Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta
Laputa: The Castle in the Sky

From ???@??? Mon Nov 16 16:09:34 1998
To: anime
From: Kiki
Subject: Laputa thursday, 7:30

People have been getting on my butt about showing anime again!  Okay, okay,
here you go!

A couple of us saw Nausicaa last week and keeping in the time-line, we'll
show the next Ghibli film "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" this thursday at 7:30.

Info:

What: Laputa: Castle in the Sky, first true Ghibli film by Miyazaki
Where: Pixar "Bugville" [old building] screening room
When: eat 6:30-7:30, show starts 7:30
How: email me your pizza order by 6pm
Which: Japanese-only, with script [sorry Onny and Leo!  By request!]
Ph: 620-6062 before 6:30, 3569 to ring the screening room
        [note: there's folks in the screening room until 5:30]

Specifics:

Laputa is a lovely film.  I'm afraid to say too much as it might spoil the
plot.  High action, sweeping scenery, and an interesting message, [not to
mention a *gripping* first sequence!] suffice it to say that if you liked
any other Ghibli film, you'll love this one for sure!  For many, this is
their favorite Ghibli film of all-time.

Here's some links which may include spoilers:

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/laputa
        -- mostly recovered from recent erasure caused by Russian hackers
http://looney.physics.sunysb.edu/~daffy/laputa.html
http://us.imdb.com/Plot?Tenku+no+shiro+Rapyuta+(1986)
http://www.du.edu/~gkaufman/anime/ghibli/laputa.html

Some interesting links:
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/file-archive/lasseter.txt
        -- our own John Lassiter on Ghibli films in general -- must read!
http://utd500.utdallas.edu/~hairston/nadialaputa.html
        -- An interesting comparison of the plot of Laputa and a popular
        TV show, called "Nadia of the Blue Water"  -- spoliers!

Kiki

PS Please let me know if you want me to take you off my "list".


From ???@??? Tue May 11 16:06:43 1999
To: anime
From: Kiki
Subject: Ghibli next week?

Well, since so many folks have not seen any Ghibli films, I guess I should just start them up again!  I never tire of them, truly!

I'll start showing them alternating with the "regular" movies, so that'd be next week!

So, let's see.  Kiki we just showed again.  Nausicaa and Mononoke Hime got shown twice.  Hmm...  Maybe Laputa again?  It's been quite a while since we watched that one!  Any other desires/wishes?

Laputa.  Set in a alternate Earth in the 1900's where the land was once ruled by a flying castle named Laputa over 700 years before.  This castle has all but fallen into legend.  Enter Sheeta, an orphan.  She has a family heirloom -- a necklace -- which bears the seal of Laputa.  Pirates seek its wealth.  The government wants it secrets.  She falls -- literally -- into the arms of a spritly young man, Pazu, who befriends her and protects her.

Breath-taking opening sequence, amazing flying scenes, cool gadgets, strong *male* character this time. :)

---insignificant spoilers---
If you know Miyazaki, you may recognize some recurring things: the "fox-squirrel" from Nausicaa, the robots from "Farewell Beloved Lupin" which Miyazaki wrote and directed in 1980, the Pazu reminds me of "Future Boy Conan", there's a Miyazaki-falling-bridge scene, and, of course, lots and lots of flying sequences.

A couple subtle things you might miss.  The bad-guy shoots Sheeta's ponytails off.  It's dark, and I always miss it.  In the pirate's bedroom, there's a neat picture of her [the pirate] as a young woman.
---end spoilers---

This movie should be released soon by Disney.  [It was supposed to be released this spring...]  The name will be "Castle in the Sky" because "la puta" is a *very* bad word in Spanish.  [The name "Laputa" itself comes from Gulliver's Travels, where the Laputians literally "have their head in the clouds." Apparently, the author knew the meaning of the Spanish word, but Miyazaki may not have.]

Unfortuntely, Disney feels the soundtrack to be dated.  But *fortunately*, they're having Joe Hisaishi himself redo it!  [I LOVE his work!!!  And I love this soundtrack too.]  There's an interesting page on [what else!] nausicaa.net that has a translation of Joe Hisaishi's diary.  [Actually, written by someone who works for him.]  It's quite interesting.  [Spoilers!  It recounts the whole movie.]  http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/laputa/music.html  And there's a fascinating FAQ at http://www.nausicaaa.net/miyazaki/laputa/faq.html

From the diary, Joe Hisaishi says something about that it will be released in 2000... :(  [This is not an official Disney announcement.]  And apparently, he studied American soundtracks to make the music "for Americans."  For instance, he says he had used silence in the deep center of the castle to give the impression of awe, yet, Americans wanted the opposite: *more* music to deepen the emotion.  But the writer was quite excited by the changes.  [I'm a purist, so I'll probably be disappointed, like I was with the changes to the Kiki score... :) ]

The dub will have: James Van Der Beek as Pazu, Anna Paquin ["The Piano"] as Sheeta, Mark Hammil [!] as Muska [the bad government guy], Cloris Leechman as the pirate Dora, and also Mandy Patinkin, Michael McShane [Tuck and Roll?!  Sugoi!] and others.

STAR WARS opening protest? :)

BTW, if there's enough complaint due to the opening of Star Wars [are you *really* going to fight the lines??  I'm not!] then I might be persuaded to move it to thursday.  Let me know who wants to come but *can't* come one of wednesday or thursday.  The day most folks *can* come will win. :)

What: Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta, "Laputa: The Castle in the Sky"
How: in Japanese, English narration by me
Where: Frogtown screening room [email for directions]
When: next week, May 19 or 20, 6:30 eat pizza, 7:30 movie

Kiki

PS Folks new to this list: as with all Ghibli films and anything else I can find a script for and a Japanese-only copy of the movie, I will be narrating.  Personally, I like watching films this way [my first experience with anime] because you don't spend your eyes on subtitles -- you can watch the beautiful animation -- and you can still hear the wonderful Japanese voices.  I find that after 10 minutes, you stop *hearing* the English, but the translation goes into the back of your brain.  I like it best, and so do others, but still others don't like it.  Subbing you can watch by yourself, so I narrate for the group when I can.

PPS Heads up: I have registered kiki.org, and will soon [a month or two] be setting up a mailing list for this group.  Just thought I'd give you a heads up so you'll be expecting it.  I'll probably be making this list more "formal" too, since it's getting so big!