Castle in the Sky: the story on HearLore

When was Castle in the Sky released?

Castle in the Sky was released on the 2nd of August 1986. This release marked the first feature film from the newly formed Studio Ghibli.

Who founded Studio Ghibli and when was it established?

Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli on the 15th of June 1985. The studio received support from Toshio Suzuki and his publishing company Tokuma Shoten.

What real-world event inspired the narrative of Castle in the Sky?

Miyazaki's visit to Wales in 1985 and the aftermath of the 1984, 1985 coal miners' strike inspired the narrative. The film reflects the miners' struggle and the failure to preserve their industry.

What is the production budget of Castle in the Sky?

The film had a reported production budget of 240 million yen. This amount is equivalent to 1.5 billion yen in 2023.

Who composed the music for Castle in the Sky?

Joe Hisaishi composed the score for Castle in the Sky. He has since provided the music for all of Miyazaki's feature films.

Castle in the Sky

On the 2nd of August 1986, a young boy named Pazu caught a girl named Sheeta as she fell from the sky, an event that would launch the first feature film from the newly formed Studio Ghibli. This moment, where a simple mining orphan saves an orphaned girl using only a glowing crystal necklace, set the stage for a story that would redefine Japanese animation. The film, titled Castle in the Sky, was not just a tale of adventure but a deliberate attempt to bring animation back to its roots, blending handcrafted warmth with advanced technology. The production team, led by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, worked tirelessly to create a world that felt both familiar and fantastical, drawing inspiration from the coal miners' strikes in Wales and the retrofuturistic designs of the 19th century. The film's success, though initially modest, would eventually earn it cult status and influence generations of artists, from anime creators to video game designers. The story of Castle in the Sky is one of resilience, environmentalism, and the enduring power of childhood innocence in a world often dominated by adult greed.

Wales And The Coal Miners

Miyazaki's first visit to Wales in 1985 was a pivotal moment that shaped the film's narrative and emotional core. He witnessed the aftermath of the 1984, 1985 coal miners' strike, an event that left a lasting impact on his worldview. The failure of the miners to preserve their industry was seen as an attack by those in power on the miners' way of life and the hard-working spirit of the people. This experience is reflected in the film's supporting characters, who despite laboring through poverty in the mines, enthusiastically protect the protagonists from multiple aggressors. Susan J. Napier argues that this depiction reveals Miyazaki's yearning for a simpler way of life, and a desire to create a story based on optimism. Animation scholar Helen McCarthy writes, "It seems that Castle in the Sky also contains echoes of the struggle of the Welsh people for nationhood and freedom." Miyazaki would visit Wales once more in 1986, ahead of the film's release. In 2005, he told The Guardian, "I admired those men, I admired the way they battled to save their way of life, just as the coal miners in Japan did. Many people of my generation see the miners as a symbol; a dying breed of fighting men. Now they are gone." The film's architecture and mining towns are directly inspired by the region, creating a visual language that resonates with the struggles of the Welsh people.

The Birth Of Studio Ghibli

On the 15th of June 1985, Miyazaki and Takahata founded Studio Ghibli, with support from Toshio Suzuki and his publishing company Tokuma Shoten. The name Ghibli was chosen by Miyazaki himself, referencing both the Arabic term for a warm wind from the Sahara, as well as the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli, an aircraft used by the Italian military during the Second World War. The intent behind the creation of the studio was to "blow a whirlwind" into a stagnating Japanese animation industry by creating original, high-quality feature films. In a speech at the 1995 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Suzuki said, "The idea was to dedicate full energy into each piece of work with sufficient budget and time, never compromising on the quality or content." The film had a reported production budget of 240 million yen, equivalent to 1.5 billion yen in 2023. Several animation studios such as Doga Kobo and Oh! Production provided support for the in-between animation. The production of Castle in the Sky "established a new industry standard," according to Napier. Miyazaki stated in the original project proposal that the film was a project to bring animation back to its roots. The film's success, though initially modest, would eventually earn it cult status and influence generations of artists, from anime creators to video game designers.

Nature Versus Technology

Castle in the Sky contains a strong theme of environmentalism, questioning humanity's relationship with nature and the role of technology. McCarthy interprets the giant tree of Laputa as a "metaphor for the reviving and life-giving power of nature." However, in contrast with the more optimistic conclusions of Miyazaki's previous works, Napier notes that the film ends with an "unsettling view" of the castle flying away, suggesting that humanity may not deserve to exist in the natural world. Literary scholar Anthony Lioi interprets Laputa as an ecological utopia that demonstrates the peace that can be established between nature and advanced technology, but also serves as a criticism of modernity when "[the] peace is shattered by human violence." Lioi notes that this outlook differs from dominant Western ideas, eschewing the extremes of capitalism and industrialism, as well as radical environmentalism and conservationism. Critics note the philosophical ambiguity of the castle; while Laputa initially appears to be an ideal union of nature and technology, it is later revealed to have a much harsher and more oppressive underside. Laputa itself takes direct inspiration from the island of the same name from Gulliver's Travels (1726), and film scholar Cristina Cardia claims that, like its namesake, the island is introduced with benign intentions but is ultimately "exploited for perverse ends, in this case war." The film also presents an ambiguous view on the usage of technology. The robots from Laputa provide an example of this view, as they are introduced in the film as a violent force capable of extreme destruction. However, when the protagonists next meet a robot, it is entirely peaceful, tending to the gardens and fauna on Laputa. Lioi argues that the robots, as a representation of Laputan technology, are caretakers by default and only become destructive in response to human brutality. McCarthy argues that "this is not a comment on technology but on man's inability to use it wisely." Odell and Le Blanc conclude that "technology... is not necessarily a bad thing, but we must consider how it's used and to what extent." The duality of nature and technology is further explored in Miyazaki's later film Princess Mononoke (1997).

The Innocence Of Children

Like many other films by Miyazaki, Castle in the Sky features young children as protagonists. Miyazaki values the portrayal of children as good-hearted, confident in their own agency, and resilient and upbeat in response to adversity. He criticized reviewers of his television series Future Boy Conan (1978) who described the titular character as "too much of a goody-two-shoes," admitting he was tempted to retort, "So you want to see 'bad characters', you fool?" Film critics Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc argue that creating a film with younger protagonists generates perspectives that an adult would not perceive, saying, "the children in Ghibli's films are a liberating force that allows anything to be possible." The lack of parental oversight of the protagonists is an element Miyazaki feels to be important in promoting children's independence. The protagonists of his films are, like Sheeta and Pazu, often orphaned, or in some way parted from their parents. Miyazaki believes that "one of the essential elements of most classical children's literature is that the children in the stories actually fend for themselves," cited in . The presence of parents, in his opinion, would stifle the children's autonomy. The limitations that children have in their abilities are also explored in the film; for example, Pazu comes close to forsaking Sheeta and his quest for Laputa. Additionally, unlike Miyazaki's previous works, the protagonists do not succeed at convincing the antagonists of their wrongdoing, which offers a more pessimistic view on children's ability to educate others. Napier proposes that Miyazaki's insistence on showing the freedom of children in Castle in the Sky can be credited to the influence of Panda and the Magic Serpent (1958). Miyazaki first watched the film at age 17, and it moved him to pursue a career in animation. At a lecture given in 1982 at Waseda University, he said, "When I saw Panda and the Magic Serpent, it was as if the scales fell from my eyes; I realized that I should depict the honesty and goodness of children in my work." He considers this a focal point in his endeavors. The theme of innocence is explored further in Miyazaki's succeeding film My Neighbor Totoro (1988).

Retrofuturism And Flight

Miyazaki's affinity for flight is repeatedly displayed in Castle in the Sky, a motif that continues throughout the feature films of his career. A variety of fictional flying machines appear across the film, including the island of Laputa, the airships, and the pirates' ornithopters; Sheeta's crystal also allows her to float through the air. However, many of the other flying machines in the film are retrofuturistic, influenced by 19th-century stylistic approaches. Additionally, Miyazaki was inspired by the literature of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson when considering the style of the film. Another stylistic trait that Miyazaki drew from 19th-century influences is the depiction of machines that "still possess the inherent warmth of handcrafted things," cited in . Literary scholars Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers argue that Pazu's enthusiasm to build and work with flying machines gives the film's airships "a realistic physicality." Commenting on the mecha anime popular at the time, Miyazaki expressed his hatred for shows that glorified machines without portraying the characters struggling to build or maintain them. Animation scholar Thomas Lamarre argues that the film provides an "alternative to our received technologies" and thus a critique of more contemporary technologies and society's perception of them. Boyes felt that many of these elements subsequently influenced the steampunk genre. Napier writes that Verne's impact on the film's style was instrumental in evoking imagined nostalgia for a time when "machines were still fun," in Miyazaki's words. While the other machines are presented as joyful, Laputa's underside is used exclusively as an instrument of destruction. Miyazaki stated that, as a child, he was attracted to the design and power of military planes, a view that has since been replaced with revulsion for the indiscriminate acts of violence that the machines have been used for. Miyazaki further explores the beauty of flying machines as well as their innate destructive potential in his later film The Wind Rises (2013).

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