Tenkû no Shiro Rapyuta (1986, JAP) C-125m. ***½ D: Hayao Miyazaki. Starring (the voices of) Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada. Awe-inspiring animated extravaganza from Japanese master Miyazaki. A young girl who possesses a magical crystal is pursued by sky pirates and the army. She enters the life of an orphaned boy, who helps her find a magical island in the sky, whose existence his father was trying to prove. Film creates a wondrous universe of places and characters and fills you with awe and wonder, taking you on a roller-coaster ride like no other movie of this kind. Its astounding action sequences put most real action movies to shame! Some consider this to be Miyazaki's masterpiece. Great score by Joe Hisaishi. English dub voiced by Anna Paquin, Mark Hamill among others. English titles: LAPUTA - CASTLE IN THE SKY, and LAPUTA: THE FLYING ISLAND.


© Ron Altman