Castle in the Sky

Miyazaki's earlier anime series Future Boy Conan (1978) featured a number of elements that he later adapted for Laputa. Conan and Lana, for example, were forerunners of Pazu and Sheeta, and it had similarities to Sheeta's rescue by Pazu.[2]^: 95 Some of the characters and themes in Future Boy Conan set the blueprint for Laputa. The name "Laputa" is derived from Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, wherein Swift's Laputa is also a flying island propelled by a giant central crystal and controlled by its citizens. Anthony Lioi feels that Miyazaki's Laputa is similar to Swift's Laputa, where the technological superiority of the castle in the sky is used for political ends.[3]

Caernarvon Castle (top) and Big Pit Mine (bottom) in southern Wales. Miyazaki and Takahata drew inspiration from the region for the film.

Miyazaki first visited Wales on a research trip in 1985, when Laputa was in the beginning stages of production. He decided to take inspiration from the architecture of the region, and as a result, some of the structures seen in the film resemble Welsh mining towns.[4]^: 97 Miyazaki also witnessed the coal miners' strike in protest of mine closures in the UK. Their ultimate failure to preserve the industry left a lasting impact on Miyazaki, who viewed the event as an attack by those in power on the miners' way of life and the hard-working spirit of the people.[5]^: 110 His experiences reflect in several supporting characters in the film, 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 in optimism.[6]^: 91 As 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".[2]^: 96 Miyazaki would visit Wales once more in 1986, ahead of the release of the film. 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."[7]

The film had a production budget of ¥500 million, at the time equivalent to $3,000,000 (equivalent to $7,400,000 in 2021), matching the record set by Miyazaki's Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) for the highest budget for an anime film.[8] Telecom Animation Film, and Oh! Production helped animate the film.

The film was released in Japan on August 2, 1986, by the Toei Company, which also released Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

At the Japanese box office, the film grossed ¥1.16 billion,[9] at the time equivalent to US$8,100,000 (equivalent to $20,000,000 in 2021).[10] In Hong Kong, the film's 1987 release grossed HK$13.1 million,[11] at the time equivalent to US$1,679,853 (equivalent to $4,000,000 in 2021). In the United Kingdom, the film's 2012 release grossed $327,559 in its first week.[12] In the United States, the film's 2018 limited release grossed $523,664. In other territories, the film's 2003 release grossed $5,434,627, including $4,670,084 in France alone.[13] This adds up to a combined worldwide box office gross of $16,065,703.

In terms of box office admissions, the film sold about 800,000 tickets in Japan[14] and 1,066,427 tickets in Europe.[15]

By 2003, Laputa had sold 1.612 million VHS and DVD units in Japan.[16][17] At an average retail price of ¥4,600 (¥4,700 on DVD and ¥4,500 on VHS),[18] this is equivalent to approximately ¥7,415 million ($93 million) in estimated Japanese sales revenue as of 2012.

In the United States, the 2010 DVD release grossed over $10 million in sales revenue as of April 2022.[12]

In the United Kingdom, it was 2019's eighth best-selling foreign language film on home video (below six other Japanese films, including five Miyazaki anime films).[19]

The first English dub of Laputa was produced by an unknown party[note 1] commissioned by Tokuma Shoten in 1988 for viewing on international flights on Japan Airlines; this dub was licensed between 1989 and 1991 by the then-brand-new Streamline Pictures for distribution in North American markets.[20] This dub also briefly aired on UK television.[22][24][note 2] Carl Macek, the head of Streamline, was disappointed with this dub, deeming it "adequate, but clumsy".[23] Following this, Tokuma allowed Streamline to dub their future acquisitions My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service.

The English dub produced by Disney was recorded in 1998 and planned for release on video in 1999, but the release was cancelled after Princess Mononoke did not fare as well in the US, and so Laputa's release date was pushed back yet again; on occasion the completed dub was screened at select children's festivals. The film was finally released on DVD and video in the US on April 15, 2003, alongside a rerelease of Kiki and Spirited Away.[25] As with Mononoke and Kiki, critical opinion was mixed about the new dub, but Cloris Leachman and Mark Hamill's performances as Dola and Muska drew praise.[26] Laputa was reissued on American home video on March 2, 2010, as a tribute accompanying the home video release of Ponyo. The film was released by Buena Vista on Blu-ray in North America on May 22, 2012, alongside Whisper of the Heart and The Secret World of Arrietty. Shout! Factory and GKIDS re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on October 31, 2017.[27] Both the original Japanese version and the Disney dub were made available when Studio Ghibli's streaming rights were acquired by Netflix.

Jeff VanderMeer and S.J. Chambers, in The Steampunk Bible, consider the film a milestone in the steampunk genre, calling it "one of the first modern steampunk classics."[33]^: 186 Archetypal steampunk elements in Laputa include airships, air pirates, steam-powered robots, and a view of steam power as a limitless but potentially dangerous source of power. Philip Boyes of Eurogamer also considers it an influential work in the dieselpunk genre.[34]

Miyazaki, through the dialog of Colonel Muska, credited Laputa as having informed Biblical and Hindu legends—thus tying the world of Laputa to the real Earth (including Western and Eastern civilizations)—as do Miyazaki's choices of the medieval castle architecture on the ground; the Gothic and half-timbered buildings in the village near the fort; the Welsh mining-town architecture, clothing, and ground vehicles of Pazu's homeland; and the Victorian ambiance of the pirate ship. The film also features the use of ancient Babylonian cuneiform script on Laputa's interactive panels and tombstones; and makes references to the Hindu epic Ramayana, including "Indra's arrow", while the name Sheeta may be related to Sita, the protagonist of the Ramayana.[22] The flying city of Laputa has an architectural design resembling the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon, including ziggurat-like structures,[35] and with murals resembling ancient Egyptian and Assyrian art.[3]

According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "With a storytelling palette as rich and brilliant as its animation, Castle in the Sky thrillingly encapsulates Studio Ghibli's unique strengths."[36] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37]

In 2001, the Japanese magazine Animage ranked Laputa: Castle in the Sky 44th in their list of 100 Best Anime Productions of All Time.[38] In a 2006 poll of 100 best animations of all time by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs conducted at the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival, Laputa was the second highest-ranked animated film (after Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and third highest-ranked animation overall on the list (below Neon Genesis Evangelion and Nausicaä).[39] In a 2008 animation audience poll conducted by Oricon in Japan, Laputa was voted first place, above Nausicaä in second place.[40] Andrew Osmond of All the Anime calls Laputa the "best steampunk film" of all time.[41] The film was ranked at number 10 on the list of Greatest Japanese Animated Films of All Time by Japanese film magazine kinema Junpo in 2009.[42]

• Ōfuji Noburō Award; Mainichi Film Award
• First Place; Pia Ten (Best Films of the Year)
• First Place; Japanese Movies; City Road
• First Place; Japanese Movies; Eiga Geijutsu (Movie Art)
• First Place; Japanese Films Best 10; Osaka Film Festival
• Eighth Place; Japanese Films; Kinema Junpo Best 10
• Second Place; Readers' Choice; Kinema Junpo Best 10
• Best Anime; 9th Anime Grand Prix
• Special Recommendation; The Central Committee for Children's Welfare
• Special Award (to Miyazaki & Takahata); Revival of Japanese Movies
• Best Design Award; Anime

A wave of steampunk anime and manga has followed in the wake of Laputa's success. The film inspired Hideaki Anno and Studio Gainax to create the animated series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990), their first hit production.[31][45] In turn, Nadia was influential on later steampunk anime, such as Katsuhiro Otomo's film production Steamboy (2004).[46]

Other steampunk anime and manga followed in the wake of Laputa, including Miyazaki's own films Porco Rosso (1992)[47] and Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Sega's anime series Sakura Wars (1997), Square Enix's manga and anime franchise Fullmetal Alchemist (2001),[47][48] and the manga and anime series Elemental Gelade (2002).

Manga author Katsura Hoshino, known for the manga and anime series D.Gray-man, was fascinated by Laputa to the point where she decided to seek work as an animator when growing up, before she ended up writing manga.[49] Anime filmmaker Yasuhiro Yoshiura described his film Patema Inverted (2013) as his venture into "the world of Laputa and the boy-meets-girl story". Anime filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, known for the hit anime films Your Name (2016) and Weathering With You (2019), cited Laputa as his favourite animation.[41]

Laputa influenced a number of animated films from Disney and Pixar. For example, Disney films such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001),[31] and Pixar films such as WALL-E (2008)[50] and Up (2009).[51] The French animated film April and the Extraordinary World (2015) was also influenced by Laputa.[41]

Laputa has influenced numerous video games, particularly in Japan, with its success leading to a wave of steampunk video games.[52][34] Game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi cited Laputa as an inspiration behind his Final Fantasy video game series, particularly citing it as an influence on the series' airships.[53] Sega AM2 game designer Yu Suzuki cited Laputa as his original inspiration behind the hit arcade game After Burner (1987).[54] Laputa also influenced the airships in the Mario and Civilization franchises.[34] The Iron Golem from Minecraft takes inspiration from the robots in Laputa.[55]