Review of Castle in the Sky

Laputa is a fairly simple fantasy adventure much like many Ghibli movies, even the theme is the old man against nature conflict with this time heavier leaning on green and lust for power. However despite being simple in pretty much every way I'd say this movie is far more than the sum of it parts and when they come together it forms into beautiful experience. The story all revolves around Laputa or more specifically every involved party trying to reach it for their own reasons. The story itself it little more than a framework that gives context to everything that happens. It's simple but not toa fault as it would be unnecessary to delve into more detail even if there's space for it. Also while the story is generally upbeat and optimistic it's not without struggle and some tragedy, personally that helped me to feel more empathetic for the characters and in the end made some scenes just a bit more poignant.
Movie itself mostly flows from one action scene to another with some exploration, adventuring and light exposition in-between. This is the core of the movie and I personally enjoyed it a great deal. Action scenes and set pieces are very dynamic and well animated, real joy to look at and there's a constant sense of tension and danger going on. Same with adventure and exploration, the art is gorgeous and so it what is shows you. The caves with radiating stones, underwater city filled with weird fish, floating island populated with long abandoned robots covered in moss. Ghibli movies are really good at evoking natural wonder.
It's all capped off by a captivating soundtrack with some neat eccentric compositions with interesting instrumentation alongside more traditional orchestral ones. Can't say they're awfully memorable but they fit movie to a t and help to build a mystifying atmosphere.

As a whole it's pretty much what I think most people would expect of Ghibli. A well crafted adventure imbued with a sense of childlike wonder and stunning art. I'm not sure if it quite justifies being 2 hours long and there are some noticeable slowdowns but I don't think it ever became a slog.