Castle in the Sky

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Ultimate Movies Of All Time
Review: With all the charm and endearment of the best Disney movies, all the adventure and grandeur of "Star Wars", all the fantasy and richly imagined worlds of "Lord Of The Rings", and all the magic and tenderness of "E.T." or "Ghost", you have a thrilling, mysterious, comedically-flourished and deeply moving masterpiece of a movie in "Castle In The Sky", one of the pinnacles of cinema achievement. Full of immensely memorable characters, awesome concepts, and the kind of fantasy that not only substitutes for 'reality' but transcends it. If I were ever to try to compile a list of my all-time top ten (or even top twenty) movies ever made, it would be a next-to-impossible task given the high number of greats I've seen over the years, but "Castle" would be as ferociously strong a contender as any movie of any genre ever made.

Put out by Japan's Studio Ghibli and masterminded by the genius Hayao Miyazaki (also the director of "Kiki's Delivery Service", "Spirited Away", and "Princess Mononokee", among other classics) in 1986, with beautiful animation that still today ranks as among the most breath-taking ever produced, Castle, like Spirited Away, occupies a midway point between traditional western animation (Disney and its peers) and gentler Japanese fare like "Kiki's Delivery Service" on the one hand, and older-themed anime like "Princess Mononoke" and "Haibane Renmei" on the other hand, that is more complex and often darker than the Disney-types. This is not to imply any superiority of any of the three types over the others, just noting the differences. (There is also, in my thinking, a fourth level of animation, significantly older-themed than "Mononoke" and such, which because of high violence, sexuality, and/or intense and complicated dramatic themes, isn't for the wee ones, but has also produced some tremendous motion pictures. "The Animatrix" and "Blood: The Last Vampire" are just 2 examples of this type). "Castle In The Sky" is still fully fine for children, but for the youngest ones a grown-up should perhaps watch it with them the first time just in case; besides which, this is not a "kids" movie if that designation would suggest that only young kids would like it; it's as universally suited to any age group as "Star Wars" or a day at the beach. Now with Mononoke or something, if your kid wants to watch it and is only five or six, I'd recommend you watch it first (you know your own kids better than whoever sticks the age labels on videos and DVDs anyway) and then decide if they're ready for it, and then definately watch it with them the first time.

Back to "Castle In The Sky" - its frequent darkness and frightening moments actually enable it to achieve higher heights of brightness and spirituality than most other animated features (or live-actions for that matter),the contrasting elements each making the other more potent. As much of its darker elements relate closer to the real world with which we're most familiar (world cynicism, government trickery, military overzealousness, etc.) while many of its fantastical highlights involve more benevolent realms and races that are not only more powerful than man but kinder, gentler and more knowing as well, "Castle In The Sky" achieves one of Fantasy Entertainment's highest aims in showing not only how different things or worlds Might be, but how they (this world included) Should and Could be. And of course, there are thrilling chases, dazzling sights, strange architectures, and the beauty of the fast-forming friendship and slowly-dawning romance between the movie's young lead characters, Pazu and Sheeta.

All this, and full of more surprises than I'd dream of giving away here. Highest possible recommendation for movie-lovers of all stripes.

Rating:
Summary: Hmmm ...
Review: I did not particularly like this movie. It didn't have very much excitment until the end, by which time I wasn't really paying attention. What else is there to say?

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Okay, I am not a hardcore anime fan. If you are, you may just want to skip the rest of this paragraph if you do not wish to be offended. I've read a lot of hateful reviews that have slammed Disney because they did not create the movie exactly like the original Japanese version, they re-vamped the music score, yadda yadda. Well, I don't care about any of that. In fact, I can only stand to listen to the Japanese version for about 15 minutes. I think the original has too many spots where there is no music for way too long. I don't even like the Japanese voices.

But I LOVE this movie! Miyazaki's work is beautiful, colorful, and lovingly alive in a way that American animated films for some reason cannot achieve. I think the English voice actors are very fitting and I think that all the extra added-in lines everyone is griping about make it much more entertaining and certainly funnier. I laugh every time I watch it and I love watching it over and over and over. No matter how many times I've watched it, I still feel the awe and presence of the world in which "Castle" is set; the rich simplicity of the Mining Town where Pazu lives, the silliness and oddity of the Tiger Moth, the wonder and mystery of Laputa, and the dread of Muska and his power-hungry ambitions (great bad guy, perfect voice-actor in Mark Hamilton).

The story simply flows. Unlike a lot of American films, "Castle" doesn't tell you everything by giving lengthly explanations about the how's and why's. It lets you come to your own conclusions, make up your own assumptions.

I have only seen three of Miyazaki's films so far and love all of them. This is my favorite, and probably always will be. I can't wait to watch the rest of his films when they are released here in the states.

So my advice, if you're an average anime fan like me, is to ignore the flaming reviews and just sit back, relaxe, and enjoy this excellent movie.