Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Catch Miyazaki’s ‘Castle in the Sky’ beginning Sunday

Dan Webster

And now comes "Hayao Miyazaki's1986 animated feature "Castle in the Sky."

GKIDS, the New York-based movie distributor, is continuing its Studio Ghibli Fest 2018 with both original-language and subtitled screenings of Miyazaki's film.

"Castle in the Sky" will play locally in versions dubbed in English at 12:55 Sunday and 7 p.m. Tuesday, in Japanese with English subtitles at 7 p.m. on Monday, at both Regal Cinemas theaters at Northtown Mall and Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone Stadium.

As usual, Miyazaki's film — which he wrote and directed — offers up a child's view of a world threatened by outside forces. In this case, according to IMDB.com, the plot involves "A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal (who) must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle."

Boasting a 95 percent fresh rating on the critics' website Rotten Tomatoes, "Castle in the Sky" was described as a "a frequently astounding animated feature" by Washington Post critic Richard Harrington.

"Miyazaki's world, so full of color and life, is always just across the borderline of imagination, its acute details softened by clouds and shadows, its principles revealed by actions more than words," Harrington wrote. "It's full of 'Star Wars'-style confrontation, but it's also nice to see it handled on equal terms by male and female protagonists."

"Castle in the Sky" is the last of Studio Ghibli Fest 2018. Can't wait for 2019.