Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Fantastic high-flying adventure from Miyazaki!
JTurner - wrote on 05/31/2009
Arguably one of Miyazaki's most accessible works, CASTLE IN THE SKY (renamed from the Japanese title, LAPUTA, since it's a bad word in Spanish) follows two young orphans struggling to find the titular structure (which is nonetheless pronounced "Lah-pyu-tah" in Disney's dub). They are helped by air pirates (commanded by aging yet fearless Dola) and opposed by government (manipulated by evil agent Muska). Miyazaki established his now famous animation company Studio Ghibli to produce this movie. While this wasn't one of his more financially successful films, it nonetheless has earned legions of fans for its appealing characters, breathtaking (for its time) animation, and fresh serving of action and flight sequences that may make one giddy. There are also some elements of sci-fi, …
Rating of
3/4
One of the Weaker Miyazaki Films
Franz Patrick - wrote on 06/08/2008
I think this is one of the weaker Hayao Miyazaki films but it's still pretty good when it comes to the bigger picture of animated films. Since most of Miyazaki's pictures are always timeless, getting an above average story feels like a complete letdown. This kind of reminded me of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds" because there's a lot of flying and there are commentaries about the preservation of nature. I did like the hyperkinetic energy that it posesses with a ten to fifteen minute interval inbetween action sequences. I just wish that it was stranger and had more heart like "Spirited Away." I think this movie would have worked better if this was made today or if it was a live-action film because there are definitely worthy eye-popping visual effects. Overall, it was a bit too …
