Castle in the Sky is no doubt one of the most magical experiences I have ever had in my life. You might think that to be a little depressing at first before you actually watch the movie. There are dozens of layers to appreciate the film on and each is so well crafted that even one or two of the elements and themes presented in this film could easily make another great. There are so many things to say about this movie that it's hard for me, even writing this review after just having completed it, to remember them all accurately to the level of detail they were presented in the film but nonetheless I'll try my best to give you a quick rundown for the sake of getting you to watch this movie right fucking now.
Obviously, as a studio Ghibli film, this movie is going to look quite amazing but the quality of everything to do with looking at this movie is incredible. There character designs are simple and convey each character's personality well without being over complicated or hard to look at. Their simplicity also makes them easy to animate which you can see through how Miyazaki animates characters in a way in which their emotions are told through their movement. Every shot is compelling and the animation is great throughout. I can't count on my fingers and toes the amount of times I just wanted to pause to movie and screenshot a particular moment of it (I couldn't because I as watching it with my friend) and overall the film looks absolutely beautiful.
The music of Joe Hisaishi is, at this point, inseparable from the works of Ghibli and Miyazaki. His soundtracks are always stunning but I think he really outdid himself with this one. Every track is amazing and, just as importantly, used appropriately to accentuate the themes and emotions of the scene. Just as impressive as the music is the lack of it in many places. The use of music in this film shows real maturity and it makes it all the better to watch.
I don't want to spend too long on this one but let's just say I loved all of the characters. Except Muska. Muska is a first class asshole and if you don't hate him after an hour then you certainly will by the end. The pirates were so fun and the ending with all of them filled me with unbridled joy. Obviously the main characters are your archetypal Ghibli boy and girl but the part that sells it is how they interact with one another. They had such a fantastic relationship and chemistry together I was almost annoyed they didn't at least promise to marry each other by the end (idk if that counts as spoiler or not).
This may seem like a weird thing to put in here as so far I've covered very obvious things that every movie needs to be successful on at least some level (You could say that aesthetic falls into that category as well but it isn't really the first thing you think of.) but I'd argue that aesthetic has a great impact on how movies, especially ones by Miyazaki, impact people. All of Miyazaki's films (that I've seen) draw highly upon aesthetic to sell the tone and themes of the movie and Castle in the Sky is no exception. There is a great presence of steampunk which is harshly contrasted by the beauty of the nature on Laputa, adding to the theme of man's creations wreaking havoc on nature because of how man has forgotten how to appreciate it (a common theme among Miyazaki's works). The aesthetic of the sky and clouds is a middle ground between these two as it is the medium in which both meet (the nature on Laputa and technology of the airships)
The worlds of Miyazaki are always rich and feel much greater than the scope of the movie. They feel unbelievably real and vivid, like you could live directly in it alongside the characters. Of course, Castle in the Sky is no exception. This kind of ties into the aesthetic but this is definitely one of Miyazaki’s most unique and fun worlds I have seen. Many of Miyazaki’s films’ success ride off of the richness of their worlds and Castle in the Sky is propelled to great heights by its unique setting.I would write more but I'm finding it hard to think of more things I could praise this film for without diving into gross and unnecessary depth because in the end the whole goal of this was to share my thoughts and hopefully convince you this film is worth a watch and I think I've done enough to (hopefully) check both those boxes. Like I said this was one of the most magical experiences of my life so far and it instantly shot up in my favorites list just about the time when I was thinking I hadn't watched a favorite tier anime in a while. Also, my friend (the one I watched the movie with) said he'd give it a 10/10 so if you want a second opinion there ya go. I apologize for this reading like an essay but I really didn’t know how to do this any other way and I also suck at writing anything humorous so it turned out like this. Anyway, thanks for reading. Cheers!