Week 1 Screening - Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

For the first of our regular screenings of the year, we're watching Hayaoi Miyazaki's classic Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Aboard an airship under seige by pirates, a young girl - Sheeta - escapes her captors, falling to the earth. Surviving the fall thanks to her glowing necklace, Sheeta is caught by Pazu, a boy who tells her of Laputa, a mythical floating island with some connection to Sheeta's necklace. Setting out on a journey to find Laputa, Sheeta and Pazu are pursued by pirates and the army, all competing to reach the castle in the sky.
Writer-director Hayao Miyazaki formed Studio Ghibli a year before Laputa's release, assembling much of the studio from staff who previously worked on Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Noteably, Laputa continued the partnership with composer Joe Hisaishi who would go on to compose some of Studio Ghibli's most iconic pieces. In the years since its release, Laputa has recieved various accolades, recognised as one of the best pieces of animation of all time by Japanese audiences, and has been highly influential to the creatives behind works such as Your Name, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Ghost in the Shell.

Watch the trailer here.