The Film
excerpted from FILM FREAK CENTRAL presents The Films of Hayao Miyazaki by Walter Chaw |
| Often hailed as Miyazaki's most accessible work, Laputa: Castle in the Sky is a somewhat one-note "boy's adventure" with an unusually weak female protagonist and an overreliance on set-pieces. Inspired by a reference in Gulliver's Travels to a floating city above Balnibarbi, the film is ultimately less Swift than Conan Doyle--an archaeological adventure that eventually involves itself in the exploration of a lost and dead civilization. It appears to be a straight cliffhanger serial, in other words (complete with a sly Victorianism), at least until its final third, when the picture begins to take on the cause of the filmmaker's ecological concerns. Sheeta is an heir to the floating Kingdom Laputa. Earthbound for generations as the island drifts undiscovered in a storm cloud, Sheeta discovers her legacy with the help of a much-coveted heirloom: a blue "levistone" that points the way to her ancestral home. Joining forces with brave boy Pazu, Sheeta's quest to reclaim her legacy leads the pair on a series of adventures, sometimes in the company of a bumbling crew of pirates, always just ahead of a greedy army seeking to loot the gilded Laputa. The first hint of Spirited Away's cautionary stance on the dangers of materialism (along with the first look at a character design echoed in Spirited Away's boiler room keeper), Laputa: Castle in the Sky is interesting for the Miyazaki scholar for sure but still feeling its way in terms of the connectivity and brilliance of Miyazaki's later plots. A superior children's entertainment regardless, Miyazaki refines his dedication to younger viewers with his next film--abandoning his broad politicizing until 1992's Porco Rosso. |
The DVD
Apologies in advance for any sense of déjà vu elicited by this review. Castle in the Sky (a.k.a. Laputa: Castle in the Sky) arrives on DVD in a 2-disc set that's available individually or in a three-pack with Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service. The 1.75:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is the weakest of the three Miyazakis out this week from Buena Vista, mostly because the source print was not scrubbed to digital perfection. There are numerous distracting pinholes throughout in addition to an on-again/off-again ghosting effect, though colours are bright and fabulous. (As with Spirited Away, the image is windowboxed, providing significant breathing room on the vertical sides for monitors that over-overscan.) Castle in the Sky's original Japanese soundtrack is presented in Dolby Surround, and it's actually more robust than the lo-fi English Dolby Digital 5.1 alternative. Both tracks appear to be missing sound cues, as there are significant patches of near-dead air in the opening sequence, in particular.
Pixar's John Lasseter provides a video introduction in which he tells us that we've chosen an excellent Miyazaki film to watch in Castle in the Sky. Again, although I love Lasseter's work (Toy Story 2 throbs with genius), these intros reek of cultural arrogance, an Anglo personality validating Asian art. Other extras on the first platter include a "Behind the Microphone" segment (5 mins.) featuring uninteresting interviews with the American vocal cast (Mandy Patinkin, James Van Der Beek, Mark Hamill, and Cloris Leachman), plus a 4-minute block of three Japanese trailers for Castle in the Sky. A "sneak peeks" section houses compressed-looking previews of Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Finding Nemo, Atlantis II: Milo's Return, Stitch!, Bionicle: Mask of Light, The Lion King: Special Edition, and the latest games from Disney Interactive. The second disc contains a version of Castle in the Sky reminiscent of the "Work in Progress" Beauty and the Beast, as it's the entire film in sequential storyboard form; a better keepsake than a viewing experience, it plays with the finished soundtrack in Japanese or English.-Bill Chambers
© Film Freak Central; filmfreakcentral.net. This review may not be reprinted, in whole or in part, without the express consent of its author.
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DVD GRADES:
Image B
Sound C+
Extras C+
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DVD VITALS:
RunningTime
125 minutes
MPAA
PG
AspectRatio(s)
1.77:1 ONLY, 16x9-enhanced
Languages
English DD 5.1,
Japanese Dolby Surround,
French Stereo
CC
Yes
Subtitles
English
2 DVD-9s
Region One
Disney
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