The boy hero Pazu has his origins in ancient mythology, and in true Miyazaki fashion, it has to do with the wind. In the last of our 3-part mini-series on Castle in the Sky, we 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 big questions: 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?