Back when I first got my Kiki's Delivery Service on VHS in the front of the previews there was a commercial for a movie called Castle in the Sky. In the commercials they stated that it would be available in 1999, well it was 2001 when I got my copy of Kiki’s Delivery Service. I was interested because it was from the same guy that made Kiki’s Delivery Service. Well after searching the net I was told it was delayed in-defiantly due to licensing agreements for DVD and the fact that it had a filthy Spanish word in it. Laputa means filthy wh@re in Spanish and an important local in the movie.

It’s not known whether the director of the movie Hayo Myazaki knew the meaning of the word, all though sources do say that he knew it meant prostitute. But there is still a big difference in being called a prostitute and a b!tch. And even if he did know the full meaning of the word I doubt that there is has big a Spanish speaking population there has there is here. Myazaki though is not to blame here though he got the idea after reading Gullivers travels in which the author named a floating island Laputa to insult the Spanish. Well because of these problems the Disney dubb (which I hear the Japanese got first on there DVD) got delayed for 4 years but is now finally out. It’s time to see what we have been missing.

Movie.
Ok the movie centers around 2 characters Pazu and Sheeta. Pazu is a young boy who lives in a mining town his live changes when he sees Sheeta floating down from the sky after falling off the airship. From there his life changes has he get’s caught up in the conflict between the two groups that are after Sheeta and the strange stone that she carries, for it’s the key to finding the legendary floating city of Laputa One group is a fierce group called the Dola gang led by a female captain called Dola and her sons. The other group is led by Muska and the army who are under orders to find the floating city of Laputa (it’s either a floating city or the best dang brothel around.). If not just to escape from these two groups Pazu and Sheeta are also in search of the city for there own reasons. Pazu is after it to prove that his father you had claim he had discovered the city is no liar, has for Sheeta her reason is that her family name is actually Lucita tul el Laputa (told you she was a filthy wh@re) and is a descendant of the people who used to live on Laputa.

Has the movie goes on though you learn that one side after the two is just after the adventure of finding Laputa (and if they can get some money off it that doesn’t hurt either), while the other is after something a lot worse.

It’s to bad that this film was delayed for so long it would have been a far better 2nd movie to produce in the united states then Princess Mononoke. It fits the area of what we tend to see in an animated movie over here, and brings the bar up a little. Like typical Disney and anime there are villains (although we don’t know who it is at first), large explosions, heroes, and of course the hero rescuing the babe. It certainly a film Americans would be more familiar with then Kiki or Mononoke. Not that Kiki or Mononoke here bad movies, It’s just that Kiki is to quiet, gentle and sweet to have attracted people to a theatrical released so I am glad it went the way of the home movie and got the hype it dissevered along that area. Has for Mononoke it was for more mature audiences and brought up philosophical issues up that kind of bogged the movie down.

Of course even with all that said it’s still far from a typical Anime or Disney movie. It’s not overly hyperactive, nor does it run on any type of formula. Castle in the Sky takes it’s time to explore each local and each situation that Pazu and Sheeta get into.


Animation.
OK how can you not love the animation in a Hayo Myazaki movie. While the overall animation may be limited to say the least, with a few choppy character movements here and there. It makes up for it in the detail. Myazaki did not lazily overlook the potential of any of the many flying scenes in the movie, there all great and done in detail. Just look at the part where Pazu is flying with Dola and the pirates, you see tree’s breeze by has well has fence posts and fields. It’s something quite breathtaking to see even if it’s not has well done has Disney.

Voices.
Well we have the voices of Anna Panquin has Sheeta, James Van Der Beak has Pazu. And Mark Hamil doing the best voice over work since the Joker. They all do a terrific job at it do they get there line and they fit the characters they play, with the exception of the fact that Pazu and Sheeta sound just a bit older then they should (but I have heard worst cases of this flaw in dubbed anime). Another complaint and I’ll warn you of a plot spoiler is Mark Hamil’s portrayal of Muska. It’s not that he doesn’t get Muska right in fact he does the part perfectly it’s just that sometimes he sounds like the Joker. Luckily he doesn’t do his sadistic madman voice in till the end of the movie when we already now who Muska is.

Dubb vs Subb.
So how does this one rate the sub vs. the dubb, while I am always bias for the dubb, especially when it comes to animated features. I feel that subb takes your attention off of the movie and on to the words so you miss at least half the movie just reading the dialog. Still with that said it’s sometimes worth seeing the subb just to see what changes there where made and this is definitely the case with Castle in the Sky. Now the biggest thing in the movie is there was music added, but before you think Kiki’s Delivery Service all over again this was done by Ghibli not by Disney. While Disney did request them to change and add the music, it was mainly to try to flesh out the music a bit. The original score which can be heard in the Japanese version is less then an hour long, in a two hour long movie. And a lot of the silent scenes aren’t really that necessary to get a surrounding and with the scope of this movie a little more emotion in the scenes are good. Has far has added lines or character changes there are a few in here, Dola could be compared to Jiji in this instance with the added lines and jokes but she’s not half has bad has the sarcastic cat that was in Kiki’s.

DVD.
The DVD on this one is a lot like that of Kiki’s Delivery service. In fact it’s basically the same has Kiki’s only a different movie.

Disc 1 contains the movie in both subb and dubb forms. The video in the movie isn’t has good has the movie there is some grain and noise in this one but it’s still far better then that of Beauty and the Beast DVD. Disc 1 also contains sneak peaks of other movies with ad’s for Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited away. It also contains a 5 minute voice featured, and the Japanese trailers. Disc 2 contains the entire movie story boarded.

Marketing.
Disney did ignore this movie and probably is one of the least hype movie they produced ever. But then I can’t really blame them with the whole Laputa thing there probably opening themselves up to a law suit or two over that.

Final Recommendation.
While in some ways this movie is the worst of the batch released last spring, but with that said that’s like saying that your 16 oz steak wasn’t good because it only weigh 15.99999 oz. It’s still one of the greatest Anime movies I have ever seen and it’s defiantly something that should be checked out.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8