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Castle in the Sky

Original title: Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta
  • 1986
  • PG
  • 2h 5m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
172K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,085
420
Castle in the Sky (1986)
CT #2 Post
Play trailer1:07
7 Videos
99+ Photos
AnimationAdventureFamily

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.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.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
  • Writers
    • Hayao Miyazaki
    • Jonathan Swift
  • Stars
    • Mayumi Tanaka
    • Keiko Yokozawa
    • Kotoe Hatsui
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    172K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,085
    420
    • Director
      • Hayao Miyazaki
    • Writers
      • Hayao Miyazaki
      • Jonathan Swift
    • Stars
      • Mayumi Tanaka
      • Keiko Yokozawa
      • Kotoe Hatsui
    • 278User reviews
    • 152Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos7

    Castle in the Sky
    Trailer 1:07
    Watch Castle in the Sky
    Castle in the Sky
    Clip 1:08
    Watch Castle in the Sky
    Castle in the Sky
    Clip 0:46
    Watch Castle in the Sky
    Castle in the Sky
    Clip 1:16
    Watch Castle in the Sky
    Castle in the Sky
    Clip 1:47
    Watch Castle in the Sky
    Castle in the Sky: Special Edition
    Clip 1:21
    Watch Castle in the Sky: Special Edition
    Castle in the Sky: Special Edition
    Featurette 1:06
    Watch Castle in the Sky: Special Edition

    Photos281

    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)
    Castle in the Sky (1986)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mayumi Tanaka
    Mayumi Tanaka
    • Pazu
    • (voice)
    Keiko Yokozawa
    • Sheeta
    • (voice)
    Kotoe Hatsui
    Kotoe Hatsui
    • Dola
    • (voice)
    Minori Terada
    • Muska
    • (voice)
    Fujio Tokita
    Fujio Tokita
    • Uncle Pom
    • (voice)
    Ichirô Nagai
    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
    • Sheeta's grandmother
    • (voice)
    Takahiro Hirai
    • Chinese minion
    • (voice)
    Tomomichi Nishimura
    • Train Operator
    • (voice)
    • …
    Shinya Ôtaki
    • Egyptian minion
    • (voice)
    • (as Shinya Ohtaki)
    • Director
      • Hayao Miyazaki
    • Writers
      • Hayao Miyazaki
      • Jonathan Swift(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Laputa the flying island was a setting in Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, published in 1726. Hayao Miyazaki says in interviews that he was unaware that "la puta" means "the whore" in Spanish. If he had been aware of the translation, he would not have used it as a title. Swift, incidentally, is considered the inventor of "black comedy", and as a well-educated man and satirist, very likely knew the meaning of the Spanish term (in the novel, the Gulliver character lists Spanish as one of the many languages he's fluent in).
    • Goofs
      In the Disney dub, when Sheeta first shows her crystal to Pazu, she says that her grandmother gave it to her. But later on in the film, she says that her mother gave it to her before she died.
    • Quotes

      Uncle Pomme: The earth speaks to all of us, and if we listen, we can understand.

    • Crazy credits
      The end credits show the remains of the castle Laputa floating on Earth's orbit.
    • Alternate versions
      An English dub of this film was produced by the Walt Disney Company in 1999 (originally intended to be released that same year), but wasn't released on DVD until 2003. The English dub shortens the title to "Castle in the Sky," removing the word "Laputa," since it means "the whore" in Spanish. The voice cast includes James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Mark Hamill, Cloris Leachman, Mandy Patinkin, Andy Dick, and Michael McShane.
    • Connections
      Edited into Miyazaki Dreams of Flying (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Kimi wo Nosete
      (Carrying You)

      (insert song)

      Lyrics by Hayao Miyazaki

      Music by Joe Hisaishi

      Performed by Azumi Inoue (Tokuma Japan)

    User reviews278

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A visually impressive and engaging adventure with a solid narrative, characters and voice-work – great fun
    When the airship she is on is attacked, Sheeta tries to escape from her would-be captors but falls to her death through the clouds. Fortunately the enchanted and mysterious crystal she is wearing round her neck saves her and floats her to the ground where she is found by young Pazu, who is rushing to get back to his boss in the mine with food. Pazu takes her in and they become friends but quickly learn that the pirates after Sheeta have not given up their chase. Not only do the pair have to deal with the pirates but also the government, led by sinister agent Muska, have their own dark reasons for getting hold of Sheeta. Escaping Pazu's town together is only the start of their adventure together.

    Hard to believe that this film is twenty years old and yet looks as fresh and is as engaging as anything else you will see today. The sheer visual style and imagination is quite breath-taking and I could not quite believe that this was made by Miyazaki only 7 years after the vastly inferior (but still OK) Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (or The Castle of Cagliostro as it was in the UK). As writer he has also done well to craft a story that is engaging and enjoyable. It struggles at times with the weight of coincidence needed to make the film move forward but the manner of delivery covers up these little problems by producing regular action and fun characters. The pace of the film is perfectly pitched and things move forward really well and I can't imagine an audience of children or adults will be bothered by the running time. The characters bring out nice relationships as well which adds value to the story but unfortunately points made late in the film about the environment and such are heavily made and clunky.

    The voice cast in the English dub are mostly very good. Sadly the weakest link is Paquin, she sounds unnatural and a little wooden too often. She probably isn't that weak but she is shown up by an engagingly fresh and natural delivery from Van Der Beek – not something I expected to be saying when I learnt he was doing the voice of Pazu. Just as good is Leachman's Dola – blessed with a good character in the first place, her voice is spot on despite sounding a little like Mrs Skinner on the Simpsons. Hamill takes the bad guy role well and shows his experience at animation even if he is a little hammy at the odd point. Everyone works well together and they deliver their characters well to support the narrative and they match the impressive visuals well.

    Overall this may not have the emotional depth of Spirited Away but it has strong characters and good relationships. These are grown within a engaging story told with pace and a good rate of action. Of course if none of this interests you then it is still worth seeing for Miyazaki's imagination and style, which is impressive and hard to believe that it is 20 years old this year.
    helpful•15
    0
    • bob the moo
    • Sep 3, 2006

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    FAQ1

    • What's up with the different musical scores?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 19, 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Laputa
    • Production companies
      • Tokuma Shoten
      • Studio Ghibli
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,300,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $523,664
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $197,172
      • Nov 18, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $6,113,144
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 5 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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