Castle in the Sky

1986 ‘天空の城ラピュタ’ Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Haunting and brilliant!

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Keiko Yokozawa Mayumi Tanaka Minori Terada Kotoe Hatsui Fujio Tokita Ichirō Nagai Hiroshi Ito Machiko Washio Takumi Kamiyama Yoshito Yasuhara Sukekiyo Kameyama Eken Mine Tarako Masashi Sugawara Reiko Suzuki Toshihiko Seki Hōchū Ōtsuka Megumi Hayashibara Tomomichi Nishimura

Alternative Titles

Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Laputa - Castello nel cielo, Tenku no shiro Rapyuta, Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa, Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta, Laputa

romance fantasy animation family action adventure

124 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Adam Cook ★★★★★ 32

Laputa: Castle in the Sky is Hayao Miyazaki’s second greatest achievement as a director and the first film to be released by Studio Ghibli. It is a culmination of everything he learned from Castle of Cagliostro and Nausicaa and merged into a rollicking adventure story full of wonderful characters and unforgettable set pieces.
Miyazaki has returned to familiar themes throughout his illustrious career - strong, independent female characters, environmental warnings, technology and orphaned children. All these elements are very much present in Castle in the Sky and forged from a number of the great director’s passions and recurring influences. From the obvious (Gulliver’s Travels and Miyazaki’s passion for air travel) to the more obscure (the design of the town was…
Review by my 6 year old niece 1

“its about the little girl and the little boy that go float”
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★★★★ 11

ONE OR TWO MINOR SPOILERS
Can I just say that this film led to me getting this shit song stuck in my head? Thanks a bunch, Miyazaki!
I suppose I'll let him off considering the similarly named film turned out to be quite wonderful. This is my third and a half Hayao Miyazaki after Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, and half a viewing of Porco Rosso that was abandoned years ago when the VHS tape I was watching it on conked out.
For sheer scope and vision, Laputa: Castle In The Sky is a good distance ahead of these films and is a quite astounding achievement on numerous levels, some of which I'm not even sure I can get my…
Review by 🌻 lindsay 🌻 ★★★★★ 9

There’s something in the magic of Miyazaki’s films that captures the feeling of childhood imagination. One of the biggest things that impresses me about him as a storyteller is that he is able to replicate those feelings even as an adult, when life begins to lose its shine.
It reminds me of that feeling when you’re young and the world can still shift around you when you want to play. The floor isn’t carpet anymore - you really do see lava. When you and your brother jump off of the picnic table and pretend to fly - you really feel like you’re soaring through the air.
The adventure of Castle in the Sky is fun, dramatic, and heartfelt. It’s a…
Review by ☆ Sophie ☆ ★★★★★ 11

PSA: For those of you who have HBO Max, their version of Castle in the Sky is different somehow with regards to the score. There's not too much of it, and it's very different, and it feels empty. I'm very disappointed in the version of Castle in the Sky that HBO max has because the original version is and should be the only version. It makes me worried that the other studio Ghibli films are different versions. Just a fair warning to everyone!
EDIT: The "more score" version is the Disney released dub and the one I grew up watching. The version they put on HBO Max is the original version. XD
Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★½ 6

Charmingly written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, as well as being given the notoriety of being the first film from Studio Ghibli, Laputa: Castle in the Sky is a pleasure to behold. As with Miyazaki’s previous film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the worldbuilding is marvellously impressive, and the calibre of the animation is remarkable from beginning to end. It's a skillfully constructed steampunk adventure which integrates components of Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels and features a beautiful score by Joe Hisaishi.
It's set in the late nineteenth century and observes the journey of a girl and boy struggling to protect a magical amulet from falling into the hands of a government intelligence agency, and the film ensures that…
Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★½ 11

Of the few Ghibli films I've experienced this one has become my favorite! It is a fast paced highly adventurous fantasy world that is richly textured with creative and thoughtful plotlines with conscientious values that are not often seen in children's films!
What a joy to find a children's film that isn't dumbed down! Hayao Miyazaki is one of the very few who respect children's intellect and capacity to understand and does not simply deliver the status quo he challenges them!
Beautiful animation!
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Recommended by Viktor Prentovski via my list "Movie Request Hotline"
A fabulous film! Thank You so much Viktor!
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Review by Libby Caldwell ★★★½ 3

Films Watched in 2020 - Film 140
Ghibli Ranked
This is the first of 8 Ghibli movies I’ll be watching over the next few days, and adding to that ranked list. I have already seen Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro but I don’t feel comfortable ranking until I rewatch as I don’t think it would be accurate.
Anyway, back to this one. I’m not sure if it’s because I watched it over three sittings but it seemed really long. I know this was the point but some of the characters seemed really annoying.
I did really like the relationship between the two main ones and the score and animation were beautiful though.
Review by YI JIAN ★★★★½

Way too wholesome and sweet to a degree where it's almost unbearable, my heart oh god my fucking heart [starts banging on table] kind robots! robots that look scary on the outside but are in fact programmed to be extremely gentle, robots that care about animals, robots that play with fox squirrels in their free time aaaaaa look! the robot gives flowers, the robot tends to the grave of its master. I am going to cry now.
Review by Siegel ★★★★ 26

So pure. The visuals, the soaring soundtrack, the childlike adventure with pirates and thieves and flying buglike vehicles and huge expansive wondrous worlds. Only my second Ghibli and I already love the studio so much. They create entire universes that are so unique yet so familiar, stories that are so huge yet always grounded in the personal, characters that feel like impossibly amazing heros yet also your closest friends. Unbelievable - I cannot wait to watch more.
Review by Christian Ryan ★★★★½ 5

When I was 19, I was shipped off to serve a two-year mission for my church and one of the rules was that we weren’t permitted worldly distractions, particularly movies. One evening, my companion and I were over at a Japanese family’s house and they threw Castle in the Sky on for their kids while we chatted about boring churchy stuff at the dining room table.
What started as a few stolen glances quickly became a full-on apostasy as I just could not take my eyes off the screen. I spent the next two hours drawing out our discussion so I could sneak-watch the entire movie and by the end of it was filled with more euphoric joy than any holy spirit had ever brought me.
I remember thinking, if this is the reason I end up in hell, it was totally worth it.
Review by justmiaslife ★★★ 3

Probably my most controversial Studio Ghibli opinion, but I can’t change the fact that something about “Castle in the Sky” never worked for me. I wish I could say I like this movie more, but even as a kind the “Ghibli magic” was missing. I still has a huge nostalgia factor for me and there are some scenes I really enjoy, but I never connected with the characters and the story overall. Other Ghibli movies give me joy when I revisit them, but I always have to force myself with “Castle in the Sky”, because it feels incredibly long, every time I start it. This film just didn't resonate or affect me emotionally like all the others works I've seen from him, but that doesn’t change the fact that it still is beautifully made and that Hayao Miyazaki still is my favourite director.

Recent reviews

Review by TheMovieVampire ★★★½

Studio Ghibli movies are all the rage lately so I thought I’d finally give this a rewatch. To me this movie has always been the lesser 80s Miyazaki sky themed adventure movie behind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and I can’t say that this viewing changed that perception but the movie does have a lot going for it. I like the robot in it, I like the world, I like certain sequences. What I don’t particularly like are the characters, especially the male lead. Part of that is sort of my fault; out of laziness I was watching the dubbed version and was reminded of how freakin’ awful James Van Der Beek is at voicing this character in…
Review by ⓝⓘⓒⓔ! ★★★

The animation is lovely and the performances are wholesome but the story is immediately swallowed up by the grandeur of the world-building. The structure of this film kind of culminates as one huge-ass, beautifully fluid chase sequence. I just realized I don't think this movie actually contains a first act narratively-speaking. It feels like the opening sequence of the movie more accurately represents the transition point between the first and second acts as the story never seems to properly take time to ease us into what's going on. The characters are awfully contrived and I never got a sense anyone really had a unique personality.
Review by Guy von Incognito

I heard a rumer that Miazaki had to sell a child on ebay to get the money to buy this movie????anybody can tell me if this is true or what?I have to KNO
Review by colelloyd_1 ★★★

the pain tolerance of these characters blows my mind
Review by QuietStorm27

Review Pending...
Review by Ethan M ★★★★ 1

I wouldn't say this is an underground Miyazaki classic, but it's definitely one of his most overlooked films. I love this film and its vibe. The concept is really simple, but it's all in the execution. The animation is incredible as usual, and by God the MUSIC. THE MUSIC MAKES MY DICK TWITCH, GAT DAYUM.
But yeah, don't sleep on this one. It's a very cute, well made movie.
Review by Liv ★★★★★

THE ORIGINAL SCORE IN THE JPN DUB... is so incredibly superior
Review by Race ★★★★½ 3

All good pirates listen to their mom!
Probably the most Miyazaki movie out of all the Miyazaki movies I’ve watched.
Review by Vizone_99 ★★★

No matter how many times I watch this, my feelings remain unchanged on this one. It’s never been my favorite Miyazaki movie, but there’s still a good amount to enjoy. It feels like there’s quite a few exposition dumps but it also builds up this world well. All the hype leading to Laputa makes the point when the characters finally reach it so much better. Although, before that point, the story hits some drags where I’m just not invested enough to care in some scenes. The entire part where Sheeta and Pazu are more or less hanging out on the pirate’s ship is always a sure spot to lose my attention. The characters in general, main or side, aren’t ones…
Review by leeann ★★★

what was with that weird scene where all of the grown men were blushing & basically drooling over the literal child & calling her beautiful ??? no thanks
Review by jjameswang ★★★★

Sheeta? More like Sheeta stole-a my heart. HAHAHAHAHAH XD XD XD. (i’m sorry for this)
Review by nategura ★★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

this is the film i was least excited to watch in my month long miyazaki marathon. i should never be allowed to have an opinion again.
when it hits it hits really hard and when it misses it isn't excessively offensive. the end drags on a bit too long and the messaging seems very on the nose.
however, there is vastly more good than bad. the relationship between Sheeta and Pazu is one of the best i've seen. both are strong and independent, but work best together. they are not codependent as much as they are brought up by the other.
whenever miyazaki indulges in his obvious love for airplanes the passion comes through. laputa: castle in the sky works…