Castle in the Sky plot

In the movie's backstory, human civilizations built flying cities, which were destroyed during an unspecified catastrophe, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. Just one city, Laputa, remains in the sky, concealed by a thunderstorm. In the opening scene, an airship travels though the clouds. On board are a girl named Sheeta and Muska, the government agent who abducted her. Without warning, an air pirate gang led by an old but vivacious woman named Dola attack the airship. Like Muska, they want Sheeta and her stone. The pirates invade the ship, and during the ensuing chaos, Sheeta manages to knock Muska unconscious and steals a blue stone. The pirates break into her room, and she tries to hide by escaping out a window and clinging to the outside of the ship. However, she loses her grip and falls into the night sky. As the unconscious Sheeta hurtles toward the ground, the blue stone emits a mysterious light slowing Sheeta's descent. From a small mining town (Slag's Ravine), a young boy named Pazu sees the light of the stone descending from the sky and runs to investigate. Upon reaching the mineshaft, he reaches out to catch the falling girl. To his amazement, she appears weightless (that is, until the stone stops glowing). Pazu decides to take her to his home. He tells Sheeta about the floating city of Laputa and his deceased father, a pilot who had taken a photograph of the city. Dola's pirates arrive and pursue them, but they are cornered by Muska's soldiers. The children fall from a collapsing rail trestle and are saved by the levitation stone, leaving them inside the mines. They meet an old miner named Uncle Pom, who tells them of a mysterious, forgotten element called "aetherium". Sheeta shows Pom her pendant, and he explains that it is one of the pure crystals used to keep Laputa aloft. He tells her that the power of her crystal belongs to the earth and that she should never use it to commit violence. [2] Sheeta and PazuAfter the children leave the mine, Sheeta reveals to Pazu she has inherited a secret name: "Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa". At that moment, the children are captured by Muska and the army and taken away to a fortress. Muska shows Sheeta a huge Laputian robot, reveals his knowledge of her secret name, and says that unless she cooperates in the search for Laputa, Pazu will come to harm. Seeking to protect him, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has agreed to help the military and asks him to forget her. Stunned, Pazu returns home, where he is greeted by Dola and her pirates (actually her sons), who have taken over Pazu's home as a temporary base. Once they have tied up Pazu, Dola points out how naive he was to have misinterpreted Sheeta's actions. She also mentions that Muska probably won't let Sheeta live after he gets what he wants from her. Meanwhile, Sheeta, back in her room, sadly recites a saying that her grandmother taught her to make trouble go away. The stone, in response to Sheeta's words, starts to emit mysterious rays, thereby activating the robot. Awakened from its dormant state, the robot begins to create havoc within the castle as it attempts to locate Sheeta. Back home, Pazu asks Dola if he can join her pirates so that he can save Sheeta. Dola agrees, and they leave for Tedis Fortress using wingled vehicles called flapters. Back at the fortress, all attempts to stop the robot soldier have failed. The robot chases Sheeta to the top of a tower and tries to communicate with her. The stone, still shining, emits a light towards the sky, which Muska interprets as the location of Laputa. Muska then cuts the communication lines, preventing the General (Genearl Mouroa) from asking his personnel about the situation. Suddenly, one of the shots from the fortress' gun turrets hits the robot and disables it. The soldiers rush to the tower thinking that they are victorious. However, the robot reactivates. Now, in an almost crazed state, it begins to obliterate the entire fortress, firing at anything that looks hostile, causing Sheeta's pendant to tear from her neck and fall from the tower, where is later recovered by Muska.. Sheeta, shocked by the carnage it has caused, tries to stop the robot by covering its head. The robot moves Sheeta to a safer place, only to be destroyed by the airship Goliath. Pazu saves Sheeta from the burning tower as he passes over in Dola's flapter. The pirates make their escape easily, however the stone is now in possession of Muska and is still emitting a beacon towards Laputa. The pirates, accompanied by Pazu and Sheeta, make it back to their airship (Tiger Moth). Once there, Dola makes quick use of Pazu and Sheeta, giving them both jobs to do onboard the ship. They head east, the direction towards which Sheeta's stone was shining in the Fortress. Later, while Pazu is on the top of the ship keeping watch, Sheeta goes up to talk to him. She tells Pazu about the "Spell of Destruction", a power she was told never to use, that she actually doesn't want to go to Laputa, and that she feels sorry about the robot. As the children keep watch above the clouds in a glider, a massive stormcloud becomes visible, which Pazu recognizes as Laputa's hiding place. Pazu notices the Goliath's approach. He wakes the crew, and the Tiger Moth dives into the clouds to avoid confrontation. Pazu and Sheeta take off in a glider to help guide the Tiger Moth towards Laputa. Pazu tells Dola to head into the big storm ahead, since that was what his father did before. There, the Goliath finds them and attacks. The Tiger Moth is hit, disconnecting the glider from the ship. Pazu and Sheeta plummet towards the ground. While Pazu tries to get the glider under control, he sees the image of his father. Guided by the lightening, the glider makes it through the storm and emerges into clear sky. The children land in Laputa, which is devoid of human life; a robot takes care of the plants and animals. The soldiers also land safely in Laputa and plunder the city's treasures, holding Dola's pirates captive. After locating a hidden entrance to the city's core, Muska captures Sheeta and takes her inside. Pazu frees the pirates and finds another way into the sphere. Muska reaches the control center of Laputa, which contains the giant levitation stone that keeps Laputa aloft. Sheeta, wondering how Muska knows so much about Laputa, asks who he really is. Muska reveals himself as also being a descendant of Laputa. Now in control of the castle, Muska tells General Mouroa and his men to come to the observation room so that he can demonstrate the awesome power of the castle. The general thanks Muska for his services and tries to kill him. Muska, prepared for this, opens up the floor of the observatory and sends the general and his men to their deaths. He then unleashes hundreds of robot soldiers onto the remaining troops. The troopers quickly scramble back to the Goliath in fear, but the robots destroy the giant airship. Sheeta is able to catch Muska off guard while he is enjoying the destruction of Goliath and manages to grab the stone away from him. Muska, unable to control Laputa without the stone, chases after her. Sheeta runs through the core of Laputa, trying to find a way to escape. Pazu looks for Sheeta and finds her but they are separated by a wall. Sheeta, in an act of desperation, passes the stone through a hole and tells Pazu to throw it away. Immediately, Muska arrives and tries to shoot Pazu, but he misses. Muska chases after Sheeta. Pazu uses his weapon to enlarge the hole and goes after him. Sheeta reaches the throne room, but Muska corners her. Realizing that she's trapped, Sheeta confronts Muska and tells him that people can't live in the sky away from the ground, which is why there is no one living on Laputa. Muska refuses to believe Sheeta and prepares to kill her. Pazu arrives just in time and tells Muska he'll never get the stone if he harms Sheeta. Muska allows Pazu to talk to Sheeta for three minutes. Pazu asks Sheeta to tell him the Doom charm so they can say it together. They say the charm, causing the stone to emit a blinding light. This not only blinds Muska but also releases the large levitation stone holding up Laputa. The castle, Muska and the now powerless robots fall into the sea while Pazu and Sheeta are saved by the tree's roots. They find their glider also caught in the roots nearby and use it to leave Laputa. Dola and the pirates escape the destruction on their flapters. They think that Pazu and Sheeta are dead and mourn them but Pazu and Sheeta catch up with the pirates, who are very glad to see them alive. Soon after, Pazu and Sheeta say their farewells and head home. The crystal that caused Laputa to float gets caught in the tree roots and the ending credits show the remains of Laputa continuing to rise, establishing an orbit high above the earth. Click dvd