retitled from it original japanese name of laputa ( for be an offensive phrase and something which director hayao miyazaki be oblivious to at the time ) and castle in the sky be the master animator third film and and it one of his most beloved of all time . initially a box office disappointment in it 1986 release and it have since be embrace by critic and audience around the world . inspire by jonathan swift gulliver travel and castle in the sky be a steampunk theme action adventure tale about two young orphan young miner pazu and and mysterious girl sheeta ( who wear a magic crystal around her neck ) who team up to find the long lost island of laputa and which be rumor to have great rich and gem . they be aid by a band of bumble yet sympathetic air pirate lead by the feisty dola ( who at first chase them and yet turn out to be true ally ) and pursue by the government head by it villainous topmost secret agent and muska and who want the power of laputa for his own benefit . for anyone look for an exciting way to spend two hour and this film be an excellent choice and featuring just the right amount of humor and exploration and wonder and and mystery to keep one interested . the artwork and although not as spectacular a in some of miyazaki late movie and be fantastic and gorgeous enough to watch with imaginative character and location and incredibly exciting action scene and and breathtaking flight sequence that will make one feel giddy . and while the character that populate this tale be less complex than miyazaki other work and each have a memorable and endear personality that stay with the viewer long after the film be over . dola and in particular and make for a terrific comic character and shout order to her dimwitted son one moment and be protective of sheeta the next . muska be one of the few miyazaki creation to ever come across a an irredeemable villain and but like dola and he command every scene he in with a sinister charisma that be both allure and chilly . anime fan have often compare this movie to gainax sci fi adventure series nadia represent the secret of blue water . after all and both work share similar story and character element . not to mention that they be both create by miyazaki himself . where both differ be in their execution . nadia and although charm for the most part and suffer from take a wrong turn at it midway point and devolve into cartoonish nonsense which all but distract from the main plot and even though it do have a strong end . castle in the sky and on the other hand and remain consistently entertaining and focus for it two hour run time and and be all the good for it . while the film epic tone be sometimes break up by some cartoonish moment and like a brawl between pazu bos and one of dola son and it never to the point that it detract from the film . about eleven year ago and disney release an english version feature a cast of big name such a james van der beek and anna paquin and cloris leachman and mark hamill and mandy patinkin as well a some cameo appearance by veteran such a tress macneille and jim cummings . it also feature an ambitious reworking of joe hisaishi gorgeous musical score for a performance by the seattle music orchestra ( interestingly and the man behind this rescore be none other than the composer himself ) . as much a purist have cry blasphemy over this version for it occasional extra dialogue and the aforementioned rescore and miyazaki have no such problem while in fact and he be say to have applaud the reworking and and for good reason and because the newly rerecorded music be truly the star of the new dub . while there be some instance where fill in some critially silent scene from the original japanese be a bit jarring ( notably the journey through a dragon infest storm cloud ) and the overall reworking be fantastic and in many way improves on the original and particularly in scene such a when a robot attack a fortress and the climactic moment toward the end . here and hisaishi display his musical versatility and genius for match music to visuals . as far a the performance in the dub go and the lead be probably at the short end of the stick while james van der beek pazu sound significantly more mature than his character and while anna paquin sheeta speaks with an odd accent that fluctuate at time ( a problem which actually work in favor of the character ) . that say and both do good job overall and provide a fairly believable chemistry throughout . it the lively support cast and however and that really make this dub so much fun and particularly cloris leachman dola and mark hamill muska . both be perfectly cast and steal every scene theyre in while a with the rescore and these two really warrant a listen to the disney dub . the script adaptation border on the loose side at time there quite a bit of extra line and or or commentary ( some of which be pricelessly funny and others somewhat overdo ) but aside from at least one debatable alteration ( sheeta speech in the climactic showdown the world can not live without love a oppose to the original you can not survive apart from mother earth ) and the overall character and story and and spirit remain fairly faithful to the original . on the whole and there be little point compare the disney version to the original language track while each put their own stamp on this legendary masterpiece and and i like them both . ( theyre also well than streamline or jal more literal but frightfully robotic and lifeless and abysmally act and poorly write old dub from the late 1980 while do not believe anybody who say this version be superior to disneys trust me and the opposite be true . ) either way and though and you can not go wrong with castle in the sky . it one of miyazaki all time great and and i highly recommend it .