Jump to content

Castle in the Sky: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m →‎Development: Adding reference name
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit
No edit summary
Tag: Reverted
Line 30: Line 30:
The film won the ''[[Animage]]'' Anime Grand Prix in 1986. The film received positive reviews and grossed over {{US$|16 million|long=no}} at the box office. It went on to gross a total of approximately {{US$|{{#expr:15.5+100+41 round 0}} million|long=no}} in box office, [[home video]] and [[soundtrack]] sales, {{as of|2021|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hayao Miyazaki Announces His Return To Studio Ghibli |magazine=[[Wonderland (magazine)|Wonderland]] |date=25 November 2021 |url=https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2021/11/25/studio-ghibil-hayao-miyazaki/ |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=January 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127062154/https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2021/11/25/studio-ghibil-hayao-miyazaki/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Japanese polls asking about the [[List of films considered the best#Animation (shorts and features)|greatest animations]], it was voted the second-best animated film at the 2006 [[Japan Media Arts Festival]] and was voted first place in a 2008 [[Oricon]] audience poll. ''Laputa'' has had a strong influence on [[Japanese popular culture]], and has inspired numerous films, media and games, in Japan and internationally. It has been cited as an influential classic in the [[steampunk]] and [[dieselpunk]] genres.
The film won the ''[[Animage]]'' Anime Grand Prix in 1986. The film received positive reviews and grossed over {{US$|16 million|long=no}} at the box office. It went on to gross a total of approximately {{US$|{{#expr:15.5+100+41 round 0}} million|long=no}} in box office, [[home video]] and [[soundtrack]] sales, {{as of|2021|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hayao Miyazaki Announces His Return To Studio Ghibli |magazine=[[Wonderland (magazine)|Wonderland]] |date=25 November 2021 |url=https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2021/11/25/studio-ghibil-hayao-miyazaki/ |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=January 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127062154/https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2021/11/25/studio-ghibil-hayao-miyazaki/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Japanese polls asking about the [[List of films considered the best#Animation (shorts and features)|greatest animations]], it was voted the second-best animated film at the 2006 [[Japan Media Arts Festival]] and was voted first place in a 2008 [[Oricon]] audience poll. ''Laputa'' has had a strong influence on [[Japanese popular culture]], and has inspired numerous films, media and games, in Japan and internationally. It has been cited as an influential classic in the [[steampunk]] and [[dieselpunk]] genres.


== Plot summary ==
== Plot ==


An airship carrying Sheeta — an orphan girl abducted by government agent Muska — is attacked by Dola and her [[air pirate]] sons, seeking Sheeta's blue crystal [[amulet]]. While attempting to escape, Sheeta slips off the airship and falls unconscious. However, the amulet, emanating a mysterious blue light, catches her and lowers her slowly to the ground. An orphan boy named Pazu catches her and takes her to his home in a mining town. Pazu shows her a picture of a legendary floating city, [[Laputa]], taken by his late father.
An airship carrying Sheeta — an orphan girl abducted by government agent Muska — is attacked by Dola and her [[air pirate]] sons, seeking Sheeta's blue crystal [[amulet]]. While attempting to escape, Sheeta slips off the airship and falls unconscious. However, the amulet, emanating a mysterious blue light, catches her and lowers her slowly to the ground. An orphan boy named Pazu catches her and takes her to his home in a mining town. Pazu shows her a picture of a legendary floating city, [[Laputa]], taken by his late father.

Revision as of 09:16, 7 May 2023

This article is about the 1986 animated film. For other uses, see Castles in the Sky (disambiguation) and Laputa (disambiguation).

Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji天空の城ラピュタ
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnTenkuu no Shiro Lapyuta
Directed byHayao Miyazaki
Written byHayao Miyazaki
Produced byIsao Takahata
StarringMayumi Tanaka
Keiko Yokozawa
Kotoe Hatsui
Minori Terada
CinematographyHirokata Takahashi
Edited byTakeshi Seyama
Yoshihiro Kasahara
Music byJoe Hisaishi
Production
company
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • August 2, 1986 (1986-08-02)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget¥500 million ($3 million)
Box office$16 million

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Japanese: 天空の城ラピュタ, Hepburn: Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa), known simply as Castle in the Sky in North America, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is the first film by Studio Ghibli, produced for Tokuma Shoten and distributed by the Toei Company. Set in a fictional late 19th century, it follows the adventures of a boy and girl who are trying to keep a powerful crystal from the army, a group of secret agents, and a family of pirates, while searching for a legendary floating castle.

The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986. The film received positive reviews and grossed over $16 million at the box office. It went on to gross a total of approximately $157 million in box office, home video and soundtrack sales, as of 2021.[1] In Japanese polls asking about the greatest animations, it was voted the second-best animated film at the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival and was voted first place in a 2008 Oricon audience poll. Laputa has had a strong influence on Japanese popular culture, and has inspired numerous films, media and games, in Japan and internationally. It has been cited as an influential classic in the steampunk and dieselpunk genres.

Plot

An airship carrying Sheeta — an orphan girl abducted by government agent Muska — is attacked by Dola and her air pirate sons, seeking Sheeta's blue crystal amulet. While attempting to escape, Sheeta slips off the airship and falls unconscious. However, the amulet, emanating a mysterious blue light, catches her and lowers her slowly to the ground. An orphan boy named Pazu catches her and takes her to his home in a mining town. Pazu shows her a picture of a legendary floating city, Laputa, taken by his late father.

When Dola's pirates and Muska's men appear and pursue them, Pazu and Sheeta, aided by the amulet, fall into an abandoned mine, where she tells of how she was kidnapped from her mountain home by Muska and his agents. In the caverns, they meet the old miner Uncle Pom, who shows them the glowing deposits of Aetherium around them.

Leaving the mines, Sheeta tells Pazu her full name — Lucita Toel Ul Laputa — revealing her as a descendant of the Laputan royal family. Muska captures them and takes them to his fortress where the children are imprisoned. Muska shows Sheeta a broken Laputan robot; knowing her name, he intends to make her reveal Laputa's location. Muska threatens Pazu, and for his own safety, Sheeta orders him to go back home. A despondent Pazu returns, where Dola and her sons await and capture him. To rescue Sheeta, Pazu joins them on their quest to find Laputa.

Sheeta recites a spell her grandmother taught her, unintentionally activating the amulet and the robot, which wreaks havoc until it is destroyed by the military's huge airship, Goliath. Pazu rescues Sheeta, but Muska obtains the amulet, which now emits a beam of light in the direction of Laputa. Pazu, Sheeta, and the pirates return to their airship and pursue the Goliath, which is navigating by Sheeta's amulet. Along the way, Dola tells Pazu and Sheeta how to turn the lookout into a kite, giving them a higher vantage point. Pazu spots a swirl of clouds in an approaching hurricane. Recognizing the clouds from his father's stories, he tells Dola they have found Laputa and insists that they head toward the eye of the storm. However, the Goliath appears, damages the pirate ship and severs the lookout kite from it, sending Pazu and Sheeta into the clouds.

The castle in the sky: Laputa is spotted in the clouds.

Sheeta and Pazu safely reach Laputa, where they find plants and animals thriving in the ruins of the castle, which surround a huge tree. However, the army plunders the city, with the pirates as their captives. Muska captures Sheeta while Pazu frees the pirates. Muska takes Sheeta into the center of Laputa, a vast repository of scientific knowledge where an immense crystal powers the city. Muska reveals his real name — Romuska Palo Ul Laputa — another member of the royal line that left Laputa centuries ago. Using the amulet to access Laputan technology, he unleashes Laputa's secret weapon of mass destruction and a dormant robot army, destroys the Goliath and its crew, and declares his plans to conquer the world. Horrified, Sheeta takes the amulet back and flees. She gives the amulet to Pazu through a gap in the wall, but is cornered by a pursuing Muska in Laputa's throne room.

Sheeta rebukes Muska, declaring the people of Laputa left because they realized humankind was meant to live on Earth. Undaunted, Muska threatens to kill her unless she gives him the amulet. Pazu arrives and bargains for a brief truce, allowing the two to recite a spell of destruction connected to the crystal, causing the center of Laputa to collapse. The resulting flash of light blinds Muska, who falls to his death, while the children are protected by the tree roots. The remainder of Laputa's ruins ascend until they disappear from view, supported by its crystal. Pazu and Sheeta take the kite to reunite with the pirates before both groups part ways.

During the closing credits sequence, Laputa is shown floating in orbit above Earth.

Voice cast

Mark Hamill has received critical praise for his performance of Muska in the 2003 English dub.
Character name Voice actor
English Japanese Japanese
(Original, 1986) 		English
(Unknown/Tokuma/Streamline, 1989)[note 1] 		English
(Buena Vista/Disney, 1998/2003)
Pazu Pazū (パズー) Mayumi Tanaka Barbara Goodson James Van Der Beek
Sheeta Shīta (シータ) Keiko Yokozawa Lara Cody Anna Paquin
Debi Derryberry (young)
Dola Dōra (ドーラ) Kotoe Hatsui Rachel Vanowen Cloris Leachman
Muska Musuka (ムスカ) Minori Terada Jeff Winkless Mark Hamill
General Shōgun (将軍) Ichirō Nagai Mike Reynolds Jim Cummings
Uncle Pom Pomujī (ポムじい) Fujio Tokita Edward Mannix Richard Dysart
Charles Sharuru (シャルル) Takuzō Kamiyama Barry Stigler Michael McShane
Louis Rui (ルイ) Yoshito Yasuhara Dave Mallow Mandy Patinkin
Henri Anri (アンリ) Sukekiyo Kamiyama Eddie Frierson Andy Dick
Mr. Duffi / Boss Oyakata (親方) Hiroshi Ito Clifton Wells John Hostetter
Okami / Sheeta's mother Okami (おかみ) Machiko Washio Lara Cody Tress MacNeille
Madge Majji (マッジ) Tarako Isono Barbara Goodson Debi Derryberry
Motro / Old Engineer Rōgishi (老技師) Ryūji Saikachi Clifton Wells Eddie Frierson
Train Operator Un­known Tomomichi Nishimura Daniel Foster Matt K. Miller

Development

Precursors to Studio Ghibli

Miyazaki's earlier anime series Future Boy Conan (1978) featured a number of elements that he later adapted for Laputa. Conan and Lana, for example, were forerunners of Pazu and Sheeta, and it had similarities to Sheeta's rescue by Pazu.[2]: 95  Some of the characters and themes in Future Boy Conan set the blueprint for Laputa. The name "Laputa" is derived from Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, wherein Swift's Laputa is also a flying island propelled by a giant central crystal and controlled by its citizens. Anthony Lioi feels that Miyazaki's Laputa is similar to Swift's Laputa, where the technological superiority of the castle in the sky is used for political ends.[3]

Trips to Wales

Caernarvon Castle (top) and Big Pit Mine (bottom) in southern Wales. Miyazaki and Takahata drew inspiration from the region for the film.

Miyazaki first visited Wales on a research trip in 1985, when Laputa was in the beginning stages of production. He decided to take inspiration from the architecture of the region, and as a result, some of the structures seen in the film resemble Welsh mining towns.[4]: 97  Miyazaki also witnessed the coal miners' strike in protest of mine closures in the UK. Their ultimate failure to preserve the industry left a lasting impact on Miyazaki, who viewed the event as an attack by those in power on the miners' way of life and the hard-working spirit of the people.[5]: 110  His experiences reflect in several supporting characters in the film, who despite laboring through poverty in the mines, enthusiastically protect the protagonists from multiple aggressors. Susan J. Napier argues that this depiction reveals Miyazaki's yearning for a simpler way of life, and a desire to create a story based in optimism.[6]: 91  As animation scholar Helen McCarthy writes, "It seems that Castle in the Sky also contains echoes of the struggle of the Welsh people for nationhood and freedom".[2]: 96  Miyazaki would visit Wales once more in 1986, ahead of the release of the film. In 2005, he 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."[7]

Animation

The film had a production budget of ¥500 million, at the time equivalent to $3,000,000 (equivalent to $8,300,000 in 2023), matching the record set by Miyazaki's Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) for the highest budget for an anime film.[8] Telecom Animation Film, and Oh! Production helped animate the film. [citation needed]

Release

Director Hayao Miyazaki in 2009
Producer Isao Takahata in 2014
Soundtrack composer Joe Hisaishi in 2011

Box office

The film was released in Japan on August 2, 1986, by the Toei Company, which also released Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

At the Japanese box office, the film grossed ¥1.16 billion,[9] at the time equivalent to US$8,100,000 (equivalent to $23,000,000 in 2023).[10] In Hong Kong, the film's 1987 release grossed HK$13.1 million,[11] at the time equivalent to US$1,679,853 (equivalent to $5,000,000 in 2023). In the United Kingdom, the film's 2012 release grossed $327,559 in its first week.[12] In the United States, the film's 2018 limited release grossed $523,664. In other territories, the film's 2003 release grossed $5,434,627, including $4,670,084 in France alone.[13] This adds up to a combined worldwide box office gross of $16,065,703.

In terms of box office admissions, the film sold about 800,000 tickets in Japan[14] and 1,066,427 tickets in Europe.[15]

Home media

By 2003, Laputa had sold 1.612 million VHS and DVD units in Japan.[16][17] At an average retail price of ¥4,600 (¥4,700 on DVD and ¥4,500 on VHS),[18] this is equivalent to approximately ¥7,415 million ($93 million) in estimated Japanese sales revenue as of 2012.

In the United States, the 2010 DVD release grossed over $10 million in sales revenue as of April 2022.[12]

In the United Kingdom, it was 2019's eighth best-selling foreign language film on home video (below six other Japanese films, including five Miyazaki anime films).[19]

English dubs

The first English dub of Laputa was produced by an unknown party[note 1] commissioned by Tokuma Shoten for viewing on international flights on Japan Airlines; this dub was licensed between 1989 and 1991 by the then-brand-new Streamline Pictures for distribution in North American markets.[20] Carl Macek, the head of Streamline, was disappointed with this dub, deeming it "adequate, but clumsy".[23] Following this, Tokuma allowed Streamline to dub their future acquisitions My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. In UK, the premiere took place on August 12, 1987 on MTV Europe in its own dubbing.[citation needed] The original dub of Laputa is also seen on the 1996 Ghibli ga Ippai Laserdisc set, and on the first Japanese DVD release. The initial Japanese DVD release is now out of print and the subsequent re-release in 2014 replaces it with the Disney dubbed version.

The English dub produced by Disney was recorded in 1998 and planned for release on video in 1999, but the release was cancelled after Princess Mononoke did not fare as well in the US, and so Laputa's release date was pushed back yet again; on occasion the completed dub was screened at select children's festivals.[citation needed] The film was finally released on DVD and video in the US on April 15, 2003, alongside a rerelease of Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away.[24] 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.[25][unreliable source?] Laputa was reissued on American home video on March 2, 2010, as a tribute accompanying the home video release of Ponyo. The film was released by Buena Vista on Blu-ray in North America on May 22, 2012, alongside Whisper of the Heart and The Secret World of Arrietty. Shout! Factory and GKIDS re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on October 31, 2017.[26]

Differences between versions

Although the plot and much of the script was left intact, Disney's English dub of Laputa contains some changes:

  • A significant amount of background chatter as well as 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 60-minute electronic–orchestral score into a 90-minute symphonic orchestral score, to make the film more palatable to American audiences. The sound mix received a vast overhaul as well.
  • Pazu and Sheeta, voiced by James Van Der Beek and Anna Paquin, respectively, are made to sound several years older, placing them in their mid-teens rather than their pre-teens.
  • Several modifications were made to the Dola gang's dialogue regarding Sheeta, including a declaration of love by one of the pirates. In the original Japanese version, the dialogue presented Sheeta as a potential mother figure to the pirates, rather than a potential romantic interest.
  • References to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels were removed, the latter of which had also been removed from the original dub.[27][unreliable source?]
  • The name "Laputa" comes from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Certain English- and Spanish-language releases have opted to omit the name "Laputa" due to it resembling "la puta" (lit. "the whore") in Spanish.

Although all these alterations were approved by Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki, some critics have called them into question. Regarding the soundtrack, Miyazaki himself is said to have approved of Hisaishi's reworking;[28] his compliments were echoed by several reviewers.[29][better source needed]

The 2010 DVD rerelease reverts some of these changes. The updated score and sound mix are replaced by the originals in the Japanese-language audio, retaining the updates in the dub. Some of the added dialogue is removed in the dub, restoring silence where it is in the original Japanese version. However, the English subtitles are not updated to reflect the trimmed dialogue, which sometimes results in text being displayed when no characters are speaking. These changes are also seen in the 2012 US Blu-ray release. For the Japanese, Australian, and British Blu-rays, the updated score is used, and the subtitles are properly timed, literal translations from the original Japanese, rather than the improperly timed dubtitles.

The 2017 Blu-ray rerelease by GKIDS, besides offering the original Japanese, features the 2010 edit of the English dub but presents the option of playing it with either the original or the new score. For subtitles, the correctly translated from Japanese to English subtitles are added. The HBO Max release of the English dub only uses the original score. In the film's release on Netflix, the Japanese audio features the original audio mix and score, while the English audio features the updated audio mix and score. Subtitles are only available for the original Japanese audio.

Music

Laputa: Castle in the Sky
File:Laputa Castle in the Sky, soundtrack cover art.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Joe Hisaishi
ReleasedAugust 25, 1986
Genre
Length39:17
LabelTokuma Shoten
ProducerJoe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi chronology
Arion
(1985) 		Laputa: Castle in the Sky
(1986) 		Curved Music
(1986)

Just as with Nausicaä, Joe Hisaishi composed the soundtrack of Laputa. Miyazaki and Hisaishi went on to become close collaborators, and Hisaishi has since provided the music for all of Miyazaki's feature films. Three months before the film's theatrical release, the image album — a collection of demos and musical sketches that serve as a precursor to the finished score — was published by Tokuma on compact disc.[30] A third version of the soundtrack, rearranged for full symphony orchestra and recorded by the Tokyo City Philharmonic, released in 1987 on compact disc.

For the second English dub produced by Disney, Hisaishi was called upon to rewrite the soundtrack to be more suitable for audiences in America.[31] The new soundtrack was recorded by the Seattle Symphony and first featured in the 2003 North American home media release.

The credits sequence features an original vocal song titled "Carrying You" performed by Azumi Inoue, with music by Hisaishi and lyrics by Miyazaki. The song was released in 1988 as a compact disc single, featuring an additional chorus version performed by the Suginami Children's Choir.[32]

Music releases for Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Release English title Japanese title Notes
May 25, 1986 Laputa: Castle in the Sky Image Album ~The Girl Who Fell From the Sky~ 天空の城ラピュタ イメージアルバム 〜空から降ってきた少女〜
August 25, 1986 Laputa: Castle in the Sky Soundtrack ~The Mystery of the Levitation Stone~ 天空の城ラピュタ サウンドトラック 〜飛行石の謎〜
January 25, 1987 Laputa: Castle in the Sky Symphony Version ~Huge Tree~ 天空の城ラピュタ シンフォニー編 〜大樹〜
March 25, 1988 "Carrying You" 君をのせて Azumi Inoue single.
February 25, 1989 Laputa: Castle in the Sky Drama Version ~Revive the Light!~ 天空の城ラピュタ ドラマ編 〜光よ甦れ!〜
November 25, 1989 Laputa: Castle in the Sky Hi-Tech Series 天空の城ラピュタ ハイテックシリーズ
October 2, 2002 Laputa: Castle in the Sky USA Version Soundtrack Castle in the Sky 〜天空の城ラピュタ USA ヴァージョンサウンドトラック〜 The extended soundtrack written for the 2003 Disney dub.

Themes and style

Innovations in steampunk

Jeff VanderMeer and S.J. Chambers, in The Steampunk Bible, consider the film a milestone in the steampunk genre, calling it "one of the first modern steampunk classics."[33]: 186  Archetypal steampunk elements in Laputa include airships, air pirates, steam-powered robots, and a view of steam power as a limitless but potentially dangerous source of power. Philip Boyes of Eurogamer also considers it an influential work in the dieselpunk genre.[34]

Connections to ancient mythology

Miyazaki, through the dialog of Colonel Muska, credited Laputa as having informed Biblical and Hindu legends—thus tying the world of Laputa to the real Earth (including Western and Eastern civilizations)—as do Miyazaki's choices of 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.[citation needed] The film also features the use of ancient Babylonian cuneiform script on Laputa's interactive panels and tombstones; and makes references to the Hindu epic Ramayana, including "Indra's arrow", while the name Sheeta may be related to Sita, the protagonist of the Ramayana.[22] The flying city of Laputa has an architectural design resembling the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon, including ziggurat-like structures,[35] and with murals resembling ancient Egyptian and Assyrian art.[3]

Reception

Critical responses

According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "With a storytelling palette as rich and brilliant as its animation, Castle in the Sky thrillingly encapsulates Studio Ghibli's unique strengths."[36] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37]

In 2001, the Japanese magazine Animage ranked Laputa: Castle in the Sky 44th in their list of 100 Best Anime Productions of All Time.[38][better source needed] In a 2006 poll of 100 best animations of all time by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs conducted at the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival, Laputa was the second highest-ranked animated film (after Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and third highest-ranked animation overall on the list (below Neon Genesis Evangelion and Nausicaä).[39] In a 2008 animation audience poll conducted by Oricon in Japan, Laputa was voted first place, above Nausicaä in second place.[40] Andrew Osmond of All the Anime calls Laputa the "best steampunk film" of all time.[41] The film was ranked at number 10 on the list of Greatest Japanese Animated Films of All Time by Japanese film magazine kinema Junpo in 2009.[42]

Accolades

  • Ōfuji Noburō 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

Cultural legacy

Laputa has had a strong impact on Japanese popular culture. [further explanation needed]

The most tweeted moment in the history of Twitter was during one airing of Laputa on Japanese TV on August 2, 2013, when fans tweeted the word "balus" at the exact time that it was said in an important moment of the movie. There was a global peak of 143,199 tweets in one second.[43]

Laputa has also had an influence on popular music; the popular jazz-funk band Hiatus Kaiyote has a song called 'Laputa' and its lyrics directly reference the film. Another example of a song directly referencing the film is a song titled 'Laputa' by the indie rock band Panchiko.[44]

Animation and manga

The success of Laputa led to a wave of steampunk anime and manga. A notable example is the anime series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990).[29] The success of Laputa inspired Hideaki Anno and Studio Gainax to create Nadia, their first hit production, loosely adapting elements from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, with Captain Nemo making an appearance.[45] In turn, Nadia was influential on later steampunk anime, such as Katsuhiro Otomo's film production Steamboy (2004).[46] Other steampunk anime and manga followed in the wake of Laputa, including Miyazaki's own films Porco Rosso (1992)[47] and Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Sega's anime series Sakura Wars (1997), Square Enix's manga and anime franchise Fullmetal Alchemist (2001),[47][48] and the manga and anime series Elemental Gelade (2002).

Manga author Katsura Hoshino, known for the manga and anime series D.Gray-man, was fascinated by Laputa to the point where she decided to seek work as an animator when growing up, before she ended up writing manga.[49] Anime filmmaker Yasuhiro Yoshiura described his film Patema Inverted (2013) as his venture into "the world of Laputa and the boy-meets-girl story". Anime filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, known for the hit anime films Your Name (2016) and Weathering With You (2019), cited Laputa as his favourite animation.[41] The anime series No Game No Life (2014) references the film in episode five.

Laputa influenced a number of animated films from Disney and Pixar. For example, Disney films such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001),[29] and Pixar films such as WALL-E (2008)[50] and Up (2009).[51] The French animated film April and the Extraordinary World (2015) was also influenced by Laputa.[41]

One of the pieces of music played in Laputa, Pazu's Fanfare (also known as Morning of the Slag Ravine), can be heard being played by Kaori Miyazono on her melodica in the anime adaptation of Your Lie in April (2014) near the end of episode one.

Video games

Laputa has influenced numerous video games, particularly Japanese video games,[52][34] with its success leading to a wave of steampunk video games. Game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi cited Laputa as an inspiration behind his Final Fantasy video game series, particularly citing it as an influence on the series' airships.[53] Sega AM2 game designer Yu Suzuki cited Laputa as his original inspiration behind the hit arcade game After Burner (1987).[54]

Konami's well regarded shoot 'em up Detana!! TwinBee (known as Bells and Whistles outside Japan) featured an air castle stage, and the stage's background music is called "Sky Fortress Laputa", clearly taking influence from the film. Steel Empire (1992), another acclaimed shoot 'em up originally released as Koutetsu Teikoku on the Sega Mega Drive console in Japan and considered to be the first steampunk video game, was inspired by Laputa, helping to propel steampunk into the video game market. This influenced Final Fantasy VI (1994), a Japanese role-playing game developed by Squaresoft, which had a considerable influence on later steampunk video games.[46] Sega's video game franchise Sakura Wars (1996) also followed in the wake of Laputa.[45]

Laputa also inspired a number of other video games, including the Mega Man Legends series (whose Japanese version, coincidentally, would feature voice acting by Mayumi Tanaka [Pazu] and Keiko Yokozawa [Sheeta] as Rock/Mega Man Volnutt and Roll Caskett, respectively), Zack & Wiki, and Japanese role-playing games such as the Lunar series, Valkyrie Profile (1999), Skies of Arcadia (2000), Steambot Chronicles (2005),[52] and Dark Cloud 2 (2002).[55] Laputa also influenced the airships in the Mario and Civilization franchises.[34] It also inspired Mojang to add the Iron Golem mob to Minecraft.

Notes

  1. ^ a b The company responsible for producing the 1989 dub of Laputa is yet undetermined. This dub is sometimes referred to as the "Streamline dub", leading many to believe it was produced by Streamline themselves.[20] Others attribute the dub to a company called "Magnum".[21] However, Streamline representatives have repeatedly denied any knowledge of the dub's production. Carl Macek has stated that they merely distributed the dub, and that it was provided to them by Tokuma, who in turn had it outsourced to an unnamed company in Hollywood.[22][23]

References

  1. ^ "Hayao Miyazaki Announces His Return To Studio Ghibli". Wonderland. November 25, 2021. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b McCarthy, Helen (1999). Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation (2002 ed.). Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1880656418.
  3. ^ a b Lioi, Anthony (2010). "The City Ascends: Laputa: Castle in the Sky as Critical Ecotopia". Interdisciplinary Comics Studies. 5 (2). Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  4. ^ Miyazaki, Hayao (2016). The Art of Castle in the Sky. Viz Media. ISBN 978-1-4215-8272-6.
  5. ^ Greenberg, Raz (2018). Hayao Miyazaki: Exploring the Early Work of Japan's Greatest Animator. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-5013-3594-5.
  6. ^ Napier, Susan (2018). Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22685-0.
  7. ^ Brooks, Xan (September 14, 2005). "A god among animators". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  8. ^ Harding, Daryl. "Akira Anime Film Producer Corrects 30-Year Fact on How Much the Groundbreaking Film Cost to Make". Crunchyroll News. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "6 Fascinating Trivia About Laputa: Castle in the Sky". MANGA.TOKYO. February 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  10. ^ "Top 7 Studio Ghibli Films of All Time". Japan Info. July 14, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  11. ^ "Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Credits & Figures)". Nausicaa.net. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Castle in the Sky (2010) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa (Castle in the Sky)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  14. ^ Cavallaro, Dani (May 12, 2015). The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki. McFarland & Company. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7864-5129-6. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa". Lumiere. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  16. ^ 検索結, 果 (2006). 宮崎駿全書. フィルムアート社. ISBN 9784845906871.
  17. ^ 均, 中村 (May 23, 2007). "110万冊無料配布。"ゲドを読む。"の狙いを読む 宮崎吾朗監督作品「ゲド戦記」DVDのユニークなプロモーション". Nikkei Business (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  18. ^ "Video List: Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa". Nausicaa.net. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  19. ^ BFI Statistical Yearbook 2020. United Kingdom: British Film Institute (BFI). 2020. p. 94. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Patten, Fred (April 19, 2015). "Streamline Pictures — Part 1". Cartoon Research. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  21. ^ Wyse, Alex (May 12, 2020). "Studio Ghibli: 10 Ways Castle In The Sky Changed In The English Version". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  22. ^ a b Ryoko Toyama, Laputa: The Castle in the Sky FAQ Archived February 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Nausicaa.net
  23. ^ a b Macek, Carl. "ANN Cast Episode 23". Anime News Network. Event occurs at 48:49. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014. We didn't dub it. Streamline didn't dub it. And I told the people at Tokuma Shoten that I thought the dubbing was marginal on Laputa and I thought that it could be a better product if they had a better dubbing... To me, there's a certain element of class that you can bring to a project. Laputa is a very classy film, so it required a classy dub and the dub given to that particular film was adequate but clumsy. I didn't like it all... It's not something that I appreciated intellectually as well as aesthetically.
  24. ^ Conrad, Jeremy (March 14, 2003). "Spirited Away". IGN. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  25. ^ Moure, Dani (April 4, 2006). "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". Mania. Santa Monica, California: Demand Media. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  26. ^ Carolyn Giardina (July 17, 2017). "Gkids, Studio Ghibli Ink Home Entertainment Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  27. ^ Tei, Andrew (October 14, 2003). "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". Mania. Santa Monica, California: Demand Media. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  28. ^ "Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa". Nausicaa.net. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  29. ^ a b c Franklin, Garth. "Review: Castle in the Sky". Dark Horizons. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  30. ^ Hisaishi, Joe. "Discography | 久石譲オフィシャルサイト". Joe Hisaishi Official Site. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2023. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; June 4, 2010 suggested (help)
  31. ^ "Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Rescoring Interview)". Nausicaa.net. July 14, 1999. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  32. ^ "君をのせて". Oricon. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  33. ^ VanderMeer, Jeff; Chambers, S. J. (2012). The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature. Abrams Books. ISBN 9781613121665. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  34. ^ a b c Boyes, Philip (February 8, 2020). "Hot Air and High Winds: A Love Letter to the Fantasy Airship". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  35. ^ Bendazzi, Giannalberto (2015). Animation: A World History: Volume III: Contemporary Times. CRC Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-317-51988-1. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  36. ^ "Castle in the Sky (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on November 29, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  37. ^ "Castle in the Sky Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  38. ^ "Animage Top-100 Anime Listing". Anime News Network. January 15, 2001. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  39. ^ "Top 100 Animations". Agency for Cultural Affairs. 2007. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2009. (translation: Google.com Archived September 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine)
  40. ^ "面白かったアニメ映画、宮崎作品が人気". Oricon. May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 6, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
  41. ^ a b c Osmond, Andrew (December 29, 2016). "Books: Art of Castle in the Sky". All the Anime. Anime Limited. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  42. ^ "Kinema Junpo Top 10 Animated Films". Nishikata Film Review. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  43. ^ "New Tweets per second record, and how!". Twitter Engineering. August 16, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  44. ^ Camp, Zoe (May 18, 2020). "Panchiko Reflect on "D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L," Lost Y2K Demo Turned Internet Cult Hit". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  45. ^ a b Cavallaro, Dani (2015). "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Fushigi no Umi no Nadia)". The Art of Studio Gainax: Experimentation, Style and Innovation at the Leading Edge of Anime. McFarland & Company. pp. 40-53 (40-1). ISBN 978-1-4766-0070-3. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  46. ^ a b Nevins, Jess (2019). "Steampunk". In McFarlane, Anna; Schmeink, Lars; Murphy, Graham (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-351-13986-1. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  47. ^ a b Sterling, Bruce (March 22, 2013). "Japanese steampunk". Wired. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  48. ^ Chiu, Kelly (August 24, 2018). "The Perfect Manga Matches for 10 Studio Ghibli Movies". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  49. ^ "Mangaka Interview 01" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  50. ^ "30 Years of CASTLE IN THE SKY: The Robots of Laputa and Earth". YOMYOMF. August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  51. ^ Ebert, Roger (2009). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 567. ISBN 9780740792182.
  52. ^ a b "Laputa Effect". GameSpite. April 28, 2008. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  53. ^ Rogers, Tim (March 27, 2006). "In Defense of Final Fantasy XII". Edge. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2014. Okay, so the Chocobos – big, yellow riding birds – were actually stolen from Hayao Miyazaki's movie Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind, and Hironobu Sakaguchi freely admitted that way back when. He also admits that the airships were inspired by "Laputa," also directed by Miyazaki.
  54. ^ "After Burner II - Developer Interviews". Shmuplations. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  55. ^ Jones, Camden (September 5, 2020). "Best Studio Ghibli-Style Video Games To Play If You Love Miyazaki's Movies". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Castle_in_the_Sky&oldid=1153605834"