At the time of viewing, I could feel a kind of raw, unbridled joy radiating from the film that's missing especially from Miyazaki's later, more polished works. Now I realise that it's because this film is unburdened by the usual heavy, central moral message that is found in most of his films. It's a film that, at its heart, is just about innocent, lighthearted fun.
Another thing that's different is the cast that make up the film. But at first it looked for the world like the main characters are a text book copy of the ones from other Miyazaki stories. I was like: oh god, not another female lead... and one who unsurprisingly has a similar appearance to all the other female leads that Miyazaki's ever created. Sheeta, the character in question, could be easily passed off as the sister of Nausicaa from "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" and Kiki from "Kiki's Delivery Service". I remember inwardly suppressing another groan when more unsurprises followed as the typical main girl is joined by a typical boy sidekick named Pazu. But luckily, the way this relationship is fleshed out is a bit different. In this film, Sheeta has a much more vulnerable air about her than the other Miyazki heroines, and as a result the Pazu has to fill a much more central role than the other typical Miyazaki's boy sidekicks to try and protect her. It is perhaps because of this that the bond between them feels unusually strong, and is coloured by a hint of rose tinted romance. Interestingly, "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" also has one of the very few real villains found in Studio Ghibli films.
It occurred to me while watching this film that it's probably provided the inspiration for one of my favourite anime "Last Exile". Part of this gave off a very similar vibe to "Last Exile". The feel of a grand, epic fairy tale, Pazu's ambitions to follow in his dad's footsteps (his dad was a pilot) and achieve the dream that his dad was reaching for, and the whole fabulous sense of the joy found in flying across the skies, all these aspects from this old film are reflected in that modern series... even the feel of the music used is similar.
"Laputa: Castle in the Sky" is thrilling ride from start to finish, it's a family epic of a film that's hard to beat when it comes to pure, lighthearted entertainment. It's the kind of film that you can just sit back and enjoy without reservation.
