Alternative Names: 天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by: Isao Takahata
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Distributed by: Tokuma Shoten, Toei Company
Release date(s): August 2, 1986 (Japan), April 5, 1996 (United States)
Running time: 126 minutes
Country: Japan
Rating: MPAA: PG (US), 07+
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) (Or simply Laputa) (re-titled Castle in the Sky for release in the United States) is a 1986 film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is the first film created and released by Studio Ghibli. Laputa: Castle in the Sky won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986.
Plot
According to legend, humans were fascinated with the sky; therefore they created increasingly sophisticated ways of lifting aircraft from the ground. This eventually led to flying cities and fortresses. Due to an unspecified catastrophe, most of the flying cities were either destroyed or crashed back to the ground, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. One city, Laputa, is said to remain in the sky, concealed within the swirling clouds of a violent thunderstorm. While most people consider it to be fictional, some believe the legend is true and have sought to find the ancient city. Large airships still remain in common use.
Aboard a civilian airship, a young girl, Sheeta, is escorted to an unknown destination by sinister-looking agents under Colonel Muska. The ship is attacked by a group of sky pirates; in the resulting disorder, Sheeta takes a small pendant from Muska and escapes out the window. The sky pirates, led by an old but vivacious woman Dola, attempt to seize her and the pendant, but Sheeta accidentally falls from the ship. As she falls, the pendant radiates a blue light and she gently floats to the ground. A young boy miner, Pazu, witnesses this in amazement and catches Sheeta. He takes her back to his home, where she finds a photograph of Laputa. Pazu explains that his deceased father, an airship pilot and adventurer, took the photo, but was disbelieved by his contemporaries. Pazu believes the city exists, however, and wants to find it himself someday.
Dola's band of sky pirates arrive at Pazu's house, forcing the children to leave, with Sheeta in a disguise. The Dola Gang finds out and chases them into the village, where the children escape on a railway. Their path is eventually blocked by an armoured train; the government agents inside attempt to capture Sheeta. With both pursuing parties fighting each other over the girl, the children fall from a collapsing rail trestle, but are saved when Sheeta's pendant activates once again, allowing them to float safely into an abandoned mine shaft.
Inside the mines they meet an old miner, Uncle Pom, who tells them of "volucite" (levistone in some subtitled versions, levitation stone in the original English language dub, and aetherium in Disney's English language dub), the crystal that keeps Laputa aloft. He reveals that Sheeta's pendant is one of the largest and purest of such crystals in existence, and counsels Sheeta to remember that the crystal's power rightly belongs to the earth, and that she should never use it to commit acts of violence.
Upon returning to the surface of the land, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has inherited an ancient "secret name": Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa (Laputian for "Sheeta, Second True Ruler of Laputa"). Government agents suddenly appear and take them both into custody. They are taken to a fortress and separated.
The general in command of the fortress discusses with Muska the government-sponsored search for Laputa, and agree that Sheeta and her crystal are the keys to its discovery. Muska reveals to Sheeta his knowledge of her true name, shows her a huge android robot believed to have been created in Laputa, and tells her that unless she cooperates with him in the search of Laputa and unlocking the crystal's secrets, which he believes can be used to physically locate Laputa, Pazu is likely to come to harm. Seeking to protect her friend, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has agreed to cooperate with Muska and the army in search of Laputa and asks him to forget her and Laputa. Stunned by this apparent rejection, Pazu returns to his village, only to find Dola's pirate family occupying his home. Pazu tells Dola of his experiences; when the pirates learn that Sheeta, Muska, and the general will depart the fortress in search of Laputa aboard the gigantic military airship Goliath, Pazu begs Dola to take him with her.
In the fortress tower, Sheeta absent-mindedly recites a spell given by her grandmother, causing the crystal to illuminate a strange blue light that points to Laputa. The spell also re-animates the robot, which wreaks havoc all over the fortress, setting it on fire. The robot rescues Sheeta, demonstrating its loyalty, before it is destroyed by the Goliath airship. In the meantime, Dola and Pazu show up and rescue Sheeta from the burning tower, but her crystal is torn from her neck and later recovered by Muska, who uses it to track down Laputa. The children and Dola's pirates pursue the Goliath aboard the pirate ship Tiger Moth, intent on finding Laputa before the Goliath does. That night, as Sheeta and Pazu stand watch on the crows nest, they talk at length about their respective lives, touching upon Sheeta's study of magic words and mentioning one such spell, the Spell of Destruction, a power Sheeta has never used. Dola, who is awake in bed, overhears their discussions through the intercom.
Amid their conversation, Pazu sees the Goliath rise from the clouds. The airship attacks, but the Tiger Moth escapes unharmed. The Tiger Moth enters a storm, and Dola tells the children to keep watch above the clouds by turning the crows nest into a glider. Soon a massive cloud becomes visible, which Pazu recognises from his father's descriptions as Laputa's hiding place. As they try to find a way in, the Goliath attacks again and the glider Sheeta and Pazu are riding is blasted away from the pirate ship. After a harrowing ride through the storm-charged cloud, the children land in Laputa, only to find the city devoid of human life, having only a single robot among the ruins taking care of the grounds and its plant and animal life. In the grounds is a gargantuan tree, whose roots have pervaded Laputa's base.
The Goliath arrives at Laputa, whereupon the soldiers plunder the city's vast treasures. The Tiger Moth is found wrecked on the surface, with Dola and the pirates being held captive. As Pazu attempts to rescue Dola, Sheeta witnesses Muska locating a hidden entrance to a large sphere that surrounds the city's core; she is subsequently captured and taken inside. Pazu frees the pirates and, after many difficulties, finds another way into the sphere.
Muska takes Sheeta into Laputa's core, a chamber holding a gigantic Volucite/Aetherium crystal that serves as the city's power source, and reveals that he is also an heir to the throne of Laputa. He takes control of Laputa and all its technology and demonstrates the power of the city to the army by beaming an immensely powerful blast toward the surface. Betraying the general and the army, he then activates hundreds of robots to wipe out the army and the Goliath while Dola and the pirates hide from the robots inside the remains of the Tiger Moth. Sheeta frees herself, steals back the crystal and runs through the core with Muska in close pursuit. Eventually, she finds Pazu and passes the crystal to him.
Muska finally corners Sheeta in the city's throne room. He brandishes a handgun at her, blasting off her pigtails. Pazu, with a grenade launcher provided by Dola, then enters and asks for a moment to talk to Sheeta, which Muska grants. Together, the two children decide to use the Spell of Destruction; with a single word, the pendant releases an enormous power surge that triggers the collapse of the city's core. Muska is blinded by the flash and falls to his death, while Sheeta and Pazu are hurled into the tangle of roots from the giant tree and survive. Afterwards they find their way back to the glider, also lodged in the tangle of roots, and leave Laputa.
The Dola pirates also survive Laputa's destruction aboard their moth fighters, and are overjoyed to be reunited with Sheeta and Pazu in midair, with some Laputan treasure as a compensation for their troubles. After reaching the coast, the pirates and the children bid each other a fond farewell and part ways. The ending credits show the remains of Laputa, held together by the tree, continuing to rise, until they apparently establish an orbit high above the earth.
Characters
Dola is the matriarch of a family of sky pirates and the captain of the Tiger Moth. She is after the Volucite/Aetherium crystal, but befriends Pazu and Sheeta when they join them on the search for Laputa. She is voiced by Kotoe Hatsui in Japanese, Rachel Vanowen in the original English dub and Cloris Leachman in the Disney dub.
Muska is the Colonel of a secret military agency dispatched by the government and the main antagonist of the film. He is revealed to be a descendant of the Laputa royal family, his birth name being "Romooska Palo Ul Laputa". He is fully aware of Sheeta's true name, and when he discovers that she holds a crystal, he kidnaps her and plans to use her to become king of Laputa. He is voiced by Minori Terada in Japanese, Jeff Winkless in the original English dub and Mark Hamill in the Disney dub.
The General is Muska's former boss, who is sent to Laputa to raid it of its riches. When Muska tricks him and his army to go into a room beneath the black dome, he falls to his death. He is voiced by Ichirō Nagai in Japanese, Mike Reynolds in the original English dub and Jim Cummings in the Disney dub.
Uncle Pom an old miner who meets Pazu and Sheeta in an abandoned mine shaft and reveals the secret of Sheeta's pendant. He is voiced by Fujio Tokita in Japanese, Ed Mannix in the original English dub and Richard Dysart in the Disney dub.
Shalulu / Charles is Dola's eldest son. He is a large, bearded man who gets into a fight with the Boss. He is voiced by Takuzō Kamiyama in Japanese, Barry Stigler in the original English dub and Michael McShane in the Disney dub.
Lui / Louis is Dola's second son. He is a short-moustached man who falls in love with Sheeta. He is voiced by Yoshito Yasuhara in Japanese, Dave Mallow in the original English dub and Mandy Patinkin in the Disney dub.
Anli / Henri is Dola's third son. He is a freckled man whose eyes are often concealed by his hat. He is voiced by Sukekiyo Kameyama in Japanese, Eddie Frierson in the original English dub and Andy Dick in the Disney dub.
Boss is the mine worker boss and Pazu's mentor. He is voiced by Hiroshi Ito in Japanese, Cliff Wells in the original English dub and John Hostetter in the Disney dub.
Old Engineer is the veteran engineer of the Tiger Moth. He is voiced by Ryūji Saikachi in Japanese.
Okami is Boss's wife. She is voiced by Machiko Washio in Japanese.
Madge is Boss's daughter. She is voiced by Tarako in Japanese.
Additional voices in the Japanese version included Eken Mine, Megumi Hayashibara, Tomomichi Nishimura, Hōchū Ōtsuka, Masashi Sugawara, Reiko Suzuki, Hideki Fukushi, Nobuyuki Furuta, Kazumi Tanaka and Toshihiko Seki. Additional voices in the original English dub included Dave Mallow, Eddie Frierson, Lara Cody, and Barbara Goodson. Additional voices in the Disney dub included Corey Burton, John DeMita, Debi Derryberry, Eddie Frierson, Susan Hickman, Tress MacNeille, Matt K. Miller, Scott Menville, Andy Philpot and Michael Sorich.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_in_the_Sky
Japanese films | Japanese-language films | 1986 films | Adventure anime and manga | Anime films | Anime of 1986 | Anime with original screenplays | Aviation films | Children's fantasy films | Environmental films | Fantasy adventure films | Fantasy anime and manga | Films directed by Hayao Miyazaki | Films distributed by Disney | Mecha anime and manga | Romance anime and manga | Steampunk anime and manga | Steampunk films | Studio Ghibli
