Noticing that there hasn’t been any thread about Studio Ghibli’s first — but in reality Miyazaki’s third — feature, I thought it would be nice to start one.
That said, I have to say that CASTLE IN THE SKY is up there with my favorite movies AND my favorite Ghibli films. Even if the storyline is more “simplistic” than Miyazaki’s other epics, it’s told very well with just the right amount of wonder, humor, adventure, mystery, and romance. There are places where the animation may seem a bit primitive compared to the studio’s later work, but frankly, for a film from 1986, it still looks beautiful. The characters, archetypal though they may be, are a very fun lot—particularly the sky pirate Dola and Miyazaki’s second irredeemably evil antagonist, Colonel Muska; I’d say that both are the stars of the show because they have so much presence and dominate every scene they’re in. Not that Pazu and Sheeta aren’t appealing; they’re both likeable and are worth rooting for, it’s just that both don’t have as much depth as their co-stars. That said, I really can’t find anything bad to say about them. Everything about this movie feels right—the music, the animation, the characters, the storyline, the voice acting (in both language tracks)… the list goes on and on.
And yet I feel this movie never really get the recognition it deserves. It was dubbed and released by Disney in 2003, but in spite of finding an audience, it hasn’t had much of a life on its own. Perhaps it’s because some fans were so spoiled by Miyazaki’s other works that debuted here, like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle that Laputa may seem somewhat primitive by comparison. That said, it is very pleasing to see that the film has won over new fans over the years.
As far as Disney’s dub is concerned, it’s not without its shortcomings — the leads do sound considerably more like teenagers and the otherwise well-written ADR script does deviate from the original at times — but otherwise it’s a damn fine dub IMO. The performances are well done and consistently entertaining — particularly Dola and Muska, both of who are the very best voices in the Disney dub, unsurprisingly — the dialogue flows smoothly and at times, even expands on the characters, notably the pirate brothers, and Joe Hisaishi’s new score is brilliant, arguably enhancing an already fantastic film. The original score was good, but this new score sounds much richer and really gives the film the feel of a genuine epic adventure. Although some may prefer the less boisterous Japanese version, this new score still deserves a listen—it is truly something else. You can actually get it on a soundtrack CD offered from Japan.