Review of Castle in the Sky

I’m definitely biased with this movie because this was the very first Ghibli film I ever watched and I was a teenager when I first saw it. I was actually 17 at the time and to be quite honest, I was in a rough patch in my life. I won't get too personal but I remember being in this highly secure place with a bunch of other people who were also going through similar problems that I was. And we saw this movie on HBO Max and some of the kids wanted to watch it, since some of the kids were really into anime andI was the only asshole who wasn't. At the time I had kind of heard of this movie before but I had never seen it and I didn't want to see it because again, I didn't like anime at the time. But since I had nothing better to do, I just went with the flow trying to be nice but I was constantly thinking that I was going to hate it. But then the movie started...and then it ended. And for those 2 hours and 4 minutes, I was transported to Hayao Miyazaki's world and it was as if all the problems that I had in life were quickly forgotten about.

Yeah, to say that I was blown away would be an understatement and after it was over I immediately wanted to watch it again. The day I watched this movie was the day I became a Studio Ghibli fan and I’d say that a few of their movies in their filmography are some of my favorite films ever. I wouldn’t say that this movie got me addicted to anime though, but it did make me a little more comfortable with the medium, but just a little bit. Because I still thought that anime was cringe as fuck, but Studio Ghibli weren’t cringe at all to me. They were like…normal animated movies.

If I had seen this movie as a kid I would've watched the shit out of it, and probably worship it too. This movie just made me feel young again and it reminded me of those adventure stories that I used to write before I hit puberty. Yeah, I wrote adventure books, most of which I never finished because I got tired of them. Their plots didn’t really make much sense and I usually ripped off some popular movies that I liked at the time, for example, Indiana Jones. But I was a kid at the time and I didn’t know any better so it was perfectly fine.

So yes I do have a lot of nostalgia for this film and it does hold a special place in my heart. And I have seen this film a couple of times since and I still love it. It's a film that grips you right from the start and really captures your imagination with its breathtaking visuals. Like the look of the world and Laputa itself, aw, it’s to die for. And the music is probably my favorite soundtrack from any Studio Ghibli film. Joe Hisaishi composed the music and it takes your breath away. Especially the title track, that song always gives me goosebumps.

As for the characters, I also like them. Having Mark Hamill voicing the villain in the English dub is always a win in my books. His character isn’t really explored that much but I think that’s fine in this kind of movie. He reminds me of Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark. How he’s having the heroes do all the dirty work for him so he can get what he wants more easily. In fact, like Raiders this movie does feel like an action serial from the 1930s.

Speaking of the English dub I’ve heard some people complain that the voice acting isn’t that great, especially from the character Sheeta. I mean if you really pay attention she constantly switches accents the whole movie. At one point she’s British, at another point she's Australian. The main voice actor for Pazu doesn’t really sound like a kid. But when I first saw this movie I didn’t really notice these things because I was so invested in the story and the characters. These are just things I’ve heard about. And knowing about them now, I mean, it didn’t really take me out of the movie, they weren’t a detriment to the story or anything like that. I don’t know, I just kind of brushed it off, it didn’t bother me.

I like the pirate characters; they're very fun. They were kinda underutilized in the third half, which is a little disappointing, but the focus isn’t really on them, the focus is on the two main characters who are great. I love the adventure that this movie goes through. It's very awe-inspiring. Maybe I just have my rose-tinted glasses on for this one, but I still love this movie. So go watch it if you haven’t because it rules goddammit!

ORIGINALLY REVIEWED ON 03/05/2023