But just looking at “Castle in the Sky” as an evolutionary step towards “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” does this film a disservice.
But just looking at “Castle in the Sky” as an evolutionary step towards “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” does this film a disservice. “Castle in the Sky” is an immaculately structured movie, from ragamuffin orphan Pazu (Mayumi Tanaka) finding the mysterious Sheeta (Keiko Yokozawa), who has a blue amulet both state and non-state actors are intent on seizing as the key to accessing Laputa, the titular castle in the sky. Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli animation team alternate between the ordered villainy of Muska’s (Minori Terada) government forces and the gleeful chaos of Dola (Kotoe Hatsui) and her sky pirates (because of course there are sky pirates), ramping up the stakes for the two kids caught in the middle with each throw between Pazu and Sheeta.