike Swift's tale this story doesn't take place in the 18th century, but in the Victorian era with what is often referred to as a "steampunk" setting.As with a lot of Japanese "anime" offerings, the animation, though vast in scope and impressive in the tale it brings, it's not Disney. That is to say the animation is somewhat stilted, though a bit smoother than a lot of anime of the time. Even so it is still a pleasure to watch, though older children might get a little impatient with it.A great Myazaki offering. Watch it on a lazy weekend afternoon, or perhaps when there's nothing else on during the week. Either way, enjoy.

I was so excited about this film after reading all the glowing reviews, but it was a real disappointment. It's one of Miyazaki's earlier works, and that may explain it, but I just couldn't enjoy this film even though I really wanted to. I know it sounds funny to say, but it was simply just too "cartoony". The beginning of the film is pure magic and for the first 15 minutes or so, I was engrossed in the story and looking forward to the rest of the film. But soon after that, it degraded to almost Saturday-morning cartoon levels of predictability, relying on exaggerated and typical villains and supporting characters. If you liked this at all, you owe it to yourself to check out more of Miyazaki's films. He is a true artist and is capable of much better than this.