Airships, floating islands, sky pirates and lost civilizations in this dreamy, upbeat animated adventure. It's the first-ever film produced by Studio Ghibli and only Hayao Miyazaki's second feature-length (after 1984's _Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind_), but already both parties are testing their boundaries and nonchalantly blowing past expectations. Really incredible that _Laputa_ still stands up so well, given its age and scope, and I mean that in both an artistic and a thematic sense.

There's a rich sense of humanity to the plot and a sweet innocence shared by the determined young protagonists (both Miyazaki hallmarks), with an irresistible fiber of discovery running through the whole production. And, naturally, each of the fantastical flying machines and techno-organic wonders are fleshed out to an absurd level, with operational mechanics playing a crucial role in several memorable scenes. That's another Miyazaki calling card, for those keeping track at home.

Meanwhile, the animation team swiftly meets and defies convention in a series of brilliant, preposterous early action scenes. Most remarkable among these is a crazy automotive chase through a sleepy mining village and across an active railroad bridge, an intensely kinetic effort that's bursting with creative power and realized potential. Ghibli can do the pulse-pounding stuff extremely well, right out of the gates, but the team also knows how to let a delicate moment linger, to give a scene room to breathe for greater dramatic effect. Those latter points are important during the climax, as we explore a crumbling airborne palace and learn about the forgotten culture it once housed. All this, of course, while dodging the military and foiling the efforts of a particularly formidable evil mastermind (voiced, in the English dub, by Mark Hammill).

Despite the years, _Laputa_ is timeless; a magical, warm-hearted fantasy ride that deserves equal footing with many of the studio's later, more heralded works. It might even be more impressive than _Mononoke_ or _Spirited Away_, considering the team's relative inexperience at the time.