Miyazaki Hayao undoubtedly stands head and shoulders above all other contemporary animators, and among his works, I consider Laputa: Castle in the Sky to be one of the best. The tale revolving around Sheeta, heiress of a royal family from a legendary flying city called Laputa, and Pazu, who finds and takes care of her, takes the viewer on a fast-paced roller coaster-like adventure. There seem to be no limits to where a fight can take place in this Miyazaki animation that features very fascinating visuals in mid-air, on the ground, and even underground. Take a deep breath, because a chase starting in the air continues on the ground by train in the possibly grandest way ever conceived in an animated feature. The action-packed scenes are nicely complemented with more serene ones like when Sheeta and Pazu try to shake off their pursuers and discover a beautiful cavern, or when they first set foot on the idyllic grounds of Laputa.

If picturesque European landscape art is your cup of tea, you should be more than pleased by the film's enchanting scenarios. I also found myself amused by Miyazaki's unique sense of humor, especially in the scene where heroes and crooks engage in hand-to-hand combat, each flexing their masculine features and attempting to outdo one another with hilarious results. As for the character I love most in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, it has to be the guardian robot who, in spite of his awkward form, dazzled me when decimating his opponents in an original way that once again gives credit to Miyazaki's creative vision.

Miyazaki's enchanting, richly layered tale is as moving as it is fantastic, and features one of Hisaishi Joe's best music scores. My one regret is that I didn't get to see Laputa in a cinema on the big screen.