Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki (Screenplay)
Starring: (Voice Talents English) Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, Richard Dysart, Jim Cummings, Michael McShane, Mandy Patinkin, Andy Dick, Corey Burton
Plot: 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.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Strong Animated Adventure
Story: Laputa: Castle in the Sky starts when we see an aerial attack on a future flying craft from Dola and her men. They are after Sheeta and her crystal but she escapes the attack by jumping and guided to safety by her crystal. Sheeta lands literally in the arms of Pazu a young boy who helps on a mining job. Pazu dreams of being able to find the legendary Laputa a floating castle that his father once saw on a trip before spending his life searching for the castle a second time.
Sheeta has to team up with Pazu as they try to escape from pirates and military who both want to get their hands on Sheeta. Sheeta and Pazu get captured by the military side of the people after her and with Muska leading the search for Laputa. Pazu joins force with Dola and her pirates to save Sheeta as everyone involved wants to find the secrets of Laputa.
Laputa: Castle in the Sky is a good action adventure story that could easily be put in the same league as many of the most popular live action ones. It has the traditional multi sided story that follows a range of characters with different motivations to want to find the island in the sky. We have some just after adventure, some after treasure while we have another group who believe they have a connection to the island. Mixing all this together gives you everything you need for a solid and enjoyable action adventure film. (8/10)
Character Review
Sheeta: Sheeta is a young girl who is from Laputa who both Muska and Dola are after, she befriends Pazu and will learn the truth about her past. Sheeta is very traditional princess like character who is always willing to sacrifice to save people from suffering. (8/10)
Pazu: Pazu is a young orphaned boy who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and find the legendary floating castle Laputa. He saves Sheeta and with this his adventure can begin once and for all. Pazu is like most young men who want an adventure and this works well for the character because it makes us care for his journey for answers about what happened to his father. (8/10)
Dola: Dola is the leader of the pirates who wants the crystal and will do anything to make sure she gets the crystal. Dola does start off looking like a villain but in actually fact she turns into almost like the original jack Sparrow. (8/10)
Muska: Muska is the agent working for the military to find Laputa but his methods will include a large body count to get his answers. Muska does make for a good villainous character very calm and calculated throughout. (8/10)
Support Characters: Laputa: Castle in the Sky has a support character list that is mainly used for extra comedy and extra parts of the story.
Director Review: Hayao Miyazaki – Hayao does what he has always done, given us a good animated film that can still be talked about nearly 30 years later. (9/10)
Action: Laputa: Castle in the Sky is filled with action that ranges over nearly every type you would expect to see in an action adventure film. (9/10)
Adventure: Laputa: Castle in the Sky uses the idea of a mystery that is surrounding a legend to drive the adventure side of the story. (9/10)
Animation: Laputa: Castle in the Sky is what you expect from Studio Ghibili great animation. (9/10)
Family: Laputa: Castle in the Sky is one for the whole family to enjoy as they see how the story unfolds. (9/10)
Romance: Laputa: Castle in the Sky has a romance angle which you would find in most action adventure but isn’t the most important part. (4/10)
Settings: Laputa: Castle in the Sky creates beautiful settings for all of the action to take place in. (9/10)
Suggestion: Laputa: Castle in the Sky is one for all the action adventure fans to enjoy, I think most people will enjoy how this one unfolds. (Watch)
Best Part: The story mixes basic love of exploring with legend.
Worst Part: Not one.
Action Scene Of The Film: Everything on the island.
Funniest Scene: The crew all take a shine to Sheeta.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Similar Too: Indiana Jones
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
Overall: Laputa is one of the best action adventure films you never heard of, so go back and watch it.
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