They bear a resemblance to the title character from The Iron Giant, and while they can be gentle creatures - with the main robot peacefully tending to the gardens on Laputa and looking after the animals - they possess powerful lasers and are capable of great destruction. Laputa also features a special kind of robot, and these machines are much taller than human beings and have the ability to fly. The city itself was inspired by Jonathan Swift's famous novel Guillver's Travels and Miyazaki was also inspired to write Castle In The Sky after visiting a Welsh mining town during the miners' strikes in the 1980s. Their travels lead them to Laputa, a floating city thought to be the stuff of legends. It all started with Laputa, which is a steampunk adventure involving a young boy and girl named Pazu and Sheeta, as they are chased by pirates who want a special necklace belonging to Sheeta. Related: Ponyo 2 Updates: Why A Sequel Probably Won't Happen Their work would inspire other filmmakers and artists too with much of Pixar's output, including the Toy Story series, pulling from Ghibli's style. In addition to the lush animation, Ghibli films often feature great characters, emotional stories and spiritual subtext. Following the success of Laputa, Ghibli would go on to deliver a run of fantastic animated features, many of which were directed by Miyazaki himself.Ĭhoice classics include My Neighbor Totoro, Grave Of The Fireflies, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Director Hayao Miyazaki had previously made a name for himself as the director behind animated films like 1979's The Castle of Cagliostro and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which was based on his own manga series.
Laputa was the very first movie by the renowned Studio Ghibli. Here are the robots from Laputa: Castle In The Sky explained.