Castle in the Sky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Directed by	Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by	Isao Takahata
Written by	Hayao Miyazaki
Starring	Mayumi Tanaka Keiko Yokozawa Kotoe Hatsui Minori Terada
Music by	Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography	Hirokata Takahashi
Editing by	Takeshi Seyama Yoshihiro Kasahara
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Distributed by	Toei
Release date(s)	August 2, 1986 (1986-08-02)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	¥500 million ($3.3 million)
Money made	$15.5 million

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (original Japanese title: 天空の城ラピュタ (Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta)), often called Castle in the Sky in North America, is a famous Japanese animated fantasy adventure film. It was written and directed by the amazing Hayao Miyazaki. This movie was the very first film made by the well-known Studio Ghibli in 1986.

The story follows a young boy and girl in the late 1800s. They try to protect a special magic crystal from a group of military agents. At the same time, they are searching for a legendary floating castle that is hidden in the sky.

Laputa: Castle in the Sky was a big success! It won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award in 1986. People loved the movie, and it earned a lot of money. It has also greatly influenced Japanese popular culture, inspiring many other films, games, and media both in Japan and around the world. It's also seen as a classic movie in the steampunk and dieselpunk styles, which are all about cool machines and technology from the past.

Plot Summary

Sheeta and Pazu's Meeting

The story begins with a young orphan girl named Sheeta. She has been kidnapped by a government agent named Muska. They are on an airship when it's attacked by Captain Dola and her sons, who are air pirates. They are all looking for Sheeta's small blue crystal pendant. During the fight, Sheeta falls from the airship. Luckily, a mysterious power from her amulet slows her fall.

She lands safely in a small mining town. There, a brave young orphan boy named Pazu finds her. He takes her to his home to help her recover. Pazu tells Sheeta about a mysterious floating city called Laputa. His father had taken a picture of it, and Pazu dreams of finding it.

The Chase Begins

Soon, Dola's pirates start chasing Sheeta and Pazu. Then, Muska's soldiers join the chase. The two friends end up falling into an old, abandoned mine. Inside, they meet an interesting old man named Uncle Pomme. He tells them that Sheeta's amulet is made of a special "levitation stone" crystal. This stone is what keeps Laputa and other flying cities floating in the air.

Captured by Muska

After leaving the mines, Sheeta tells Pazu her full name: Lucita Toel Ur Laputa. They are then captured by Muska and taken to a fortress. Pazu is put in a dungeon, while Sheeta gets a fancier room. Muska shows Sheeta a sleeping robot from Laputa. He knows her secret name, which means she is part of Laputa's royal family. Muska threatens Pazu's life to make Sheeta help him. To keep Pazu safe, Sheeta tells him to leave. Muska even offers Pazu money to forget about Laputa.

The Pirates' Help

A very sad Pazu goes home. There, Dola and her sons ambush him. After Pazu explains everything, the pirates decide to help him rescue Sheeta and get the crystal. They let Pazu join their crew.

While they prepare, Sheeta says a special magic verse. This accidentally activates her amulet and the robot. The robot follows Sheeta, destroying parts of the fortress. But it is eventually stopped by the military's airship, the Goliath. Pazu arrives and saves Sheeta. However, Muska manages to get the amulet.

Journey to Laputa

The pirates, with Pazu and Sheeta, return to their airship, the Tiger Moth. They chase the Goliath, which is using Sheeta's amulet to find Laputa. Dola puts Pazu to work in the engine room, and Sheeta becomes the ship's cook. That night, Sheeta tells Pazu that her grandmother taught her many spells, including a powerful "Spell of Destruction."

During a fight with the Goliath, Dola shows Pazu and Sheeta how to use a lookout as a kite. This lets them see more of their surroundings. The Tiger Moth soon approaches a huge hurricane. Pazu sees a swirl of clouds that looks just like the one in his father's picture. He tells Dola they have found Laputa and they must fly into the eye of the storm. But the Goliath appears and attacks the Tiger Moth, sending it crashing down. A gunshot cuts the kite's cable, and Pazu and Sheeta float into the clouds.

Inside the Floating City

They land on Laputa, but find the city ruined and covered in plants. Dola's pirates are captured, and Muska's soldiers start stealing the city's treasures. Muska enters the city's main area, which holds all of Laputa's scientific knowledge. He captures Sheeta and his agents shoot at Pazu. Pazu escapes and frees the pirates before finding his way into the main area.

At the center of Laputa, where the giant 'volucite' crystal keeps the city floating, Muska reveals he is also from Laputa's royal family. He uses Sheeta's crystal to control Laputa's advanced technology. He then turns on his own soldiers and destroys the Goliath using Laputa's powerful weapons and robot army. He plans to use them to take over the world.

The Final Confrontation

During the chaos, a horrified Sheeta gets her amulet back and tries to run away, but Muska chases her. Sheeta hears Pazu's voice and gives him the amulet through a gap in the wall. Muska corners her in Laputa's throne room.

Sheeta tells Muska that the people of Laputa left the castle because they learned that humans are meant to live on Earth, not in the sky. Muska doesn't listen. He shoots off her braids and threatens to kill her unless she gives him the crystal amulet. Pazu asks to talk with Sheeta for one minute. Muska agrees. Sheeta tells Pazu the "Spell of Destruction," and they both say the spell together. This causes the castle to break apart and blinds Muska, who then falls to his death.

A New Beginning

After surviving the collapse, Pazu and Sheeta meet up with Dola and her pirates. They leave Laputa behind. When they say goodbye to the pirates, Pazu flies Sheeta home, just as he promised. They start a new life together.

As the credits roll, you can see the remains of Laputa floating into outer space. It's still held up by the volucite crystal, which is now part of the roots of the giant central tree.

Cast of Characters

Soundtrack

The music for Castle in the Sky was created by the famous composer Joe Hisaishi. The soundtrack was released on August 25, 1986. One of the most beloved songs from the movie is "Carrying You" (君をのせて (Kimi wo Nosete)), sung by Azumi Inoue.

All lyrics written by Hayao Miyazaki, all music composed by Joe Hisaishi.

Influence on Popular Culture

Castle in the Sky has had a huge impact on Japanese popular culture. Many people say it's like a modern monomyth (a common story pattern) for Japanese movies and media. Experts in the steampunk genre, which mixes old technology with fantasy, call it "one of the first modern steampunk classics." The movie features many steampunk elements like airships, air pirates, and steam-powered robots. It also shows how steam power can be amazing but also dangerous. The film has also influenced the dieselpunk genre, which is similar but focuses on diesel-powered technology.

Social Media Moment

One of the most tweeted moments in Twitter history happened during a Japanese TV airing of Castle in the Sky on August 2, 2013. Fans tweeted the word "balus" at the exact moment it was said in an important scene. This caused a global peak of 143,199 tweets in just one second!

Music and Other Media

The movie has also inspired popular music. The jazz-funk band Hiatus Kaiyote has a song called 'Laputa' that directly mentions the film. Another band, Panchiko, also has a song named 'Laputa'.

Animation and Comics

The success of Laputa led to many other steampunk anime and manga (Japanese comics). A great example is the anime series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990). This show was inspired by Laputa and also by the classic book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. In turn, Nadia influenced other steampunk anime like Steamboy (2004).

Other famous steampunk anime and manga that came after Laputa include:

• Miyazaki's own films: Porco Rosso (1992) and Howl's Moving Castle (2004).
• The Sega anime series Sakura Wars (1997).
• The Fullmetal Alchemist (2001) manga and anime.
• The Elemental Gelade (2002) manga and anime.

Many creators have been inspired by Castle in the Sky. Manga author Katsura Hoshino (who created D.Gray-man) loved the movie so much that she wanted to be an animator. Anime filmmaker Yasuhiro Yoshiura said his film Patema Inverted (2013) was his take on "the world of Laputa and the boy-meets-girl story." Even Makoto Shinkai, known for hit anime films like Your Name (2016), said Laputa is his favorite animation. The anime series No Game No Life (2014) even has a reference to the film in one of its episodes.

Castle in the Sky also influenced animated films from Disney and Pixar. For example, Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Pixar's WALL-E (2008) and Up (2009) show some influence. The French animated film April and the Extraordinary World (2015) was also inspired by Laputa.

Video Games

Castle in the Sky has had a big impact on many video games, especially Japanese ones. Its success led to a wave of steampunk video games.

• Game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi said Laputa inspired his Final Fantasy video game series, especially the airships in the games.
• Sega AM2 game designer Yu Suzuki said Laputa was his original inspiration for the arcade game After Burner (1987).
• Steel Empire (1992), one of the first steampunk video games, was inspired by Laputa.
• This influence continued with games like Final Fantasy VI (1994) and Sega's Sakura Wars (1996).

Other video games inspired by Castle in the Sky include:

• The Mega Man Legends series.
• Zack & Wiki.
• Japanese role-playing games like the Lunar series, Valkyrie Profile (1999), Skies of Arcadia (2000), Steambot Chronicles (2005), and Dark Cloud 2 (2002).
• The first-person shooter BioShock Infinite (2013).
• The action-adventure game Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017).
• The airships in the Mario and Civilization game series.

There's even an easter egg in the game Minecraft that relates to Castle in the Sky! The Iron Golems in the game sometimes hold out poppies to villagers, just like the Ancient Robots from Laputa. When villager children see this, they slowly go up to the Iron Golems and take the flower.

About the Title

The name "Laputa" comes from a book called Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. In that book, Laputa is also a flying island.

In some countries, like the United States and the United Kingdom, the film's title was shortened to Castle in the Sky in 2003. This was done because the word "Laputa" sounds like a rude word in Spanish. However, in Britain, the full title Laputa: Castle in the Sky was brought back in 2006. Before that, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the movie was sometimes shown in the UK as Laputa: The Flying Island.

See also

In Spanish: El castillo en el cielo para niños