In his second Studio Ghibli film, Miyazaki explores the same tension that guides “The Boy and the Heron” between the broken, over-exploited worlds that humans build and the magic ones (equally complicated) it is sometimes possible to reach.
A lot of people come to “Castle in the Sky” looking for the DNA of Miyazaki’s late ’90s and early ’00s masterpieces. And there are indeed some wild dieselpunk contraptions existing in contrast to the lush and timeless majesty of nature, a secret princess, magic that can save the world only unlockable through the power of love, unhinged elders and cute robot guys. In his second Studio Ghibli film, Miyazaki explores the same tension that guides “The Boy and the Heron” between the broken, over-exploited worlds that humans build and the magic ones (equally complicated) it is sometimes possible to reach.