Dreams can come true … if you truly believe in them.
What They Say:
Castle in the Sky is a timeless story of courage and friendship, with stunning animation from acclaimed Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki.
This high-flying adventure begins with Pazu, an engineer’s apprentice, spies a young girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky, held aloft by a glowing pendant. Both Sheeta and Pazu are searching for the legendary floating castle, Laputa, and they vow to travel there together to unravel the mystery of the luminous crystal. But their quest won’t be easy, as soon they are being pursued by greedy air pirates, the military, and secret government agents, who all seek the power Sheeta alone can control.
The Review:
Audio:
The audio display for this delightful release is available in English DTS-HD 5.1 or Japanese subtitled DTS-HD 2.0 lossless codec or French subtitled Dolby Digital 2.0 and the wonderful fullness of this sound presentation helps to flesh out the film acoustically. We are enveloped through this embracing ambiance to propel the audience within a portrayal which is wholly dependent upon each voice actors’ performance to carry their weight and allowing the audio surroundings to reflect the wondrous sense of an untainted world vainly competing against the emergence of destructive technologies. It is a marvelous aural display as the subtly of natural and instrumental soundtracks allow the audience to submerge themselves within a society of familiarity, but seen and heard from a different point of view. There are times when the wondrously uplifting orchestral ambiance becomes a player unto itself, the fullness of music all encompassing and the surprising sophistication of nuanced sounds, all as we try to understand the similarities of two environments encapsulated within one. As such, the acoustics are essential to this film, sharing an equal amount of weight as with the visuals to carry the ideals of Miyazaki-sensei into reflecting contrasting natures. The richness of this musical bounty and natural ambiance makes the audience more aware of the underlying sense of the known versus unknown, however due to the age of the original recordings, there are moments when the sounds are not well balanced, with voices being more pronounced against background noises which seem drowned out even with an equalized sound system, this being true with all versions of the soundtrack.
Normally I try to review a series or film by viewing in its original format, however this is one of the few exceptions in which I opted to watch it again in a secondary language track, namely English. The translation of this film is truly enticing with the use of familiar Hollywood voices, allowing each person’s personality to shine through the roles. Yet while prior Studio Ghibli films have utilized a wide array of talent to fulfill these daunting roles, this movie seems fairly sensible in casting recognizable actors for the main protagonists, but a glaring fault is the change in vocal ages for these characters; to reflect the innocence of the heroes, it would make sense to cast child performers, however both of the English leads are in their early twenties, with the on-screen characters themselves being pre-adolescents. While it is not objectionable with Anna Paquin for Sheeta and James Van Der Beek as Pazu, it is bit out of place to hear these obviously adult voices trying to sound younger, and as such while Pacquin’s lower pitch is acceptable, it is Van Der Beek’s baritone which is rather odd for a pre-teen when compared to the original. However, the film does redeem itself with delightful performances for the supporting roles: Cloris Leachman as the endearing pirate queen Dola and Mark Hamill playing the haughty government official Muska, with both characters practically stealing their scenes when they appear. Although it is fulfilling to have this many familiar voices within one Studio Ghibli movie, to have the latter two relegated to such incidental parts is a shame, even if their contributions do help to flesh out the contrasting clash of emotions and motivations for this magnificent film.
Video:
Castle in the Sky is Studio Ghibli’s first film and it is hard to believe this masterpiece is over three decades old, considering how well the production company was able to reformat the visuals into modern day standards. Viewers can watch this movie in either standard DVD encoded MPEG-1/2 DVD media format with 720×480 anamorphic resolution or a Blu-ray remastered edition in 1080p using AVC codec for anamorphic playback, with both formats remaining in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. However even with the daunting task of having so much amazing animation for this presentation, the visuals are outstanding, for the most part. Since this movie was originally distributed in 1986, the video format is in keeping with standard definition of the time, which was 480p. As such, the playback is adequate on the past generation disk, however when the studio tried to update the resolution for Blu-ray, they did run into some minor problems. While you can be dazzled by the individual elements comprising a whole, there are times when the viewer will be distracted by digital artifacts which cast a shadowy haze over wondrous vistas, and this is especially noticeable during scenes in which the illumination of the scene shines forth or we stare in awe at the breathtaking landscapes, but this minor mistake can be overlooked in favor of the film in its entirety.
And yet even within all of this magnificent splendor, Miyazaki-sensei is able to create an all inclusive movie which does not sacrifice stunning visuals to tell a captivating story, with the animation gradually expanding the only world Pazu has known once he meets Sheeta. The manner by which the film opens with a gloomy sky and then focuses on a dreary mining town in which resources are being depleted is depressing, all in taking with how the prologue is crafted to express an old fashioned lifestyle which is dependent upon technology from the Industrial Revolution. It is not until we are introduced to a new influence in the form a girl floating down from the sky by which the world begins to brighten, and thus allowing for the atmosphere to reflect this optimistic viewpoint. With her glowing crystal the audience is introduced to new possibilities, small influences at first but then gradually expanded once the land outside the town is explored, allowing the screen to explode with the excitement of verdant fields and high speed chases on buzzing speedsters. While the scenery may be familiar green farmlands and pastures, it is only once the confines of Pazu’s town are surpassed are we finally exposed to the delight of Miyazaki’s vivid imagination, with fantastical steam powered vehicles propelled upon flimsy wings which barely seem able to keep the craft aloft, all as we gaze in wonder at the expansive world which lay outside the confines of a coal mine or a farm house. To be share the exhilaration of two children being able to see sights they may have never dreamed is what makes Castle in the Sky such a visual treat, unfolding upon the never ending sky which is as wide as their future, with this first step but a glimpse of what they may see with tomorrow.
Packaging:
The case packaging is the first thing a buyer notices about this product and thus, it should project the proper attitude for this film, with GKIDS doing a great job in creating an appealing mood. You cannot but smile seeing a welcoming image from the movie plastered upon the front of this disk combination’s cardboard sleeve: the iconic moment which expands Pazu’s isolated world – when Sheeta descends from the sky with her crystal necklace glowing. And while the same delightful display is repeated on all important media within and upon the interior Blu-ray disk case, it not until we open the box do we see a new vista of imagination with the central anchoring point of the movie – an overland view of the legendary floating city of Laputa. However its importance is a bit curious due to viewing it through a neon blue plastic, giving the impression we are witnessing a land which is under the sea, allowing us to wonder how it plays a part as we make a choice between the two disk formats held within. However even as that choice may be essential, it is the exclusive information booklet held within which leaves an impact the purchaser, allowing us to absorb insight and wisdom from Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki and the master himself Hayao Miyazaki. Their thoughts and reasoning into creating Castle in the Sky are enlightening, permitting us to understand how such varied ideas developed into such a beloved and now classic movie.
Menu:
GKIDS once again makes a favorable impression upon the viewer once they load a disk by displaying the same delightful image we were presented from the welcoming presentation case – Pazu attempting to catch a floating Sheeta. However it is a bit strange to see this portrayal due to digital artifacts from the close-up scene are now magnified, making the whole display appear as if it has been painted upon a strained canvas, with the brushmarks now all too readily apparent. While it would normally not be a problem for most people, once you become absorbed within the many delights held throughout this opening menu, every linear discrepancy becomes amplified with each second spent gazing at this unintentional shame. Although we still have standard menu selections etched along the lower screen, emblazoned in white appropriately within a sky blue ribbon, GKIDS made another tactical error with an absence of any musical accompaniment to make our choice less boring. To stare at this aforementioned screen in silence may not be bad, but with each minute spent musing as to which of the many bonus features you wish to view, it only makes the wait all the more strenuous and tedious.
Extras:
This bonus selection has some of the best choices I have ever seen for any anime presentation, and this is all thanks to Studio Ghibli’s need to please their audience. While we may be satisfied with obligatory movie trailers, this is where the collection diverges from the norm and presents the viewer with a range of programs concerning behind the scenes documentaries about the film. Although most may be only a few minutes in length and contain interviews with Miyazaki-sensei about various aspects of the movie, which in retrospect seem gleamed from a longer conversation, they all contribute to an understanding of how much work was put into creating a diverse world for The Castle in the Sky. However even within this varied assemblage of information, there are still a few gems which shine through all the exhilaration and prove to be ones which you must watch for a greater insight into this masterpiece.
While most of the video discussions may be interesting, the show called The World of Laputa explanations how the origin the floating island is founded on Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels plus Creating Castle in the Sky elaborates the creation of settings based on abandoned coal production within Cardiff, Wales, thus delivering some of the most fascinating views of how the Studio Ghibli team transforms real life sights into scenery for the film. However even with this revelation, it cannot top the true treasure of the bonus section, which are the full length storyboards for the movie itself. Although some production companies may endeavor to piecemeal this for their own features, Miyazaki-sensei himself drew most of the individual pictures which exactly follows the entirety of this wondrous film, from beginning to end. And if this wasn’t enough, they also included the entire movie soundtrack with every Japanese seiyūs reproducing their performances for this sketch based artist walkthrough of the presentation. This is one time I wished for two copies of the Blu-ray and accompanying televisions, all to watch both versions in a side by side comparison, allowing full enjoyment of seeing the differentiation between roughs and the final product – that truly would have been a delightful treat.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
On a stormy night a lone blimp discreetly floats through the evening sky, with only the foreboding symbol which is emblazoned upon its tail rudder signaling its foul intentions: a white skull. As the buxom leader peers through a spyglass, she soon sights their quarry – a well lit airship elegantly flying beneath them, thus signalling her crew it is time to strike via their swift motorized gliders. However as they prepare for descent, a despondent girl carelessly stares out her cabin window, silently ignoring the meal presented as if in willful protest against the men who were busy eating behind her. It was only then did she spot the strange dragonfly winged vehicles darting by, her alarm alerting the guards and causing a panic within the room, all as they desperately tried to prepare for what they knew these vile bandits were attempting. The quick aircraft readily buzzed around the slower dirigible, mockingly provoking the grief stricken crew who did not know what to do, easily landing upon the roof and daringly avoiding carelessly aimed machine gun fire which had little effect in repelling the boarders. And yet these bold raiders did not attack the nervous passengers who were screaming on the upper levels, instead ignoring these easy hostages and recklessly pacifying armed sailors by firing canisters of tear gas within the lower decks. It was only as they approached a certain stateroom did they finally meet any viable resistance, with the narrow corridor blocked by hastily erected tables attempting to form a shaky barricade, but proved no avail for the guards as they quickly succumbed to the toxic fumes.
As his subordinates attempted to buy some much needed time, the final sentry found himself hastily trying to tap out a distress message upon a portable telegraph, with the same forlorn girl being ignored in this dire situation. However she did not hesitate to react against her captor, searching for a discarded weapon to incapacitate her guard as he was too preoccupied to do his service, with the result being a reluctant impact via wine bottle to the back of his head. With the ruckus outside growing more vicious, the former prisoner looked for a way of escape, with the only solution being the cabin’s porthole to which she did not delay, but not before searching within her guard’s jacket to liberate a simple pendant adored with a deep blue stone. After securing it around her neck, the child hastily opened the egress and daringly stepped upon a narrow wind swept reinforcement, with each movement growing ever so unsteady that she was hesitant to quicken her pace, and yet once the inner door was breached, it left her little choice. As the bandits entered and saw the howling aperture, they did not stop until their clumsy numbers threatened to pour all out the narrow fall, with only the frontmost spotting their quarry trying to escape as she nervously balanced upon the flimsy railing toward a neighboring window. But as the desperate man tried to reach for the maiden, her unsure footing slipped from beneath, resulting in the prisoner noiselessly plummeting toward certain doom; however none were concerned for their mistaken actions, with their only regret being they had lost the jewel which hung around the poor girl’s neck.
Within a desolate mining village, a dutiful boy wandered into a local tavern to purchase a late dinner for himself and his employer, with everyone in line complimenting his hard work before he ran off into the night. As he followed the well worn path leading back to the mines, his spirited eyes spotted a curious light slowly floating down from high above, and only as he drew nearer did he finally realize it was attached to a young girl being gingerly carried down back toward the ground. Running toward the suspected landing area, he gazed upward in amazement as the unusual sight slowly came closer, not hesitating to climb the dizzying heights of a nearby crane in order to catch the falling child. However he was not prepared once the glowing necklace began to wane, for he now perched upon the edge of the construction device, now barely able to balance himself once the full weight became focused within his outstretched arms. Straining from the unexpected shift in positioning, the lad finds himself almost dropping this unexpected visitor, struggling to right himself and finally place the girl upon a nearby platform before descending to the tunnels below to inform his boss about this strange girl. However as the noisy boiler began to strain under building pressure, the gruff man did not pay attention, more worried about a possible explosion and the ringing of a nearby bell to signal a need for the skip to be raised. Surprisingly, the engineer allowed his young apprentice to operate the delicate machinery, but as he pulled the dedicated levers to hoist the cables, the boy became distracted by the girl lying nearby, almost allowing the elevator to ascend too fast before being warned by a last minute shout. But as exhausted miners staggered from their dirty excursion with a cart full of stones, they dishearteningly declared to the foreman they could not find any valuable minerals, guessing this shaft had been cleaned out. Tired from a long shift, all decided to shut down for the night and they left the child to oil the steam engine, only later returning home and collapsing floor with the mysterious girl passed out within his own bed.
With sunlight barely breaking over the horizon, the forthright boy rose with a smile and climbed to the roof before opening a nearby coop to release his pigeons, and only after stretching to shake the sleep from his body did he raise trumpet to lips to sings a rousing reveille across the drowsy valley. As dawn broke across the window, the young girl finally stirred and listened as music echoed overhead, finding a nearby ladder to which she ascended towards its source. After opening the hatch, she was surprised as a flock of birds dove down to shock her awake, and only then did her rescuer finally introduce himself as Pazu and she replied with her own name as Sheeta. Surrendering a handful of bread crumbs to his guest, hungry birds swarmed the startled girl as she giggled by the excitement, and both went downstairs to have their own breakfast. However as the boy indicated where she could wash up, she was riveted by a fascinating picture pinned to the wall, with a caption indicating the floating island contained within was named Laputa. Pazu proudly stated his father took that portrait and while he swore the sighting of the mythical land was true, no one believed the poor man and called him a liar until his dying day. It is now his son’s mission to prove everyone they are wrong, with his intention to build his own airplane and show them the legend truly does exist.
But before the pair can sit down for their meal, a rare sight noisily rumbles by the window, and as Sheeta looks outside to see an automobile come to a stop and men tumble out, she fearfully hides behind Pazu and whispers the men are pirates. The formally dressed raiders boldly march to the door, and yet before they can knock, two children race out and excuse themselves before anyone can ask any questions. While the pair think they may have escaped, their victory is short lived as one of the invaders find the girl’s discarded dress, only to then realize they have been duped. Running down the hill, the two dash off to find help within the neighboring village, however they soon understand other bandits have been asking snooping around and cutting off any venues of escape. With his boss offering to interfere, Pazu leads Sheeta to the town’s delivery trolley with hopes to report the pirates to police in the next settlement, however they do not get far as the group soon give chase across rickety tracks. As the reckless ruffians close in, a desperate fight ensues and when the kids finally think they have escaped, an intimidating railroad tank closes in from the opposite direction. While all think they have been saved, Sheeta once again cowers behind her friend, finally realizing the men who emerge are the same ones who held her captive at the very beginning.
In Summary:
Castle in the Sky is a delightfully charming and reassuring coming of age story in which Miyazaki-sensei has created a world which seems at odds with the current level of technology, rebelling against the progress man has made in his urge to surpass nature, but at the same time is conflicting against this advancement in order to uncover more strength to sate their greed from mysteries of the past. This driving force of humanity to always grow is what forms the basis for the story, either through their desire to become more powerful or attain a more satisfying transcendent reward that causes men to seek an ever more distant horizon. And yet the film reflects contrasting viewpoints of the same objective: Dola and Muska want to attain wealth and the might to control others respectively, all while the innocence of Pazu and Sheeta wish to find Laputa to fulfill more lofty ideals of searching out the legend to prove its value is contained by more than what others think – the need to prove his father was right and understand her own story. It is these latter goals which are proven to more worthy of the real truth behind this legendary island, and while the adults’ coarser wants may propel the narrative forward, the purer dreams of children are what make this film truly worthy of higher praise.
To watch Pazu and Sheeta’s indomitable courage and undaunted determination drive them forward is epically gratifying, all as clumsy adults constantly get in each others way, neither of these young explorers are dissuaded from their worthy quest, even if the unsure girl at times needs her savior to reignite her drive to always go forward, no matter how burdensome the truth may be. It is this refreshingly untainted partnership which makes the story so admirable, neither has any undue or underlying goals which may interfere with the friendship, and as such it makes their search all the more reflective of the purity of childhood. As you watch them grow closer as the film progresses, you still cannot but be fascinated by this innocence, each dependent upon the other to achieve the others’ goal, and yet they still do not have any ulterior motives unlike adults as they grow up. The kingdom of Laputa is at the center of this Swiftian adventure, and as such this ultimate reward is what drives all toward the dangerous mystery, but as some show their true colors of avarice and betrayal, it is our heroes who prove to be the only ones worthy of the true prize … allowing the audience to cheer for them from the enchanting beginning to a consequently fulfilling end.
Features: Exclusive Booklet, Feature Length Storyboards, Behind the Microphone, The World of Laputa, Creating Castle in the Sky, Character Sketches, Producer’s Prospective: Meeting Miyazaki, Scoring Miyazaki, Promotional Video, Textless Credits, Original Theatrical Trailers
Content Grade: A-
Audio Grade: A
Video Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Menu Grade: B+
Extras Grade: A+
Released By: GKIDS
Release Date: October 31, 2017
MSRP: $34.95
Running Time: 125 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC (SD Remaster)/480i mpeg-1/2 video codec
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Review Equipment: Sharp LC-42LB261U 42” LED HDTV & Microsoft Xbox One S Blu-ray player via HDMI connection