A breathtaking adventure above the clouds — where innocence, imagination, and the beauty of flight define Studio Ghibli’s soaring beginnings.
After Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was well received in 1984, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata officially founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. This was the start of a new era for Japanese animation. When their first official movie, Castle in the Sky (Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa), premiered in 1986, it set the tone for the rest of their work, with stunning animation, vivid worlds, and emotionally resonant stories. Coming right after Nausicaä, Miyazaki took his ideas about nature, flight, and how people interact with technology to a whole new level.
Castle in the Sky came out at a time when everyone was still making animations by hand. Its mix of exciting steampunk adventure and sweet innocence made it both a thrilling kids’ movie and a stunning visual spectacle that captivated audiences worldwide. But what made it unique was how it felt both easy and epic, which is something Miyazaki has become very good at over the course of his career.
Castle in the Sky takes place in a steampunk world where giant airships and steam engines power everything. The story is about two young girls, Sheeta and Pazu, who race against time, pirates, and government spies.
Sheeta is a mysterious girl who wears a magical crystal necklace. It turns out that she is related to an ancient society that ruled from floating cities powered by a mysterious energy known as Aetherium. She falls from the sky when she flees a pirate attack in the middle of the sky, but the power of her necklace gently pulls her down to Earth and into the arms of Pazu, a brave and kind boy.
A world built on wonder, powered by dreams — that’s the essence of Ghibli.
The movie then goes on a trip through more than just the clouds. It’s a journey of friendship and discovery. As they try to figure out what happened to Laputa, the mythical floating island that symbolizes both human progress and destruction, Miyazaki tells an emotional story about innocence, curiosity, and the two sides of technological progress. Sheeta’s heritage gives the journey heart and stakes, while Pazu’s joy drives it.
The story keeps moving forward intensely; it’s always moving and grand. There are air chases, fights, and amazing machines in this exciting, fast-paced adventure. But in many ways, it also shows how interested Miyazaki is in flight and the risks of power.
Muska, the bad guy, wants to use Laputa’s power to take over the world, which represents people’s constant desire to be in charge. His goals seem overly simple now, but at the time, they set a central theme that Miyazaki would return to in later works: how desire can corrupt and the moral weight of creation.
Action and world-building are big parts of Castle in the Sky. The characters are cute, but they don’t have the emotional depth of later Ghibli movies like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away. Although Sheeta and Pazu’s bond seems genuine, their growth isn’t as deep as in Miyazaki’s later, more complex stories. Despite this, their bravery and friendship give the movie its heart, and the crazy events that happen around them are held together by their bond.
One big difference between Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä is how fast it moves and how heavy the emotions are. Nausicaä took its time to show how the characters thought and felt, but Castle in the Sky moves quickly, like one of its own airships. It’s two hours long and is full of chase scenes, escapes, and blasts that keep people entertained but sometimes take away from time to think about their feelings.
There are times when you should be moved to tears or think deeply, but they pass too quickly to really hit you. The movie never really lets us breathe alongside the characters; it’s more concerned with maintaining its flow than giving us a chance to think. For younger audiences, this style works well because there is always something new to find. But for older fans of Miyazaki’s more complex works, it might feel a bit rushed or emotionally thin.
Beneath the clouds of adventure lies the quiet heartbeat of innocence.
That said, the movie’s fast pace gives it an air of adventure akin to old-school serials or current blockbuster shows. Every scene feels like it’s moving, and each frame adds to the sense that a vast world is waiting to be discovered. The mood is lighter, like a Disney adventure with a Japanese twist. This is a great movie for people who are new to Studio Ghibli to start with.
Castle in the Sky is a work of art in its own right, visually. Its hand-drawn scenes are still beautiful after decades. Every background looks like a moving picture, from the lush valleys and cute mining towns to the vast sky fortresses and floating ruins of Laputa. The careful attention to detail, the changing light of the clouds, and the sparkle of the crystal all come together to make a beautiful collage.
Ghibli’s first real movie, and it was already one of the most beautiful movies ever. Many of the mechanical designs, like the airships and tall robots, show how much Miyazaki loves flying and machines. Even though it was made in the mid-1980s, the animation looks great today—it’s smooth, expressive, and classic.
One of Ghibli’s most famous creations is the robot guards of Laputa. They are tall and gentle at the same time, strong and caring. They are a great example of the balance between nature and technology that is important to Ghibli’s philosophy.
The movie’s beauty can be seen even on a low-quality DVD. The remastered Blu-ray version, on the other hand, shows the film in all its glory, with bright colors, restored depth, and stunning sharpness that bring out every detail of Miyazaki’s work.
Joe Hisaishi’s masterful score complements the visuals perfectly. It’s a big orchestral piece that makes every feeling stronger. The music is like the wind blowing through the story, taking it beautifully between wonder and sadness. Classical sounds and soft piano tunes complement the movie’s themes of flight and freedom.
It soars fast and free — a skyward symphony of motion and imagination.
The voice acting adds more depth to the characters as well. The Japanese audio has the right tone, but Disney’s 1998 English dub added familiar sounds, such as Mark Hamill as Muska. Some people say that Pazu and Sheeta’s voices sound older than their personalities, but the dub is surprisingly good. Still, it’s a minor flaw in an adaptation that stays true to the source and is otherwise good.
From the spinning gears of airships to the distant echo of thunder over the clouds, sound design is a big part of putting people in this world. When the wind hums or the music swells softly, the quiet parts are just as strong as the loudest action scenes.
Even though Castle in the Sky isn’t Miyazaki’s darkest movie, it is without a doubt one of his most magical. Studio Ghibli’s long journey starts with this movie, which shows what hand-drawn animation can do when fantasy takes the lead. The movie’s sense of wonder, excitement, and artistic skill more than make up for its slow pace, which doesn’t allow for much emotional depth.
This movie captures the thrill of flying, the wonder of discovery, and the never-ending struggle between greed and kindness. For younger viewers, it’s a beautiful fantasy; for older viewers, it brings back memories of a simpler time when stories were more straightforward and excitement and beauty went hand in hand. Even though it has some minor pacing and character development issues, Castle in the Sky is still a great movie that storytellers, animators, and dreamers love.
