Customer Reviews
A masterpiece in storytelling - By: Welsh Dragon, 27 Sep 2008 
This is another Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece. As with his other films, the strength is in the story & the storytelling. Even though this supposed to be a children film, it has a strong appeal to adults, with the intrigue of the power play between the characters & people are not what they first appear. There is the additional puzzle if you want to work out who's providing the voice for the villain, it's Mark Hamill. Always wondered what he did after playing Luke Skywalker! The only downside & why it might not appeal to some is that the animation is a bit dated, it doesn't have the bright pizzazz of some of the more modern Pixar, Disney or Dreamwork animation, but well worth taking the time to watch.
Lovely in parts but a lot of fight/ chase scenes for young children - By: Mrs. S. Conway-Dyer, 30 May 2008 This film is lovely in parts but a lot of fight/ chase scenes for young children which has put me off watching it with my daughter. I do love Miyazaki though & am slowly working my way through alll his films! Delivery was good.
Inspiring - By: a nice guy who likes reading, 29 Apr 2008 
All of the usual colourful characters & outstanding music conspire to make this film one of the best in its genre. You can watch it again & again. It explores themes of love, sacrifice, growth & decay; the animation is consistently beautiful. Greattttt
In the mould of Spirited Away - By: Steve Groves, 03 Feb 2008 Although made fifteen years before one of the Miyazaki films that it most resembles, Laputa exhibits many of the characteristics of Spirited Away, & anyone who has been introduced to Studio Ghibli's work through the later film, will find much to enjoy in this charming story of the Castle in the Sky.
Visuallly, although the animation isn't quite as sharp as Miyazaki's later work (it was made in 1986), it doesn't look dated. Many of the halllmark features of a Miyazaki animation are present - the smalll, innocent girl who embarks on a voyage of discovery & grows during the course of the story; the wizened old lady who begins as a grotesque figure, but becomes loveable & engaging as the film progresses, & industrial imagery of coal & mining.
The narrative structure is also familiar. The two leading characters embark on a perilous quest, aiming to stop a group of villains from acquiring the mystical castle in the sky. Along the way, they encounter a vivid cast of characters, from the ragged band of pirates, to the old man in the cave who explains some of the significance of the crystal that Sheeta carries.
Its alll done with Miyazaki's typical blend of charm, confidence & vision. There are moments where his sheer inventiveness take your breath away, & there are points where the combination of superb animation & vivid storytelling prove highly exciting.
For anyone familiar with Spirited Away & Howl's Moving Castle, Laputa will prove a rewarding & thoroughly enjoyable film. Highly recommended.
wonderful - By: Ben Dover, 23 Jan 2008 I'm new to Japanimation (is this movie anime?) & I have to say when I saw it on Film4 a few days ago (the English dubbed version - I was interested to see that Mark Hamill was included in the voice credit list) I couldn't stop watching it. Now, I'm 32 & I thought I'd stopped watching cartoons decades ago, but this was something more than that. In fact, my "awakening" actuallly happened after I watched another Japanimation, again on Film4, at Christmas, callled 'Princess Mononoke'. Ever since then I've actuallly had more interest in Japanimation as a whole, & 'Castle in the Sky' more or less galvanized that for me. Both movies are definitely on my "to-buy" list.
If you're new to this kind of animation, these two movies are certainly a great introduction.
