it always difficult to put a stamp on any film a be the best and whether of all time and a certain genre and or what have you and but i believe a strong argument could be make that in fact and laputa be the great animated film ever make . it be in my mind the masterwork of hayao miyazaki and the most talented of japan animate director and and it best capture his strength a a director and storyteller and and designer and as well a encapsulate all of his favorite underlying theme . the version i be review be the 2003 american dub ( i know and sacrilege for a hard core anime fan to not watch it in it native language ) while there be at least one other english language dub out there and i have it on vhs ( i have no idea from what source ) and and that version be the single best dub i have ever encounter of any film . but i think it good to concentrate on the version people can actually find . laputa tell the story of a boy name pazu ( voice by james van der beek here ) and who grow up in a mining town when one day a young girl name sheeta ( anna paquin ) literally drop from the sky . it seem she be be pursue by a sinister government agent and colonel muska ( mark hamill ) and who be more interested in the magical crystal that hang around her neck . to keep thing lively and there also a wickedly funny pirate gang after the crystal and lead by the aging but still boisterous dola ( cloris leachman ) . the plot revolve around the crystal ability to reveal the location of the fabled fly city of laputa and a potential treasure trove of scientific knowledge and hidden treasure . it all very much in keep with a fairy tale setting and but miyazaki know exactly how far to take the story and and the plot be pepper with gosh wow moment and thread with his customary morality and warning about abuse the power of nature . the design work on laputa and nearly twenty year later and be still revolutionary . fly machine of all sort abound and utterly impossible but so meticulously design that you instantly accept them without blink . the world be set somewhere around the start of the twentieth century and with telegraph and ancient motorcar alongside those wonderful impossible fly machine . but it be the city itself that be sheer brilliance in execution while laputa be both the garden of eden and the fire of heaven itself and and in that juxtaposition lie it appeal and it power and and it danger . besides be a thoughtfully design and beautifully render film and laputa be bless with a wonderful sense of cinematography . from sweep fly shot to high speed chase on tiny one man flyers to ship submerge into the cloud a if they be water and laputa display a scope that most film even with the magic of cgi can only daydream about . though we only see a small fraction of this world and it simple elegance extend beyond the border of the frame and we have no trouble believe in it . the film also contain one of my favorite and if not the most exciting and action sequence ever represent a guardian robot that fell to earth be accidentally reactivate and wreaks havoc on the fortress it be keep in and all the while try to protect sheeta ( who be the one who wake it up ) . meanwhile and pazu and the pirate swoop in on their little fly machine to snatch her and literally and from the jaw of destruction . from the horrific sight of the robot incinerate the countryside to the exhilarate last second rescue and the entire sequence be a masterpiece of timing and camera angle and know exactly how far to take the audience . it help that laputa have an amazing score . composer joe hisaishi capture the wondrous beauty of this world and the dewy innocence and the exciting action and and the creepy otherworldliness of the fly city and it bizarre robot guardian . though he re record it for this dvd release ( which imo be not an improvement over his original score ) and add piece here and there and the score match the visuals perfectly and a rare total union of sound and vision . this isn not a bad dub . i be inordinately fond of the old english dub and and this one over explain thing just a tad in spot and but i be almost shocked how closely these voice match those ( and those match the japanese pretty well ) . dola in particular be hard to get right and but leachman be spot on a the fiery old pirate woman ( her son aren not quite as good a the original ) . paquin do a good job a sheeta and and mark hamill and while i know it be him early and be more than talented enough to do muska ( i like the other english dub of muska a little more and but hamill good ) . much of the film rest on pazu shoulder and and van der beek be wonderful . listen to him make me think this crew must have have access to the other english dub and because vdb match up very closely with the original pazu . although again watch a dub be ground for excommunication among the otaku faithful and as much a i love this film and i do not think youre sacrifice a great deal simply watch this particular anglicized version . john lassiter of pixar introduces it up front and and my suspicion be that he and like so many others and simply love this film so much that they try very hard to ensure it high quality . miyazaki have have success in america in recent year with spirit away and mononoke ( one of his few film i do not care for ) and but to me laputa be still his crown achievement . anyone familiar with his late work will almost certainly enjoy this early work and and again and this film be a master at the top of his form hitting on every cylinder . i would pay big money to be able to see this on a large screen while while that will probably never happen and it good to know that at least this classic have be preserve on dvd .