Castle in the Sky (1986)

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Hayao Miyazaki

Stars:

Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mayumi Tanaka	...	Pazu (voice)
Keiko Yokozawa	...	Sheeta (voice)
Kotoe Hatsui	...	Dola (voice)
Minori Terada	...	Muska (voice)
Fujio Tokita	...	Uncle Pom (voice)
Ichirô Nagai	...	Shogun Mouro (voice)
Hiroshi Ito	...	Oyakata (voice)
Machiko Washio	...	Okami (voice)
Takuzô Kamiyama	...	Shalulu (voice)
Yoshito Yasuhara	...	Lui (voice)
Sukekiyo Kameyama	...	Anli (voice)
Ryûji Saikachi	...	Old Engineer (voice)
Tarako	...	Madge (voice)
Eken Mine	...	Underling (voice)
Reiko Suzuki	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

A young boy stumbles into a mysterious girl who floats down from the sky. The girl, Sheeta, was chased by pirates, army and government secret agents. In saving her life, they begin a high flying adventure that goes through all sorts of flying machines, eventually searching for Sheeta's identity in a floating castle of a lost civilization.

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Plot Keywords:

lost civilization | car on train tracks | tunnel | army | pirate | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gondoa, the land Sheeta is from, is probably inspired in Svaneti's historic province of Georgia (aka Gruzhia, the country in between Russia and Turkey), in the northwestern part of the country. The landscape with mountains, farms, and - most importantly - the typical towers.

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Goofs

In the punchout scene between Shalulu and Pazu's boss, there are instances where we don't hear any auditory reactions, much less punches, when the camera is showing long shots of the crowd in either the Japanese version or the Magnum-English dub. (Disney's version, predictably, adds in more walla and punching sounds for that scene.)

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Quotes

[Dola comes thundering into Pazu's town on her automobile where her boys are brawling with the citizens]
Dola: Full speed ahead!
[to Louis and Henri in the distance]
Dola: Hey, boys!
Louis: Wha - ? Hey, it's Mom!
Louis, Henri: [Dola drives up to Louis and Henri] Hi, Mom!
Dola: [incensed] You chowderheads! Get your brother and hop on!
Louis: [dumbfounded] Huh? But Sheeta's hiding inside that house!
Dola: Lamebrain! They made an escape! Now step on it!
Louis: [jumping onto Dola's car] They ESCAPED?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show the remains of the castle Laputa floating on Earth's orbit.

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Alternate Versions

The original Japanese theatrical release did not have the current Studio Ghibli logo at the beginning; it had the Toei logo instead.

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Connections

Referenced in Monsters, Inc. (2001)

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Soundtracks

Moshimo Sora wo Tobetara
(If You Can Fly in the Sky)
(image song)
Lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto
Music by Kyôhei Tsutsumi
Performed by Obata Yoko (Tokuma Japan)

User Reviews

Jonathan Swift could have been proud

Hayao Miyazaki is without a doubt, the best story teller of Japan. His version of the Laputa Island episode in "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, transports us into this magical and technologically innovative world. All the characters fit into their roles. The English version, is masterfully personified by Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, and Mark Hamill among others.

Great entertainment, mystery, drama and adventure are the trademarks of this masterpiece of anime by Miyazaki. Worth to be watched by the whole family.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Castle in the Sky

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$197,172, 18 November 2018

Gross USA:

$523,664

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,040,021

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokuma Shoten, Studio Ghibli

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1