Castle in the Sky
{4/5} “The tree. We protected it, so it protects us.”
Castle in the Sky, released in 1986
Pazu catches a girl who falls from the sky, Sheeta. Pirates are after her, for some reason. Sheeta has a crystal that lets her float — that might be the reason. Laputa is a legendary castle that floats in the clouds — it turns out Sheeta’s ancestors are from there. So are Colonel Muska’s, and he wants to use the castle for his own ends.
This is the 1st movie from Studio Ghibli. The animation is simpler than what the studio did later.
It has a fun story. The pirates, whose mother is their leader, are particularly amusing.
It has lots of great things, but also a few things that don’t make sense. The actions of the main characters at the end, in particular, are a bit baffling given the specific instructions that were given to them.
Stars the voices of Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, and Mark Hamill. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo). The top-notch music is by Joe Hisaishi.