Probably my favorite Miyazaki film, Castle in the Sky is full of adventure, mystery, and good, clean fun.

Based on Gulliver's Travels' stories of the flying city of Laputa, the film follows the mysterious Sheeta (Anna Paquin) as she gently floats down from the sky and lands in the care of Pazu (James Van Der Beek). What follows involves a massive adventure that stretches to include sky pirates, a Nazi-like military group, Sheeta's secret identity, and a quest to discover the cloud-shrouded city of Laputa, floating somewhere up there.

Miyazaki, who wrote a comic book based on the story first, hits all the right notes along the way. The mystery is engaging and pulls you through the entire film (even Spirited Away got a little muddy in its third act), and the story keeps moving, leaping endlessly between earth and sky. With Castle in the Sky we get a true sense of scope, an epic story that involves the fate of the world, not just one little girl.

The animation is a little jerky (the film is almost 20 years old, after all), but the vibrant colors and a plot that keeps you enthralled more than make up for this failing. It's one film that truly stands the test of time in a way that only a few Disney classics have been able to match.

Aka Tenku no shiro Rapyuta.