Club Ghibli #2 - Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

[Diddy]

OK, it's been two weeks, it's time for the second entry in our Ghibli voyage. Are you already at the club?

Spirited Away gave a sample - or a smörgåsbord - of fantastical delights, intrigue and magic. For our second pick, we'll take a more adventurous turn with Studio Ghibli's official debut feature.

In 1986, "Tenko no Shiro: Laputa" debuted in Japanese cinemas, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It won critical acclaim, was a box office smash, and had cultural influence in the anime world with its aesthetic of ancient technology.

It tells the story of a young boy, Pazu, who discovers a mysterious girl, Sheeta. They are both thrown into a drama, where the secret of Sheeta's background might be the key to a source of dangerous power.



HOW THIS WORKS

In a semi book club format, the films will be announced, and over the course of about 2 weeks we can watch it and let everyone know what we thought. I'll nominate someone to pick the next film each time, but maybe let's try not to blow all the famous ones first!

I was thinking 2 weeks should be enough time for most people to fit in a viewing at some point, but it's not strict so please come back when you have a chance, no pressure!

@Christian @Gangsta Nancy Lam @jivafox @COB @Haiku @ZenGiraffe @Lucille @KindaCool @Queen of the Bay @RaspberrySwirl @RJN @Beverley @big ron @ButterTart @Mats (let me know if you don't want to be tagged any more)

 

[GNL]

I think I saw this on Film4 when they had a Ghibli season but I can't remember it so definitely worth revisiting WHORE CASTLE.

 

[Saltwater]

Great! I'll watch this in a couple of hours right after I end my shift.

 

[Diddy]

I think I saw this on Film4 when they had a Ghibli season but I can't remember it so definitely worth revisiting WHORE CASTLE.

I forgot about this unfortunate translation

 

[Diddy]

Great! I'll watch this in a couple of hours right after I end my shift.

Someone is KEEN!

 

[big ron]

Nice, I might rewatch this tomorrow.

 

[Mats]

I've seen it once. fell asleep. really boring

 

[Diddy]

I've seen it once. fell asleep. really boring

Did you actually see it all then?

 

[Diddy]

Is this like when Ellie says a film is crap because she walked out 15 minutes into it?

 

[Mats]

I saw 2/3 of it. I would say that counts

 

[Diddy]

I saw 2/3 of it. I would say that counts

I have a horrid memory of watching the US dub of it HEY SHEEDERR!

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

I started watching Castle in the Sky during ”lockdown” but never had the time to finish it (and watched it with several breaks).

Quoting myself from the other thread. I’ll give it a second chance.

 

[Lucille]

Just watching this now. I know animation was at least 50 years old at this point but I still find it astonishing this whole film was hand drawn, and it’s quite extraordinary this artform only existed for 6/7 decades.

The music is obviously beautiful and would encourage all GHIBLI QUEENS to indulge in this.

 

[Saltwater]

Watched it yesterday as well.
I felt this was more children-friendly than Spirited Away, but with a deeper complexity cause it's basically a saga. Animation was again lovely with what now looks like a little retro aesthetic and many beautiful details in the lighting, the complexity of the flowers etc as well as some stunning surrealistic visuals with the floating island, the miner's village in between that massive gorge etc. The plot feels like this is a little post-apocalyptic noir and the characters are very likeable. The element of having bad guys who are not really that bad is also present here, as is the bossy old lady with the big nose, whom I enjoyed the most
I just wish they have given us more on why

Spoiler

did Laputians left the island, what was the reason their society got extinct, where did they come from, how did they reach that level of tech and how did the importance of roots and respect for nature come from.

It's very open to assumption and I guess it's nice that we can theorize about it but I would like to know more.
And yes it's another 10 from me, well done Diddy and Christian.

 

[Peekaboo]

TOP THREE GHIBLI FOR ME.

 

[Peekaboo]

The set pieces in this film are INCREDIBLE but my favourite one that still sends shivers down my spine is Sheeta launching herself off the aircraft at the beginning of the movie and floating down onto the mines. I have it framed

 

[Peekaboo]

Also the title of the music track is THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY which COME ON

 

[big ron]

La Puta. jajaja

 

[Peekaboo]

If you think Laputa is bad wait until you find what a Kiki means in Spanish She's called NICKI in the Spanish dub.

 

[Saltwater]

La Puta. jajaja

In the film they are pronouncing it accentuating the la syllable, not the pu, possibly because of this.

 

[big ron]

In the film they are pronouncing it accentuating the la syllable, not the pu, possibly because of this.

How is it pronounced in the Spanish dubs I wonder?!? @Peekaboo to confirm. Or maybe @Alla (come ome alla)

 

[Peekaboo]

Oh the film was simply called "El castillo en el cielo" (Castle in the Sky) in Spanish to avoid having to write the name AT ALL on posters, VHS covers and so on. And when the island is mentioned in the film it's LAPUNTU.

 

[big ron]

Anyway, Spanish smut aside I've had this on today while I've done some editing (blissful).

There are multiple elements that I love. Firstly, the sheer beauty of the animation, the vintage hues, the fact its hand-drawn (only just learnt this and it makes me love it more)

The story is equal parts fantasy, retro-futurism, some political/human commentary and of course some wholesome young love and devotion.

 

[Diddy]

How are people doing with this?

 

[Peekaboo]

10/10 WHEN LAPUTA WAS DESTROYED MY HEART WAS FOREVER BROKEN ETC

 

[Diddy]

OMG I finished it - much happier this time, because last time I was a bit jetlagged and fell asleep, what an idiot.

Fantastic, another film I can't imagine the big Western studios making. Talk about a class in "show, don't tell", at least from a character point of view. Again we have bits of mythology about Laputa and its past - especially that opening credits sequence that implied there were many of them.

The leads are kids but they're not just in service of their storyline, they're just kids but they're just trying their best to handle all this SHIT that's going on. Unusually for Ghibli there are some out-and-out bad guys, much less interesting than the grey-area Pirates. Mamma is such a queen I don't think any parallels with Spirited Away are intentional (and in any case the other way around as this is older that SA), but Mamma and Yubaba are in the same zone I guess. They even had a Robotnik-esque engineer type!

The opening sequence on the airship is iconic, as is the post-intro meeting of the two kids. They're so good-hearted, I love it. And it's not OTT. I mean Pazu had 40 seconds to get ready to leave, but he still makes it to the roof to let the doves free <3 The action sequences are chaotic and amazing - the sheer cartoonish destruction of the train chase, the decimation of the fortress. That Terminator-esque unstoppability of the robot with its terrifying power!

and then Laputa itself, I LOVE its aesthetic - nature engulfing it, and the structuring having this sort of ancient but hyper-modern hybrid, incredible.

AND they managed to make a proper ending (which you shouldn't take for granted if you're going to watch them all )

BRAVA, totally back in my top 5 after this viewing.

 

[Diddy]

We're going to say BALSE soon, and I have asked someone to choose the next one

 

[Peekaboo]

The train chase sequence is incredible. Miyazaki can do brilliant action sequences - this, the Porco Rosso dogfights, HALF of Mononoke, Ponyo across the waves, the car chase in Cagliostro... I think what I like is that it's not just FLASH like many other animes, but also have a great sense of PACE and HUMOUR.

 

[Diddy]

The train chase sequence is incredible. Miyazaki can do brilliant action sequences - this, the Porco Rosso dogfights, HALF of Mononoke, Ponyo across the waves, the car chase in Cagliostro... I think what I like is that it's not just FLASH like many other animes, but also have a great sense of PACE and HUMOUR.

It’s interesting to see how bloodless it is too, there’s a lot of carnage and finally a pretty huge body count, but it’s never really made obvious. The only blood I saw was when Paz’s gets grazed. I mean with a western eye, of course an animated movie wouldn’t have that, but I mean Spirited Away had a fairly bloody scene, and as for Mononoke…

 

[Diddy]

Forgot to post this - great timing, there was a huge display of Laputa stuff at the Ghibli shop for the 35th anniversary

 

[Diddy]

There’s also one of the robots on top of the Ghibli Museum, I had my picture taken there every time (also though you can’t take pictures inside)

 

[Diddy]

Oh and I wondered what fellow Sonic fans would have made of the whole Castle in the Sky concept, not sure how Sonic Team got away with that 7 years later!

Speaking of Sonic Team, wasn’t @COB supposed to be watching along?

 

[COB]

I was! I'll get to it, sorry - I meant to watch Spirited Away on one of my flights last week but I ended up being too tired

 

[Saltwater]

I watched Spirited Away on a night I felt terribly worn out too and was kind of worried about its duration but am glad I did cause the 2 hours passed before I realized it and it somehow made me feel a lot better and happier at the end.

 

[Diddy]

Oh I meant to say, I liked that there were extended periods without any dialogue, or even any music sometimes. Especially in Laputa, there was such atmosphere in the silence - the wind was still, it's just abandoned. I remember when Wall-E came out they were all going on about "Oh there's no dialogue, so brave!!" (thought they had to give the robots faces to telegraph their emotions as obviously as possible but hey).

These robots just plod around, and you just know they understand what's going on, even with some unknowable bleeps. I feel like Pixar would've had the robots tilting their heads to the side like a dog to show confusion, etc