This terrific animated adventure from Hayao Miyazaki centers on the quest of two orphans as they team up to find a long-lost floating fortress rumored to have great treasure. They are aided a bunch of bumbling air pirates and their hilarious captain, the elderly but still boisterous Dola (voiced with hilarious zest and energy by Cloris Leachman), and pursued by a powerhungry military headed by a double-crossing secret agent, Muska (Mark Hamill, in a deliciously evil, showstealing performance) who has an agenda of his own.
Although less complex than most of Miyazaki's features, this movie has an engaging plot in its own right, with an endearing cast of characters, and animation which, although dated at times (this movie was made in 1986), is quite beautiful and overflowing with imagination. The real star of the movie is the musical score, provided by Joe Hisaishi--it's gorgeous, perfectly complimenting every scene on screen. Interestingly, for the Disney-produced English version, Hisaishi was commissioned to reorchestrate and extend his original synthesized soundtrack with a full orchestra. The result is breathtaking--although purists will be relieved to know that the original score is present on the Japanese language track.
As far as the dub goes, it's Leachman and Hamill's show all the way; their performances as Dola and Muska are spot-on and they own all the best moments. Not that they're the only good voices in the dub--the remaining supporting characters are excellent, particularly a pirate brother trio, an old miner, and the army general. Anna Paquin acquits herself well in the role of the female lead, Sheeta, speaking with an accent which, although inconsistent at times, adds another depth to her character. James Van Der Beek's Pazu is the one voice that takes some getting used to; acting-wise, he's good and he does find the right tone for the character, but sometimes he sounds ten years older than his character onscreen. Other than that as well as a somewhat chattier script (although in all fairness, it doesn't stray that far away from the original), this is a very fun, zesty dub, and should play well to new fans. It's worth watching in Japanese, too, just to get a different (there's less music and dialogue), but no less magical interpretation of a great story.
Either way, you can't go wrong with this film. It's one of my favorite Miyazaki movies, and I recommend it very highly.
