Das Schloss im Himmel

Out of the blue, a girl falls right into the arms of the young mine worker Pazu. Sheeta owes the fact that she didn't die in the fall to the magic crystal she wears around her neck, which is said to be the key to the legendary sky kingdom of Laputa. Hidden somewhere behind the clouds, Laputa, known only from old legends and a blurred photograph of Pazu's father, is waiting to be found, and everyone has their own reason to search for it: Pazu wants to rehabilitate his father, who has been vilified as a dreamer, Sheeta wants to find her roots, the pirates want to find treasure, the army wants a superweapon, and the obscure Muska is even striving for world domination. This breathless hunt takes them from subterranean depths to lofty heights.

Inspired by "Gulliver's Travels", the eponymous Laputa is an almost perfect union of heaven and earth, a veritable castle in the air that can be seen as Hayao Miyazaki's very own utopia. After all kinds of exciting adventures, "The Castle in the Sky" ultimately centres on nothing less than the destruction of paradise by the forces of evil.