Review - Castle in the Sky: 8 Reasons to Watch

A girl falls out of the sky, a boy catches her, and a floating city waits above the clouds.

Words by Jamie Harper 12 November 2026

Castle in the Sky: the main characters

A girl falls out of the sky, a boy catches her, and a floating city waits above the clouds.

Castle in the Sky is the first film Studio Ghibli ever made, and we think it is still the purest adventure the studio has. Here are eight reasons, one on each slide.

Reason 1 - A girl who falls from the sky

Studio Ghibli: a girl who falls from the sky

It opens at night on an airship under attack by pirates. A girl, Sheeta, slips out of a window and falls into the clouds.

Then the crystal around her neck starts to glow, and she floats down, slowly, like a leaf.

Reason 2 - A boy who catches her

Pazu, a young engineer in a mining town, sees the light coming down and catches her in his arms.

The next morning he plays his trumpet on the roof to wake the town and his doves. It is the warmest wake-up call in anime.

Reason 3 - Bread, eggs and a tunnel

On the run, Pazu and Sheeta share his lunch in a dark mine shaft: a slice of bread with a fried egg on top, split down the middle.

It takes a few seconds on screen, and fans still cook it at home.

Reason 4 - Sky pirates you end up loving

Studio Ghibli: sky pirates you end up loving

Captain Dola and her grown sons want the crystal and chase the kids across the mining town, through trains and over rails.

She is loud, greedy and terrifying, and somehow the most fun character in the film.

Reason 5 - A villain in sunglasses

Muska, a government agent with tinted glasses and a soft voice, wants the crystal too, and he has the army behind him.

Mark Hamill voices him in the English version, and gives him a smile you never trust.

Reason 6 - A stone with a secret

Sheeta's crystal is the key to the whole film: it lets her fly, it answers when she speaks an old word, and it points the way to Laputa.

Every side wants it for a different reason, and that keeps the chase moving.

Reason 7 - The city everyone dreams of

Studio Ghibli: the city everyone dreams of

Pazu's father once photographed Laputa, a city floating above the clouds, and nobody believed him.

The dream of finding it drives the boy, and Miyazaki's floating city, wrapped in roots and clouds, is one of the most famous images Studio Ghibli ever drew.

Reason 8 - Where to start

Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed it in 1986, the year after Studio Ghibli was founded, and Joe Hisaishi wrote the score.

Watch it with someone who has never seen it, and wait for the moment the clouds open.

Where to watch

Streaming catalogues for Studio Ghibli differ between the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia, and they change from month to month, so check the services you use.