Castle in the Sky

, released as Castle in the Sky in North America, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was produced by Isao Takahata, animated by Studio Ghibli, and distributed by the Toei Company. In voice acting roles, the original Japanese version stars Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, and Minori Terada, while the 2003 English dub stars James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Cloris Leachman, and Mark Hamill. The film follows orphans Sheeta and Pazu, who are chased by Muska, the army, and a group of pirates over Sheeta's crystal necklace. They discover that the crystal leads them to Laputa, a mythical castle flying in the sky, and join the pirates on their journey to reach the island before the military. Laputa turns out to harbor a dangerous weapons system, which Sheeta and Pazu destroy to halt Muska's destruction, causing Laputa to rise into space. Laputa is the first film to be animated by Studio Ghibli, with a production team comprising many of Miyazaki's longtime collaborators, who would continue to work with the studio for the following three decades. The studio's intent was to create original feature films without any compromise of quality. The film was partly inspired by Miyazaki's trips to Wales, where he witnessed the aftermath of the 1984 coal miners' strike. The island of Laputa is used to highlight the theme of environmentalism, exploring the relationships between humanity, nature, and technology, a reflection of Miyazaki's ecological philosophy. The young protagonists also provide a unique perspective on the narrative, as a result of Miyazaki's desire to portray "the honesty and goodness of children in [his] work." Many aspects of the film's retrofuturistic style – the flying machines in particular – are influenced by nineteenth-century approaches, which has earned the film a reputation in the modern steampunk genre. The film released in Japanese theaters on August 2, 1986. It performed below expectations at the box office, but later achieved commercial success through rereleases, earning over as of 2021. An English dub commissioned by Tokuma Shoten in 1988 was distributed in North America by Streamline Pictures, and another dub was produced by Disney in 1998, released internationally by Buena Vista in 2003. The film's score was composed by Joe Hisaishi, who would become a close collaborator of Miyazaki's; Hisaishi also composed a reworked soundtrack for the 2003 English dub.