Tenkû No Shiro Rapyuta (1986)

A young boy, Pazu, sees a mysterious girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky. Both Pazu and Sheeta are orphans and they immediately connect with each other. They are then chased by pirates, the army and government secret agents. They begin a high flying adventure that goes through all sorts of flying machines, eventually searching for Sheeta's identity in a floating castle of the lost civilization of Laputa. Is Sheeta the true ruler of the Castle in the Sky? Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: The name "Laputa" was taken from the flying city in Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." It also means "the whore" in Spanish, hence the name change to simply "Castle in the Sky" for the Disney release. Hayao Miyazaki had said in interviews that he was ignorant of what the word "Laputa" meant in Spanish. If he was aware of the word's meaning, he would had not used it in the first place.

This is the third Miyazaki movie I have seen and I have been impressed with all three. I remember the Japanese anime imports to afternoon television in the 80's. I liked them but they weren't very well drawn. Miyazaki's movies are. The fantasical flying machines and flying island in this movie are extraordinary.