The re-screening of "Laputa in the Sky" is held on Children's Day on June 1, which really understands generations of audiences. Those without babies think they are still babies and go to the cinema to find their childhood; those with babies take their babies and go to the cinema to create a childhood for them. However, this also confirms from the side that this animation work, which was born in 1986, still has the power to impress generations after generations.
Laputa Poster
The story tells that a young miner apprentice meets a girl with mysterious power, fights with government troops and pirates, and searches for the city of "Laputa" in the sky. The island "Laputa" has many similarities, and the homage is quite strong. Many sci-fi fans believe that the art design in "Laputa" is quite steampunk. The military castles and spaceships, the interior and exterior design of "Laputa", and the bionic pirate airship are not outdated today. , and even have a profound impact on many follow-up animation, film and television, and game works around the world. For example, old and new friends who have recently played "The Legend of Zelda" can also review this animation masterpiece. It should be in There are many friendly and familiar elements in the film.
Undoubtedly, the concept design and art style of "Laputa in the Sky" are the masterpieces of the 2D animation era, but the vitality of this work across the ages lies in its "royal" story and characters.
From the story point of view, "Laputa in the Sky" is not complicated. The heroic boy and the brave princess fight against evil and save the world together (it sounds like "Zelda" is stronger), which is not a novel setting. Compared with some of the current blockbuster animated films, this work does not have too extreme character relationships, too extreme brain reversal, judging from the current Internet era where new stimuli are being pursued every second, it is a variety of " Watching a blockbuster movie in five minutes" does not want to come up with a "plain story" to tell. But what moves people in "Laputa in the Sky" is the pure beauty and tenderness, as well as the "inner story" hidden under the superficial story: the history of the rise and fall of Laputa.
Stills of "Laputa in the Sky"
Laputa, as the final destination of all the characters in the story, is a floating city built with magical and advanced technology. Brilliant civilization. In the story, through the mouth of the characters many times, it is emphasized how Laputa's technology is ahead of the human beings on the ground and how its wealth is inexhaustible, but the reasons for its destruction are very simple and vague. Like the life experience of the heroine, it only shows that the ancestors of the Laputa people made the decision to abandon the technologically advanced city of Laputa and live a hermit life on the ground, but for the deep-seated reasons behind the decision, The animation does not spend too much ink, but always focuses on the selection of characters in the current time and space. But the reason for the destruction can still be deduced and speculated by the audience through the details of this animation.
Stills of "Laputa in the Sky"
In "Castle in the Sky", the villain Muska is well-dressed and smart. He looks down on reckless generals and has no greed for wealth. His core pursuit is to find the core technology of Laputa. It can be seen from the excitement of showing Laputa's destructive power in front of the heroine Shida that he has the ambition to dominate the world with this destructive power. The setting that Muska is a descendant of the Laputa people, I think, is by no means arbitrary. The crazy ambition brought by absolute power and the huge threat to civilization brought by crazy ambition, in the history of Laputa, even It has happened frequently in human history.
Stills of "Laputa in the Sky"
Let’s take a look at the urban structure of Laputa again. The hero and heroine who represent the true meaning——When Xida and Baru landed in Laputa, they landed on the upper floor of Laputa. Here is a beautiful ruin like a garden in the sky, carrying On the ruins of a glorious civilization that has fallen behind, although there are no human figures, the animals and plants are prosperous, harmonious and beautiful, and the robot silently guards this ecosystem. The upper layer of Laputa represents nature, civilization and beauty. It was the middle layer of Laputa that the military forces and pirates broke into. There are countless gold and silver treasures and robot guards, symbolizing the wealth and power that support civilization. Muska went straight to the lower level of Laputa, the secret room that only the descendants of the royal family could see. It was the center of Laputa's energy and defense power, representing the supreme power and technology.
Stills of "Laputa in the Sky"
The first scene where the dramatic action unfolds after the three groups of people landed is already a portrait of the crowd, and it is also a very symbolic image presentation. The three-layer structure of Laputa reflects the dialectical relationship between several forces in civilization. Undoubtedly, the beauty of harmonious coexistence between civilization and nature at the upper level requires the wealth, strength, technology, and political power of the middle and lower levels as the cornerstone. However, after the decline of civilization, the former is still full of vitality, while the latter is silent in the eternal shadow. day. When Muska broke into the core of Laputa's power, what greeted him was a wasteland of wild plants and countless insects. Laputa's scattered walls are hard to be blasted even by shells, but the giant tree in the center of the upper greenhouse The roots stretched deep into every corner of Laputa. It can be seen that once the magnificence of nature and beauty is matured by civilization, it becomes a kind of proof of independence and civilization, so that after civilization is destroyed, this beauty becomes an immortal epitaph covering it.
When Xida and Balu, with the determination to die, uttered the destruction spell of the Laputa royal family, Laputa disintegrated suddenly, the middle and lower layers collapsed collectively, and fell into the reality torrent of the ground world, leaving only the upper greenhouse garden and the ground. , after the weight is reduced, it still continues to rise with the energy of the flying stone, and the roots of the giant tree sway in the air, like an illusory jellyfish. The kind of beauty that transcends civilization, frees itself from the heavy shackles of civilization and history, and rejects the prying and coveting of all human beings. It will exist alone for thousands of years, and beauty has since transcended the definition of human aesthetics. This scene is the most amazing moment in "Laputa in the Sky". Watching Laputa take off into the sky and go away, there are regrets and sorrows, but more of it is a yearning and blessing for absolute freedom.
Stills of "Laputa in the Sky"
In the film, Xida describes what she thinks is the reason for the decline of Laputa civilization. She said that the song sings: "The roots must be rooted in the soil, survive with the wind, survive the winter with the bamboo, and sing the spring with the birds." Human beings, a species born on the land, no matter how advanced technology and amazing military weapons they develop, they cannot continue to survive as long as they leave the land. It is said that before the production of "Laputa in the Sky", Hayao Miyazaki went to Wales, England to survey the scene. The abandoned mining towns and grassland scenery with endless sky all influenced the scene setting of the film. At that time, there was a miners' strike in Wales (in "Laputa", Baloo's life is also integrated into the description of miners' life). In 2005, Hayao Miyazaki said in an interview with the "Guardian": "I admire these people, and I admire the way they fight to save their lives." Hard work may be the source of life for a civilization to survive.
