Here at Moon Rabbit we’re obviously very interested in mysterious flying islands. No wonder this is part 3 of our three-part mini-series exploring the world of Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta, or as it’s known outside of Japan, Castle in the Sky.

In our previous episodes, we covered the story origins of this film and then looked at the various male and female roles that Miyazaki compares and contrasts with each other.

And now I’d like to turn your attention to the other main character, Pazu.

The boy hero Pazu also has his origins in ancient mythology, and in true Miyazaki fashion, it has to do with the wind. We’ll explore how the film connects the mythologies of wind, earth and sky, and then look at how Pazu’s story is the classic Father Quest that Hollywood has horribly overdone but it’s so fresh and interesting when Miyazaki does it.

And finally, we’ll go into the question I find most exciting: what is Laputa? Why is it important that all of these people end up there? And what are the Buddhist spiritual teachings hiding in plain sight as Miyazaki wraps up his story?

Again, there’s so much to talk about, so let’s jump right back into the conversation with my returning guest, Flick Beckett.

I’m your host, Adam Dobay, and let’s Follow the Moon Rabbit to the distant mythical island that our dad set off to find in his DIY retro-19th century airship.

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Now it’s your turn!

Congratulations, you’re through our massive Castle in the Sky series! It’s been a bumpy road getting it here (looking at you 2020) but it’s here, so I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did making it.

What are your highlights? Anything we didn’t talk about? I already have some notes on things we didn’t get to cover, but I’m really interested in your take. Let me know in the comments?

And if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to sign up for the Studio Ghibli Secrets Guide for a deep look into the storytelling and the mythologies behind the Ghibli films.

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