In the last half year, I’ve started to show more appreciation to anime films specifically to Hayao’s Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films. Beforehand something put me off anime films but I’m starting to see the absolute beauty in storyline, music, characters, but mainly in the actual animation itself. A lot of my interest has been drawn from all the hype for these after Hayao Miyazaki retirement and I’ve noticed in the past that a lot of these films are on the IMDb Top 250 (Spirited Away at 32, Grave of the Fireflies at 64, Princess Mononoke at 70, My Neighbour Totoro at 128, Laputa: Castle in the Sky at 229 and many more)!
Up to this point I have only seen three of the Hayao Miyazaki’s films: Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and recently for the first time Laputa: Castle in the Sky which I went to see at the Glasgow Film Theatre as part of the Studio Ghibli Forever film event. So I’m going to do a quick review of the film.
Sheeta is a mysterious young girl who pairs up with a young boy called Pazu, both racing against pirates, foreign agents and a government army in a search for the legendary floating civilisation, Laputa. As I said we went to the GFT to see this film and you know my opinion about it from the time I went to see the Deep Breath episode there, so you can check there. Not being lazy; just trying to keep this review brief. The only things I knew about this film were the main tune, a girl is falling in a scene and there is a castle in the sky, so this was going to be another new film for me on the big screen at the GFT.
And once again, another of the Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s films has blown my socks off! The animation as always was beautiful, and the music was tremendous in the loud cinema sound; I had shivers down my spine hearing the main tune (I heard previously) played at the beginning of the film. Compared to likes of Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro, this had a lot more action and adventure, which I wasn’t expecting at all. My Neighbour Totoro is a very peaceful film and Spirited Away is about how a girl gets a bit of backbone; with Laputa there were guns blazing, fiery explosions, perilous chase scenes and cyclones. The scene where they were sucked into the cyclone reminded me a little of the Wizard of Oz with the mystery and determination to find this new place. The animation and storyline were the key features of this film, but it was a thrill to watch besides them.
Mark Hamill is Muska, the bad guy! During the film, I was frequently thinking is that Mark Hamill? It sounded very similar to the voice he uses in Kingdom Hearts as Master Eraqus and I was overwhelmed when I actually saw his name appear in the credits. As said I am only beginning to realise that the Studio Ghibli films are up there as some of the best films of all time, but for some reason it really surprised me that an actor with such a high profile as Luke Skywalker and Joker would lend his talents to the likes of an anime film or even with Kingdom Hearts. It was great boost after the film had ended!
When you look at the storyline, it does seem like your typical damsel in distress, hero comes to save the day, swashbuckling adventure. And ultimately like other similar films, we learn that love conquers all! Something that the villain usually lacks in. But this film is a lot more unique and I’ll say it again; it was tremendous! It was beautifully animated, the music score was excellent, it had an action packed and endearing storyline and it was also humorous. Why in all these films I’ve seen, does there seem always be an elderly granny figure? Dola (the pirate leader) and her sons were hilarious. In conclusion, this film has become my favourite out of the three Studio Ghibli films I’ve seen so far!
LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY – 9/10
GLASGOW FILM THEATRE – 8/10
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Now onto another bit of info for any of you enthusiasts who are interested in the Hayao Miyazaki films whether you’ve seen them all or are wanting to. Disney have revealed recently that there is going to be a new blu-ray collection releasing soon containing 11 of Hayao Miyazaki’s gemstone Studio Ghibli animations entitled “The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki”! As I’ve said before, not only has he made the most beautiful animated movies in the world, he’s made some of the most beautiful movies ever!
At the moment there hasn’t been any word of a UK regional release of this boxset, but it has been said to be sold exclusively on Amazon in America on November 17th. This boxset will include a small book with some of his work as well as many other extras but will of course feature his main films which are listed below.
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- Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
- Laputa: Castle in the Sky
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Kiki’s Delivery Service
- Porco Rosso
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Hope you enjoyed this. What is your favourite Hayao Miyazaki film? Is it one that I haven’t seen yet? Be sure to write your favourites and thoughts below. The GFT have said there is more Studio Ghibli to come in October, so am keeping a look out! Until next time, sayounara!
It’s hard to choose a favourite as Studio Ghibli has produced so many fantastic movies over the years. I would have to go for Princess Mononoke but closely followed by Howl’s Moving Castle.
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying these films.