Man is evil. Don't build anything that's a sin. Don't go into the sky, that's wrong. Consumerism is bad. Nature rules, even though technically man is part of nature, but shut up, environmentalists wanna have their cake and eat it. Trees are perfection. Trees are not bound by the laws of physics.
Either you watched a radically different translation than I did, or you're putting words in the movie's mouth.
- Man is evil: Despite both protagonists, the townspeople, the old hermit, and even the sky pirates ultimately being good, whereas only the villain, the general, and their mooks are evil?
- Don't build things: Even though the robots are unambiguously good?
- Don't go into the sky: Based on what? The end of the movie has the heroes flying off into the sunset. If flying was wrong according to the movie, wouldn't they have crashed or otherwise wound up back on the ground instead?
- Consumerism: Then why were the sky pirates not only turned into good guys, but allowed to make it out of the castle with a ton of loot at the end?
- Nature rules: When did nature vs. man ever even come up? The entire film was man vs. man, the nature was incidental.
- Flying trees: The tree was flying because the man-made levitation device was still embedded in it.
The movie isn't against man, or technology, or material possessions. It's against weaponization of benign technology. Musca and the general aren't evil because they went into the sky with man-made machines and hurt the trees; they're evil because they want to find this lost technology for the express purpose of using it to conquer people.
What matters in this life is much more than winning for ourselves. What really matters is helping others win, too. - F. Rogers.
Uh.... the film never presented an anti technology message at any point. It seems you're projecting themes you don't like onto a film that doesn't have them.
Muska knows how to control the ancient tech because he's descended from the royal line. That's it. We don't need or care for a scene in which he learns to use it. Willing Suspension of Disbelief required here.
Sheeta doesn't just KNOW the spell of destruction.... her grandmother taught it to her, or did you miss that part?
In addition to Wryte and Electric Nova's comments above, Muska's being descended from the royal line means it's possible that he had an older relative tell him about Laputa, and possibly even how to use it. Just like it was with Sheeta, which is actually rather interesting to think about.
Also...
Then unfortunately, we have the plot, which seems to be the bane and Achilles' heel of most talented Japanese artists and directors.
...Ick. I know you just said "most," so it's not exactly a generalization, but it certainly sounds ignorant and unfair to Japanese artists. Plot is difficult. For EVERYONE. Even Disney, oh so powerful maverick of animation it may be, tends to just lift and re-arrange the skeleton plots from older stories and then build off of that. Miyazaki occasionally does that too, but other times he at least tries to create his own plots, and often succeeds. Creating a plot that is unique, coherent, and engaging, without being bogged down in complexity, is extremely challenging. And, yes, Ghibli tends to focus on animation and music more often. But that does not mean that Miyazaki, or even most Japanese artists, are any less adept at writing plot than most Western artists. Especially with Sturgeon's Law in place, most plots world-wide are crappy - Japanese or no. If, in your experience, Western artists are better at writing than Japanese ones, it's most likely that you've just been exposed to more Western material than Japanese material, and are therefore biased in that regard.
Indeed, your statement doesn't even apply to Miyazaki - he DOES create great original plots at times, including Princess Mononoke. Maybe he isn't firing off on all cylinders for every project, but isn't that how most writers in the world are? It's hardly a "Japanese problem."
I know I ranted a bit there, but it's my pet peeve when people try/fail to make observations about media from other cultures without looking at their own to see if things are especially difficult. Strikes me as silly.
Sadly, I couldn't relate to the characters and their problems, and their attempts to weave story exposition into the narrative just confused me more than anything.
When it comes to characters, it's a VERY subjective thing, I'll admit. No cast is going to win every heart, so I can't blame you. I found Sheeta to be very relatable actually, but I can see why others might find her bland. As for the exposition, yeah, that might have been a bit clumsy and bulky at times. Though it didn't subtract much from my enjoyment, it could have been handled better.
Ugh, this review gives me a headache. So many points that are wrong.
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Clever imagery, but a rubbish story
I don't know if its an issue with the Disney dub, but parts of the film genuinely enchanted me, while other parts alienated and outright angered me with its insincerity.
The animation is gorgeous, the environment, the settings, from the Welsh valley-esque mining town to the natural and technological wonders of the city in the sky, serving as a surreal 'Tower of Babel' if you will is all very well done and very clever.
The musical score and composition is splendidly done. Its breath-taking in parts. I kid you not.
Then unfortunately, we have the plot, which seems to be the bane and Achilles' heel of most talented Japanese artists and directors.
Why do you do this to me Studio Ghibli? Why can't we have great art AND BOTH a great story? Why can't you get the balance right? To recap for those who don't already know: Before he matured into the animation GOD (the anime equivalent of Don Bluth, in the 80s) with works such as Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki's earlier works were...sigh... preachy. Very preachy. Environmentalist trash basically.
The story panders to "the message", which apparently in this film can be summarized as: Man is evil. Don't build anything that's a sin. Don't go into the sky, that's wrong. Consumerism is bad. Nature rules, even though technically man is part of nature, but shut up, environmentalists wanna have their cake and eat it. Trees are perfection. Trees are not bound by the laws of physics.
For another human to tell me I'm wrong for simply trying to survive and strive on this harsh planet, while he cuts down thousands of trees to make his lengthy feature presentation IS HYPOCRITICAL.
Sadly, I couldn't relate to the characters and their problems, and their attempts to weave story exposition into the narrative just confused me more than anything.
That the army knows there's a floating city when those who come close to finding it are ridiculed? That Muska suddenly knows how to control ancient technology without prior instruction? That Sheeta just KNOWS the spell of destruction that her ancestors never bothered to use, but should have to avoid the whole plot of corrupt people getting their hands on their dangerous technology? Everyone KNOWS except us, the audience. That's not good storytelling guys.
Enjoy it for the spectacle, not the message.