Castle in the Sky (1986)

[MmzHrrdb]

Important note: This is a review covering the 2003 English dub by Disney.

The first film to be released by the critically acclaimed anime company Studio Ghibli, Castle in the Sky has notably influenced many of today's animated films. It remains a notable work, though only for its legacy. The film itself is burdened with issues that overwhelm the story's adventurous charm. It's a disappointment in many respects, especially since the first half-hour is an excellent set-up.

A young man named Pazu has his life changed forever when he catches a sleeping girl descending slowly from the sky. He learns that the girl is named Sheeta, and she may be connected to a hidden city he's been searching for. But he has little time to find out, because they're being pursued by pirates! And the army! And a menacing man wearing sunglasses!

One of Castle in the Sky's major issues is that it's way too busy. What could have been a quiet, yet spirited adventure with just Pazu and Sheeta is ballooned to a 2 hour extravaganza with noisy action sequences and villains with dubious motives. The film is a bit of a chore most of the time, with nonsensical plot points desperately trying to advance the story.

Minus the annoying action scenes, the opening half-hour paints a promising start. The scene where Pazu finds the girl has an E.T.-like quality that quickly evaporates. The appearances of evil-doers were annoying foot-notes that bogged the movie down. But they stick around for the remaining 90 minutes, making for a dull and trying experience.

The cast works well enough. James Van Der Beek functions surprisingly well in the lead role as Pazu, while Anna Paquin as Sheeta is fine, but does a bit of accent-hopping. The presence of Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, and (to a lesser extent) Jim Cummings may attract some audiences, but they're never given a real moment to shine.

Joe Hisaishi's score has impressive peaks when he lets the orchestra work its might, but the frequent employment of synthesizers rarely function very well. There are interesting highlights (including some pretty choral pieces), but the sometimes harsh electronics tend to distract from the film.

Despite a strong opening, Castle in the Sky's incoherent plot and often nonsensical logic keeps the film at ground level. The animation is occasionally quite lovely, but many of the locations are ugly by design, hindering the potential of the visuals. Castle in the Sky has interesting moments, but it's a severely flawed feature that never truly soars.

Score: 5/10

[TheDenizen]

Important note: This is a review covering the 2003 English dub by Disney.

That was your mistake right there.

I bet you the story makes way more sense if you watch it in Japanese with subs.

I haven't seen Castle in the Sky, but I know that the English dub for Princess Mononoke was awful, and the Japanese version was amazing.

[MmzHrrdb]

That was your mistake right there.

I bet you the story makes way more sense if you watch it in Japanese with subs.

I haven't seen Castle in the Sky, but I know that the English dub for Princess Mononoke was awful, and the Japanese version was amazing.

Unfortunately, the Japanese dubs are quite hard to find around here. I don't have the budget to go out and buy them, either, so I'm stuck with the English ones. Which is fine; there are pros and cons either way. But I have heard most saying that the Japanese version(s) for the Ghibli stuff is better.