Movie Review: "Castle in the Sky"

One of Studio Ghibli's first films was Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky, the story of a young girl named Sheeta who owns a beautiful necklace. She's on an airship when the story starts, as some pirates attack it. She falls during the fight, and it appears the pirates are after the crystal on her necklace. She floats to the ground and is found by a young boy, and they escape the pirates and the government army who are both looking for her. I turns out the army kidnapped her on the airship in the first place. The young boy is looking for a land in the sky, which his father found years ago before his death. Eventually they are captured by the army, and the boy is allowed to escape, which he does. Then, he makes a deal with the pirates, led by a strong mother, and they free Sheeta, but the emerald is in the hands of the government. They both find the castle in the sky, but the pirates are captured in the process. It turns out one of the government people is actually the descendent of the rulers of the sky world, as it Sheeta. She uses a spell she learned long ago to help defeat him, and his army, and the pirates and the two kids leave to live a free life, which the remnants of the castle that weren't destroyed in the battle and destruction spell float peacefully in the sky.

Overall, I wasn't very impressed with the film. I know it's old, but that's no excuse. The story wasn't compelling enough, which I blame moreso on the characters than the story itself. The pirates and their mom were the best in the story, while the kids screw decent. The army guys and the main government agent/sky leader descendent weren't too interesting, more like plain villains. I think it just wasn't my type of movie, despite me being more of a fantasy fan. The animation was nice at times, but I can definitely sees the anime style at play, especially with facial expressions. Perhaps some of the other Studio Gibli films will draw me in more.