Castle in the Sky (1986)
My contribution to Ryan McNeil’s 2014 blindspot series blogathon, where I watch a film each month that I have never seen before.
Japanese animated feature. Certainly the most mainstream and action/adventure orientated of the Miyazaki films I’ve seen. The chase story is reminiscent of Indiana Jones.
There’s definitely a little social commentary, that we shouldn’t misuse the earth’s resources for selfish reasons, which in the film is in the shape of the powerful crystal weapon, which comes from the earth.
Pity about the overlong running time of over two hours, which is quite common for Asian productions.
While My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and The Wind Rises (2013) I was moved by emotionally and felt suitable for both young and old, Castle in the Sky left me unmoved, and I would say the target audience is younger than I am.
Wonderful animation, average characterization and story. The situation is really just goodies vs baddies. The film is not bad, but I guess I expected more considering it’s ranked in the IMDb top 250. My least favorite Miyazaki film so far.
Rating 6/10
Have you seen Castle in the Sky or other Miyazaki films? Are you a fan of his style?
moviesandsongs365.wordpress.com 
I love Miyazaki's films — my daughter and I have seen them all multiple times. I don't really remember Castle in the Sky though — it's time to revisit it.
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Spirited Away is one of my Blind Spots for this year which I'll watch later in the year as I've only seen Howl's Moving Castle and The Wind Rises as I really liked the latter. I wanna do more Miyazaki soon as I'm right now watching my Blind Spot assignment and…. it's a fucking challenge.
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Interesting. I would actually pick Totoro as the Miyazaki film that skews the youngest. I liked Castle in the Sky, but there are other Miyazaki films I did like better (i.e. Totoro and Spirited Away).
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@Irene McKenna: Yes, some of the films of Miyazaki certainly have that family appeal, although Castle in The Sky isn’t my favorite , as I didn’t have an emotional connection to the characters.
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@thevoid99: Me too, I’m also fond of The Wind Rises. I’m guessing your challenging blind spot is Sátántangó (1994) which is 7 or 8 hours 🙂
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@Chip Lary: You have a point that My Neighbor Totoro (1988) can indeed be watched by children but I still feel the film has enough warmth and layers so adults could see it, especially together with their kids or family. I also prefer Spirited Away and Totoro.
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Yep and I'm on the third disc w/ 3 hours to go.
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I like the Miyazaki films I've seen, but I still need to see this (and The Wind Rises). It looks intriguing, and better than Howl's Moving Castle, which is currently my least favorite Miyazaki film.
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@Josh: The Wind Rises I enjoyed. I'll watch Howl's Moving Castle eventually, and go in with moderate expectations
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This is one of the handful of Miyazaki films I still haven't seen. It's too bad that it didn't live up to the hype for you.
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I was wowed by the castle and the futuristic function, the architecture. But I wasn't moved too by the two leads. But I did feel like a child again, like most Ghibli film I watched.
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Eric @ The Warning Sign: I prefer other Miyazaki films in terms of characterization and story, although I have no complains about the animation.
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@Andina: I agree the visuals and architecture are beautiful on the eye. Just the story I felt was average. That’s true, watching Studio Ghibli does make you feel like a child again.
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