User:TechnoSquirrel69/sandbox/Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Critical response
Castle in the Sky has been generally acclaimed by film critics in the years since its release. In 2001, Animage ranked Castle in the Sky 44th in their list of top 100 anime. Animation critic and writer Raz Greenberg calls Castle in the Sky "one of the greatest adventure films ever made", and critic Manabu Murase names it "quite possibly the most entertaining anime that Miyazaki ever made". On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rate of 96% from 28 critics, with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. The site's critic consensus reads, "With a storytelling palette as rich and brilliant as its animation, Castle in the Sky thrillingly encapsulates Studio Ghibli's unique strengths." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

While multiple reviewers felt that the film's two-hour runtime would turn audiences away, The New York Times Caryn James commenting that it is "liable to strain patiences of adults and the attention spans of children", others argued that the film had the appeal to keep audiences entertained. IGN Jeremy Conrad felt the characters are "so likable that you never get bored, you always want to see what adventure is next for them". Reviewers were split over the 1988 English dub, with the Dayton Daily News Terry Lawson calling it "the film's weakest element", while The Cincinnati Post David Lyman felt the dubbing into English had been done "superbly". The 2003 dub similarly received mixed reviews, with The A.V. Club Tasha Robinson calling Disney's recordings "almost comically bland", and Conrad expressing his appreciation for Anna Paquin as Sheeta and Mark Hamill's performance as Muska. Many critics also praised the animation, the Asheville Times Tom Sabulis considering it "state-of-the-art" and The Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea naming it "masterful". However, some felt the motions lacked fluidity, with Lyman describing it as "stiff-limbed".

Most reviewers highlighted the imaginative capacity that Miyazaki displays in the film. Slant Chuck Bowen noted the subtle details included in the film, which he felt lends it "texture and originality". A review in the Weekly Asahi highlighted the film's dynamism, favorably comparing its flying sequences with Peter Pan (1953). Several reviewers praised the use of color, which made the film "a joy to watch" according to James. Both Bowen and The Washington Post Richard Harrington noted the film's strong ecological theme, with Harrington appreciating the "moral duality" of Laputa's technology. Critics and scholars also noted the film's connections to Miyazaki's previous works; Greenberg felt that the film is "deeply rooted within Miyazaki's filmography of the two decades that preceded it", and Denison called it a "compendium of Miyazaki's previous interests as an animator".