Castle in the Sky

This article is about the 1986 film. For other uses, see Castle in the sky (disambiguation).

Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Japanese theatrical poster for Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Japanese	天空の城ラピュタ
Hepburn	Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta
Directed by	Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by	Isao Takahata
Written by	Hayao Miyazaki
Starring	Keiko Yokozawa Mayumi Tanaka Kotoe Hatsui Minori Terada
Music by	Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography	Hirokata Takahashi
Editing by	Takeshi Seyama Yoshihiro Kasahara
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Distributed by	Toei Company
Release date(s)	August 2, 1986 (1986-08-02)
Running time	126 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese English

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 animated feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is the first film produced and released by Studio Ghibli. The film was distributed by Toei Kabushiki Kaisha. Laputa: Castle in the Sky won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986.

Plot

In the film's backstory, human civilizations built flying cities, later destroyed by an unspecified catastrophe, caused by people who became proud of their power, forcing the survivors to live on the ground while the sole exception Laputa remains in the sky, concealed within a powerful thunderstorm. In the story's opening, an airship carrying a girl named Sheeta and her abductor Muska is attacked by the air-pirate Dola and her sons, in search of Sheeta's crystal amulet; and in the resulting struggle, Sheeta falls from the airship, only to be slowed by the amulet in mid-fall. On the ground, she is received by a youth named Pazu, whose father had earlier been in search of Laputa. In the next day they are pursued by Dola's pirates, and later by Muska's soldiers; eventually to fall into a nearly-exhausted mine. There, they encounter the local eccentric 'Uncle Pomme', who informs them that Sheeta's amulet is one of the 'volucite' crystals ('Aetherium' in the American release) formerly used to keep Laputa aloft.

Sheeta and Pazu

Upon leaving the mines, Sheeta says that her real name is Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa; whereupon they are captured by Muska. Later, Muska shows Sheeta a dormant Laputan robot and reveals his knowledge of her secret name, which he interprets as that of a Laputan royal line, and threatens Pazu, whom she therefore orders home. Disappointed in her, Pazu returns to his own house, where he is seized by Dola's sons. Sheeta, retained by Muska, recites an apotropaic verse and unexpectedly activates the robot, who begins to destroy Muska's fortress to find her, while Pazu and Dola's pirates embark in winged 'flaptors' to rescue her themselves. Meanwhile the robot seizes Sheeta; but when struck by Muska's artillery, retaliates against the fortress, until Sheeta orders it to desist, losing her amulet in the meantime. The robot is then overcome by the airship Goliath; and Pazu rescues Sheeta, while Muska retrieves the amulet. The pirates, accompanied by Pazu and Sheeta, return to their airship Tiger Moth, where Dola assigns Sheeta to the galley and Pazu to assist her engineer, and in which they pursue the direction identified by Sheeta's amulet as that of Laputa, while Muska follows the same in the Goliath. Both airships arrive at Laputa on the following day, where the two children, separated from Dola's pirates, discover a city devoid of human life, but possessed of a parklike woodland maintained by a robot resembling that of the fortress, while Muska's soldiers plunder the city's treasures, holding Dola's pirates captive. Upon gaining entrance to the city's central sphere, Muska captures Sheeta; whereupon Pazu frees Dola's pirates and pursues Muska.

The Laputan Castle

In the center of Laputa, containing the immense 'volucite' crystal keeping the city aloft, Muska identifies himself as one of the "Romuska Palo Ul Laputa", another royal line, and uses Laputan technology to destroy the soldiers accompanying him; whereupon Sheeta seizes her crystal amulet and flees, prompting him to pursue her. Encountering Pazu through a gap in an internal wall, Sheeta gives him her amulet, and is herself later cornered by Muska in Laputa's abandoned throne room. There, Muska is defeated when the protagonists cite Sheeta's 'Spell of Destruction', blinding Muska and shattering much of the city. Having escaped the collapse, Pazu and Sheeta re-unite with Dola's pirates, and later part from them, whereupon the ending credits show the remains of Laputa, maintained by the roots of an immense tree, in orbit above the earth.

Cast

Character	Japanese	English (JAL/Streamline, 1989)	English (Disney, 2003)
Princess Sheeta (Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa)	Keiko Yokozawa	Lara Cody	Anna Paquin Debi Derryberry (young Sheeta)
Pazu	Mayumi Tanaka	Barbara Goodson	James Van Der Beek
Captain Dola	Kotoe Hatsui	Rachel Vanowen	Cloris Leachman
Colonel Muska (Romuska Palo Ul Laputa)	Minori Terada	Jeff Winkless	Mark Hamill
General	Ichirō Nagai	Mike Reynolds	Jim Cummings
Uncle Pom	Fujio Tokita	Ed Mannix	Richard Dysart
Charles (Shalulu)	Takuzō Kamiyama	Barry Stigler	Mike McShane
Louis (Lui)	Yoshito Yasuhara	Dave Mallow	Mandy Patinkin
Henri (Anli)	Sukekiyo Kamiyama	Eddie Frierson	Andy Dick
Boss	Hiroshi Ito	Clifton Wells	John Hostetter
Old Engineer	Ryūji Saikachi	Eddie Frierson	Matt K. Miller
Okami	Machiko Washio	Lara Cody	Tress MacNeille
Madge	Tarako	Barbara Goodson	Debi Derryberry
Animal vocal effects	?	?	Frank Welker (uncredited) Pat Fraley (uncredited)

Soundtrack

Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi
Released	25 August 1986
Label	Tokuma

All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.

1. "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27
2. "Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04
3. "A Fun Brawl (Pursuit)" – 4:27
4. "Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46
5. "Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46
6. "Robot Soldier (Resurrection/Rescue)" – 2:34
7. "Carrying You" – 2:02 (Chorus: Suginami Children's Choir)
8. "Sheeta's Decision" – 2:05
9. "On the Tiger Moth" – 2:32
10. "An Omen to Ruin" – 2:18
11. "The Sea of Cloud Under the Moonlight" – 2:33
12. "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" – 4:36
13. "The Collapse of Laputa" – 2:00 (Chorus: Suginami Children's Choir)
14. "Carrying You" – 4:07 (sung by Azumi Inoue)

Influences

The name 'Laputa' is derived from Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, wherein Swift's Laputa is also a flying island that may be controlled by its citizens. Anthony Lioi feels that Miyazaki's Laputa: Castle in the Sky is similar to Swift's Laputa, where the technological superiority of the castle in the sky is used for political ends.

Laputa is credited by Colonel Muska with having informed Biblical and Hindu legends — thus tying the world of Laputa to our Earth (and to western European civilization) — as do the medieval castle architecture on the ground; the Gothic and half-timbered buildings in the village near the fort; the Welsh mining-town architecture, clothing, and ground vehicles of Pazu's homeland; and the Victorian ambiance of the pirate ship. The anime also makes references to the Hindu epic Ramayana, including "Indra's arrow", while the name Sheeta may be a reference to Sita, the female lead in the Ramayana.

Some of the architecture seen in the film was inspired by a Welsh mining town. Miyazaki first visited Wales in 1984 and witnessed the miners' strike firsthand. He returned to the country in 1986 to prepare for Laputa, which he said reflected his Welsh experience: "I was in Wales just after the miners' strike. I really admired the way the miners' unions fought to the very end for their jobs and communities, and I wanted to reflect the strength of those communities in my film." Miyazaki told The Guardian, "I admired those men, I admired the way they battled to save their way of life, just as the coal miners in Japan did. Many people of my generation see the miners as a symbol; a dying breed of fighting men. Now they are gone."

Distribution and reception

In the late 1980s, an English version of Laputa was briefly shown in the US by Streamline Pictures. This dub, produced for showing on international flights to Japan, was not produced by Streamline. According to Fred Patten of Streamline, "Streamline Pictures theatrically distributed an English-dubbed print of Laputa from March 24, 1989 for the next year, but Streamline never dubbed it. Streamline licensed Laputa from Tokuma Shoten in late 1988 or early 1989, and was sent a print from Japan that had already been dubbed into English for use as an in-flight film by Japan Air Lines on its trans-Pacific flights. "We have no idea who actually dubbed it." Reportedly, Carl Macek was disappointed with this early dub,^{[citation needed]} which is available only on the Japanese DVD release.

The Disney-produced English dub was recorded in 1998 and planned for release on video in 1999, but Disney eventually decided to release it to theaters instead.

After Princess Mononoke flopped financially in the US, Laputa's release date was pushed back yet again; on occasion the completed dub was screened at select children's festivals. The film was finally released on DVD and video in the US on August 16, 2005 alongside Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. As with Mononoke and Kiki, critical opinion was mixed about the new dub, but Cloris Leachman and Mark Hamill's performances as Dola and Muska drew praise. Laputa was the second-best selling DVD from Studio Ghibli distributed by Disney in the year of its release (after Spirited Away and ahead of Kiki's Delivery Service).^{[citation needed]} Laputa was reissued on American home video in March 2010 as a tribute accompanying the home video release of Ponyo. The film was released on Blu-ray in North America on May 22, 2012, alongside Whisper of the Heart and The Secret World of Arrietty.

The film currently holds a 94% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. In an audience poll (with 80,402 voters) of 100 best animations of all time, conducted by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2007, Castle in the Sky was the second highest-ranked animated film, and third highest-ranked animation overall on the list.

The film received a re-screening on May 22, 2011 in Aberystwyth as part of a charity fund for Japan. The print shown was the original theatrical Japanese print with English subtitles.

Awards

• Noburō Ōfuji Award; Mainichi Film Award
• First Place; Pia Ten (Best Films of the Year)
• First Place; Japanese Movies; City Road
• First Place; Japanese Movies; Eiga Geijutsu (Movie Art)
• First Place; Japanese Films Best 10; Osaka Film Festival
• Eighth Place; Japanese Films; Kinema Junpo Best 10
• Second Place; Readers' Choice; Kinema Junpo Best 10
• Best Anime; 9th Anime Grand Prix
• Special Recommendation; The Central Committee for Children's Welfare
• Special Award (to Miyazaki & Takahata); Revival of Japanese Movies
• Best Design Award; Anime

Title

Although meaningless in Japanese, the name "Laputa" comes from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. English language dubs of Laputa have been released under three different titles by three separate distributors, which is largely due to an unintended similarity to the Spanish slang "la puta" (lit. "the whore"), which would be offensive to many.

In 2003, the film's title was shortened from Laputa: Castle in the Sky to Castle in the Sky in several countries, including the United States, Mexico, and Spain. In Spain the castle was named Lapuntu. This change was carried to a number of non-Spanish speaking countries, including Britain and France, under Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment label. Although "Laputa" was removed from the title, it appeared on the rear cover of the DVD, and was used throughout the film, without modification.

The film's full name was later restored in Britain, in February 2006, when Optimum Asia – a division of London-based Optimum Releasing – acquired the UK distribution rights to the Studio Ghibli collection.

Additionally, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the original English dub (the older, non-Streamline dub, or the pre-Disney dub) was screened in the UK, as an art house film, under the alternative title Laputa: The Flying Island. It was shown at least twice on British television, but some scenes were cut.

Differences between versions

Although the plot and much of the script was left intact, Disney's English dub of Laputa: Castle in the Sky contains some changes. These differences do not appear in the original dub.

• A significant quantity of background chatter and one-liners were added (even more so than in Disney's dub of Kiki's Delivery Service), filling in moments of silence and increasing the frenetic effect of certain scenes.
• Composer Joe Hisaishi was commissioned to rework and extend his original synthesizer-composed 39-minute soundtrack into a 90-minute piece for symphony orchestra in an effort to make the film more accessible to US audiences who are accustomed to a more substantial musical accompaniment. Newer sound effects were included as well (ala Kiki's Delivery Service), presumably to bring the film up to theatrical standards.
• Pazu and Sheeta, as portrayed by James Van Der Beek and Anna Paquin, are made to sound as if they were several years older, placing them in their mid-teens, rather than their pre-teens.
• Several modifications were made to dialogue spoken to/about Sheeta by members of the Dola gang, including a declaration of love from one of the pirates. In the original Japanese version, the dialogue presented Sheeta as a potential mother figure for the pirates, instead of a potential romantic interest.
• References to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island were removed (kept in the original dub), as was the reference to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (removed in the original dub). (Confirmed in http://www.mania.com/laputa-castle-sky_article_75073.html)

Although all these alterations were approved by Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki, there have been a number of critics who called them into question. On the other hand, Miyazaki himself is said to have approved of Hisaishi's reworking; his compliments were echoed by several reviewers. The 2010 DVD re-release (later ported to a 2012 U.S. Blu-ray release) omits most of these changes. The new score has been removed, having been replaced by Hisaishi's original synthesizer score, the sound effects are reverted to the original Japanese production, and a lot of the added dialogue has been eliminated, making the dub closer to the original Japanese. Additionally, the subtitles on the newer release are mostly dubtitles. (Oddly, however, the Japanese, Australia, and UK Blu-rays contain the newer score on the Disney dub track — minus the extra dialogue and newer sound effects — as well as literal, properly timed subtitles.)

Video game adaptation

Japanese video game developer HOT-B began work on a video game adaptation of Laputa. The final product, released in Japan as Koutetsu Teikoku for the Sega Mega Drive video game console as a shoot 'em up, is very different from the source material. The game was subsequently brought to the western market in 1992 by Acclaim Entertainment's label Flying Edge under the title Empire of Steel in Europe and Steel Empire in the United States.

See also

• Windaria (another anime film, premiering earlier in the summer of 1986, with a large tree central to the story)
• Secret of Mana
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (an anime that was based on a similar idea by Hayao Miyazaki)
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire

External links

• Tenku No Shiro Rapyuta at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky at the Internet Movie Database
• Castle in the Sky at AllRovi
• Castle in the Sky (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• 天空の城ラピュタ (Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)
• Detailed Laputa information on Nausicaa.net