Laputa: Castle in the Sky
“The Earth speaks to all of us, and if we listen, we can understand”, Uncle Pomme.
This quote, spoken by one of the wise-men in the film, essentially sums up our conflict in Castle in the Sky, one of the older (1986, to be precise) films written and directed by the mastermind (to be debated, mind you) of Hayao Miyazaki. If there was one word to describe the entire film, to me it would be innocence. The innocence of our characters, of the world, of the conflict is truly breathtaking.
Within the opening minutes, we’re introduced to a lot of the individuals that we’ll be following throughout the film. Primarily, we meet the sweet, hardworking, strong gentlemen who is Pazu. We get the resourceful Sheeta (who falls from the sky, in spectacular fashion). We meet the bumbling, yet relatable, family (literally a big family of brothers) of pirates, known as the Dola gang (led by, well Dola herself), who are after a girl on board a huge aircraft named Sheeta. However, another party is also after the girl, namely the government/military who are led by the mysterious, yet calm Muska. This provides the central conflict of the story: a young girl has more to her name than meets the eye, and everyone is trying to find out exactly what it’s worth. Oh, and it’s tied directly into the legendary city of Laputa.
From here, we start the unimaginable (but very imaginable, so long as you let it in) journey that follows Sheeta and Pazu. Between the three of them, Pazu, Sheeta, and Muska all have very different reasons for wanting to reach the fabled city of Laputa. Everyone is after something on that fictitious castle in the sky: Pazu wants to go there for his dad; Sheeta wants to find out her past; Muska wants the rumored all powerful city to control, well the world. Oh, and the pirates just want treasure. The characters, by themselves, make the movie enjoyable to watch. Especially our family of pirates. The whole experience is an Indiana Jones-style flick, with the gorgeous animation and art direction backing up that experience. Everything flows so smoothly and beautifully you wouldn’t really believe its age.
Going back to our characters, it’s interesting to see just how well they fit there intentions: Pazu is willing to do anything; Muska is ruthless, yet also smart and controlled; Sheeta is cunning and efficient in her ways. These characters form the bond that keeps the movie so grounded, yet so adventurous and rousing, creating a tunnel-vision of sorts; you really can’t take your eyes off the screen.
As the stakes continue to rise, so do the responsibilities and concerns presented from our lovely characters. Only once all of our parties have found the ancient city of Laputa, overrun with roots and trees, with the technology being overtaken by this nature-power, is when we truly get a glimpse of just what Miyazaki wants us to see. This city creates imagery unlike what you’d normally distinguish: it’s technology and nature working together, so perfectly, yet naive at the same time. This beautiful harmony starts to hit home even more so than it did 30 years ago. What are we gaining from our technological advances nowadays? Why are we forgetting about the nature that surrounds us, so often looked past? Why do we always resort to violence or power to subdue anything standing between us and our intentions?
This movie really does bring up a lot of questions, and it’s paramount to understand that that’s what makes it so enticing to watch, so gripping, and then realize how this fictional world is so like the one we live in.
No matter what you takeaway from it though, this is a movie that should be watched by all audiences. There’s something for everyone here, from the fantastical adventure, to the warm-hearted characters. It’s a movie that reminds us where we came from, and what we might be missing moving forward.
