Castle in the Sky

Sheeta is being pursued by sky pirates and government agents for her mysterious blue pendant in Studio Ghibli’s debut feature Castle in the Sky. The film bears some of Miyazaki’s signature motifs: a young girl awakening to her powers, an aesthetic that combines the industrial with the organic, and of course, high-flying derring-do. Such is the Ghibli affection for this film that one of its iconic robot sentinels stands guard at the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka in Tokyo. A bravura piece of hand-drawn animation, Castle in the Sky is one of Miyazaki’s most visually rich films.  

Director: Hayao Miyazaki. Japanese cast: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada. 1986. 124 minutes. Japan. Color. Japanese (subtitled). 35mm.

All film screenings of Hayao Miyazaki are available here.

Image courtesy of Studio Ghibli/GKIDS