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This is one of the best animated family films of all time. Moreover, virtually all of the serious rivals for this title came from the same creative mind of Hiyao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli. Specifically, other great films include "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kikki's Delivery Service." Spirited Away is quite good, but a bit too creepy for typical family fare - better for teenagers and adult. The one thing that sets "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" apart from other films by Miyazaki is that it is far more of a tension-filled adventure ride.

Why is this film so good? Because it's a complete package: the animation is very well done, and the story is truly engaging and compelling.

Most Japanese anime is imaginative, but decidedly dark or cynical or violent; and the animation itself is often jerky, stylized, and juvenile. None of these problems plague Castle in the Sky. It has imagination to burn, and the characters are well drawn, if slightly exaggerated versions of realistic people. (None of those trench-coat wearing posers) There is plenty of adventure, but not blood and gore. The animation is smooth, detailed, and cinematic ally composed - not a lot of flat shots. The backgrounds are wonderful.

The voice acting in the dubbed English version is first rate, particularly the two leads, Pazo (James Van der Beek) and Sheeta (Anna Paquin). The sound engineering is great, too. Use your studio sound, if you've got it.

One aspect that I particularly enjoyed is that much of the back story is left unexplained. Laputa was once inhabited, and is now abandoned. Why? We never know. We know as much as we need to know, and then we just have to accept the rest, which is easy to do because the invented world is so fully realized. Indeed, it is fair to say that the world is more fully realized than most of the minor characters, who are for the most part one-dimensional stock characters (e.g., gruff general, silly sidekick, kooky old miner, etc.) Highly recommended for people aged 6 to 60!

Bewitching wizardry and imagination that marauds through the sky to conjure an elegant and endearing testament of the great and the good that people can possess, while also demonstrating their more suspect characteristics, those that deserve to be banished to a citadel and fortressed far below ground. Another genuinely awe inspiring and prophetic piece of work from Hayao Miyazaki.

When the airship she is on is attacked, Sheeta tries to escape from her would-be captors but falls to her death through the clouds. Fortunately the enchanted and mysterious crystal she is wearing round her neck saves her and floats her to the ground where she is found by young Pazu, who is rushing to get back to his boss in the mine with food. Pazu takes her in and they become friends but quickly learn that the pirates after Sheeta have not given up their chase. Not only do the pair have to deal with the pirates but also the government, led by sinister agent Muska, have their own dark reasons for getting hold of Sheeta. Escaping Pazu's town together is only the start of their adventure together.

Hard to believe that this film is twenty years old and yet looks as fresh and is as engaging as anything else you will see today. The sheer visual style and imagination is quite breath-taking and I could not quite believe that this was made by Miyazaki only 7 years after the vastly inferior (but still OK) Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (or The Castle of Cagliostro as it was in the UK). As writer he has also done well to craft a story that is engaging and enjoyable. It struggles at times with the weight of coincidence needed to make the film move forward but the manner of delivery covers up these little problems by producing regular action and fun characters. The pace of the film is perfectly pitched and things move forward really well and I can't imagine an audience of children or adults will be bothered by the running time. The characters bring out nice relationships as well which adds value to the story but unfortunately points made late in the film about the environment and such are heavily made and clunky.

The voice cast in the English dub are mostly very good. Sadly the weakest link is Paquin, she sounds unnatural and a little wooden too often. She probably isn't that weak but she is shown up by an engagingly fresh and natural delivery from Van Der Beek – not something I expected to be saying when I learnt he was doing the voice of Pazu. Just as good is Leachman's Dola – blessed with a good character in the first place, her voice is spot on despite sounding a little like Mrs Skinner on the Simpsons. Hamill takes the bad guy role well and shows his experience at animation even if he is a little hammy at the odd point. Everyone works well together and they deliver their characters well to support the narrative and they match the impressive visuals well.

Overall this may not have the emotional depth of Spirited Away but it has strong characters and good relationships. These are grown within a engaging story told with pace and a good rate of action. Of course if none of this interests you then it is still worth seeing for Miyazaki's imagination and style, which is impressive and hard to believe that it is 20 years old this year.

I first saw this film when I was about 8 years old on TV in the UK (where it was called "Laupta: The Flying Island"). I absolutely loved it, and was heartbroken when it was repeated a while later and I missed it. I was enchanted by the story and characters, but most of all by the haunting and beautiful music. It would have been the original English dubbed version which I saw - sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Streamline Dub" (the dub was actually by Ghibli themselves and only distributed by Streamline) which is sadly unavailable except as part of a ridiculously expensive laser disc box-set.

Unfortunately I feel that the release has been partly spoiled by Disney. The voice acting is OK but the dialogue doesn't have the same raw energy that the "streamline" dub or the original Japanese had, and I think James Van Der Beek sounds too old to play the lead. They have made some pointless alterations, such as changing the main character's name from "Pazu" to "Patzu", and added some dialogue. But worst of all I feel that they have ruined many scenes with intrusive music - the opening scene of the airships for example was originally silent but has been spoiled thanks to Disney's moronic requirement that there be music playing whenever anyone is not speaking, which I find annoying in many Disney films.

This film still blows away most recent animated films, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The plot is simple yet captivating and the film shows a flair which is sadly missing from most modern mass-market, homogenized animation.

Hayao Miyazaki is without a doubt, the best story teller of Japan. His version of the Laputa Island episode in "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, transports us into this magical and technologically innovative world. All the characters fit into their roles. The English version, is masterfully personified by Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, and Mark Hamill among others.

Great entertainment, mystery, drama and adventure are the trademarks of this masterpiece of anime by Miyazaki. Worth to be watched by the whole family.