Hayao Miyazaki

A docu-fiction that captures the life of Bhalchandra Nemade, with the camera following him to his home, village and even on reunions with friends. Nemade plays himself while characters from his works come alive.

『崖の上のポニョ』 Deep under the surface of the ocean, a sea-wizard named Fujimoto (English: Liam Neeson, Japanese: George Tokoro) stands at the bow of his submersible, surrounded by an air bubble and an assortment of sea creatures. They swim circles around him as he pours magic potions into the water. Out of a side porthole, a red goldfish peeks out, making sure not to be seen, before waving goodbye to her smaller siblings and swimming off to join a school of jellyfish. She rests on top of one, domed by another, as they float towards the surface and far from her home. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the harbor of a seaside town, Tomonoura. When a large bottom trawler comes towards her, the goldfish swims away from the jellyfish in an attempt to escape but is quickly pulled into the mess of garbage and debris that the trawler picks up in its net. She becomes trapped within a glass jar but manages to escape the net and make it towards shallow water. Meanwhile, a young boy named Sosuke (English: Frankie Jonas, Japanese: Hiroki Doi) runs down the hillside path from his home to the water's edge to play with his toy boat. There, he notices the goldfish stuck in the jar and breaks her out of it, though cutting his thumb in the process. As he holds the seemingly lifeless fish in his hands, she licks his wound clean. Happy that she's alive, the boy takes her back up the hill as a series of strange waves come in and reach for him. The waves return to deeper water where Fujimoto is waiting. He is horrified to hear from them that the goldfish, his daughter, has been taken by a human. Sosuke puts the goldfish, which he names Ponyo (English: Noah Cyrus, Japanese: Yuria Nara), in a bucket full of water and brings her with him to the car where his mother, Lisa (English: Tina Fey, Japanese: Tomoko Yamaguchi), is waiting to take him to school. Just before she gets in, she notices Fujimoto crossing her yard with a portable pump on his back. She scolds him for spraying what she thinks is fertilizer, though he attests it's merely pure ocean water to keep him from drying out on land, before driving off. Lisa drops Sosuke off at school before going to work at the nursing home next door. Sosuke hides Ponyo's bucket in the bushes but his secrecy doesn't go unnoticed. Kumiko (English: Jennessa Rose, Japanese: Eimi Hiraoka), a classmate, asks to see what he's hiding but snubs her nose when shown Ponyo, calling her a boring fish. Ponyo squirts water into Kumiko's face and she begins to cry. Startled, Sosuke goes through the side fence and meets with a few senior citizens sitting outside. While some, like Yoshie (English: Betty White, Japanese: Tomoko Naraoka) and Noriko (English: Cloris Leachman, Japanese: Tokie Hidari), adore Ponyo, bitter Toki (English: Lily Tomlin, Japanese: Kazuko Yoshiyuki) is suspicious of Ponyo's odd appearance and gets squirted in the face as well. The commotion attracts Lisa and Sosuke rushes to the water's edge to escape punishment. However, Fujimoto's waves surround him and take Ponyo back to sea. Sosuke calls after Ponyo but is collected from the water by Lisa who does her best to console him. Ponyo is taken back into the submersible and placed within a bubble. Fujimoto calls her by her given name, Brunhilde, but she rejects it, claiming her name as Ponyo. She declares her love for Sosuke and her desire to be human and sprouts arms and legs in a defiant act of magic. Fujimoto believes humans to be too much trouble and forces Ponyo to revert back into her original state, putting her in a deep sleep. He then leaves to consult Ponyo's mother who he must summon. Arriving home, Lisa is disappointed to hear that Sosuke's sailor father, Koichi (English: Matt Damon, Japanese: Kazushige Nagashima), is unable to come home that night. As his ship passes their hill, Sosuke sends his father a message via Morse code using his signal light. Still peeved, Lisa sends her own unfriendly message, but Sosuke manages to cheer her up. Presumably the next day, Ponyo is awoken by her smaller sisters and quickly evolves feet, hands, and teeth before breaking out of her bubble home. She floods her father's study and releases his most powerful magic. The surge of energy turns Ponyo into a fully fledged human girl and sends her and her siblings rushing towards the surface of the ocean where a massive storm has formed. Sosuke leaves school, braving the strong winds and rain, and runs to meet his mother at the nursing home where the power has gone out. Lisa is encouraged to go home though the roads soon become treacherous due to the high waves. As they drive up the hill towards their home, Sosuke notices Ponyo waving at him as she runs atop the massive waves at sea. The waves follow the car as Lisa struggles to stay on the road. When they reach the house, Ponyo transverses a wave to the road and runs up to Sosuke, hugging him tightly. Lisa takes them both into the house as the waves get bigger and the storm continues. There, she dries them off and goes to start the backup generator where Ponyo helps it using some of her magical talents. For dinner, Lisa gives them hot tea and ramen noodles. Ponyo is fascinated with the new tastes and experiences but soon grows tired and falls asleep on the couch. The storm dissipates to reveal some flooding. Worried about the senior center, Lisa leaves Sosuke in charge and drives down the hill to check on the seniors. Sosuke falls asleep on the couch with Ponyo. Fujimoto, having discovered the breach in his magic, finds Ponyo with Sosuke. He leaves to contact her mother, Granmamare (English: Cate Blanchett, Japanese: Yûki Amami), an ocean spirit. She appears at his submersible where he tells her that Ponyo's actions have spun everything into chaos. The moon has come closer to the earth causing a surge in tides and sending satellites plummeting from orbit like falling stars. Granmamare assures Fujimoto that if Ponyo and Sosuke pass a test, everything will go back to normal. The following morning, Sosuke and Ponyo wake to find that the house is completely surrounded by water. Only the tops of hills and the tallest trees are visible. Sosuke worries for his mother so Ponyo helps him by enlarging his toy boat. They pack a few things and set sail together. Along the way, they meet a family adrift with a small baby. Ponyo shows her generosity by offering the baby and his mother some of her soup and uses her magic to cure the baby when he comes down with a cold. As time passes and they continue their journey, Ponyo becomes more and more tired. When they reach a stretch of road that's not flooded Ponyo's magic wears off and the boat is reduced to its normal size. Sosuke sees his mother's car further up the road and runs to it, calling for Lisa. But she is no where to be seen. Sosuke becomes upset but Ponyo cheers him and encourages him to keep looking. They walk down the road hand in hand. Meanwhile, the senior center is completely submerged, but the elderly run about the yard with renewed energy; a result of the magic keeping them safe underwater. Fujimoto explains to them that theyre about to witness a testimony to true love while Lisa stands nearby talking to Granmamare. She returns to the others, worried about Sosuke but confident that he'll be ok. Sosuke and Ponyo reach a tunnel and, as they walk through it, Ponyo suddenly reverts back to her fish form and falls asleep. Sosuke quickly runs to the end of the tunnel and places her in his bucket which he fills with water. He tries to wake her up but Fujimoto appears to him. He tells Sosuke that he must accompany him to help Ponyo but someone shouts to Sosuke not to trust Fujimoto. Toki stands on a mound where the other senior citizens were brought under water, but she refused to follow. She calls to Sosuke who runs to her. As he leaps into her arms, Fujimoto's waves engulf them and bring them to the senior center under water. There, Sosuke is reunited with his mother. Granmamare approaches him and Ponyo, now awake, and calls Ponyo to her. She asks if Ponyo is willing to live as a human and give up her magic. Ponyo nods yes. Granmamare then asks Sosuke if he can love Ponyo whether she is a little girl or a fish, to which Sosuke says yes. Granmamare then brings everything back to normal and sends everyone back to the surface. Fujimoto shakes Sosuke's hand and bids Ponyo farewell. As he leaves, Ponyo leaps out of Sosuke's bucket, kisses him, and transforms into a little girl right before his eyes.

A young girl named Haru awakens to another day, where it seems she's a few steps behind everything. Rushing to school, she comes in late for class, to mocking laughter from her classmates, and even from one guy in her class whom she has a crush on. After school, walking home with her friend Hiromi, Haru curses her misfortune. As they walk down a busy street, they see a dark cat carrying a small box in his mouth. In the middle of the street, the cat drops it, and attempts to pick it up, unaware that a large truck is heading towards it! Haru grabs her friend's lacrosse stick, and running into the street, saves the cat, before collapsing into some bushes and breaking the lacrosse stick. Unseen by anyone but Haru, the cat then stands on it's hind legs, and thanks her for saving him. It then gets back on all fours, and rushes off. When Haru relates the incident to Hiromi, her friend can scarcely believe it either. Later that evenin, Haru tells her Mother about the incident. Her Mother explains that it sounds like something that happened when Haru was little. Supposedly, a dirty white kitten was following her as she ate fish crackers. Haru then took pity on the kitten, and gave her the whole box. Haru's Mother claims that Haru told her that the kitten talked to her, but Haru doesn't recall anything like that happening. Later that night, Haru hears something outside, and sees a procession of cats walking down the street. Then eventually stop outside Haru's house, and she comes outside. Among the procession are the Cat King, his Prime Minister Natori, and a servant cat named Natoru. Natori explains that the Cat King thanks Haru for saving his son, and she is presented with a scroll, that gives information about numerous gifts she will receive for her good deed. The next day, Haru wakes up, wondering if it was a dream. Her ponderings are soon put to rest when a number of things happen. Her friend Hiromi has awoken to find numerous lacrosse sticks outside her door. At Haru's place, cat tail plants surround their house, and as she heads to school, a number of cats chase after her (Haru surmises that she must have some catnip on her). At school, she is freaked out when she finds a number of individually-boxed mice in her shoe locker. Getting over the shock, she goes about the day, taking Hiromi's clean-up duty upon her request. While taking out the garbage, she sees the guy she has a crush on, walking by with his girlfriend. This distracts Haru and she trips and falls, feeling more miserable than the day before. Suddenly, she sees the King's assistant, Natoru, who becomes shocked when Haru yells at him regarding the 'gifts' she has received. Noting that she seems upset, Natoru offers to take her to the Cat Kingdom for a personal tour, and even tells her of the additional gift she will receive for her good deed: the chance to marry the Cat King's son, Prince Lune. This shocks Haru, who then starts to wonder if being among cats wouldn't be so bad, since they seem to have very few responsibilities. Natoru takes this as a 'yes' answer, and rushes off, leaving Haru distraught at the idea of her (a human girl) marrying a cat! As she panics, a disembodied voice tells her to find a white cat at the crossroads, who will lead her to the Cat Bureau. Haru goes to the specific location, where she finds a large white cat. The cat doesn't say a word, but she follows him through all sorts of little nooks and crannies, until he reaches a small embankment of shops that almost seem doll-like in size. Here, the large white cat gets up on his hind legs, and heads to a small storefront. As he does so, the setting sun catches on the windows surrounding them. The front door of the building opens, and a cat in a suit emerges, giving his name as Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, but Haru decides to just call him 'Baron.' Baron cites the large white cat as Muta, and as they talk, a stone statue comes to life, which Baron says is named Toto. Baron invites his guests into his home, where Haru explains about her predicament, and how a strange voice told her to seek out the Cat Bureau. The Baron decides that he and Muta will make a visit to the Cat Kingdom in regards to Haru's request for their help. However, the Baron requests that Haru never forget who she is, as this will be very important. As they speak, there is a knock at the front door. Haru answers it, only to find Natoru there, and a number of cats who carry Haru off, intending to take her to the Cat Kingdom. Muta manages to catch up with them, but Baron and Toto lose their trail. Haru wakes up in the Cat Kingdom, where she finds she has shrunk to the size of a cat. Looking around, she is met by a white cat named Yuki, who pleads with Haru to leave the Cat Kingdom at once. However, Natoru appears, and takes both Haru and Muta to the King's palace. Haru is taken to be dressed to meet the King, while Muta is escorted to a banquest hall, where he gorges on a number of foods. As Haru changes, she is then met by the King, who is overjoyed that she has chosen to marry his son. However, Haru explains her trepidations, since she is a human, and the Prince is a cat. The King and Natori smile, telling her that that is no longer a problem, since Haru is now half-cat. Haru looks in a nearby mirror, and is shocked to see that she has somehow turned into a cat! Running from the room, she finds Muta, stuck in a bowl of catnip jelly, unable to move. Even though Haru is still upset over being turned into a cat, she is taken to the main dining room, where the King attempts to cheer her up with a number of entertainment acts. When none seem to please Haru, he has the performers tossed out a nearby window. Suddenly, a masked strange comes forward, promising to cheer up Haru. As the band strikes up a waltz, Haru dances with the mysterious stranger, feeling more at ease being a cat. This feeling causes her to grow whiskers, which makes her gasp. The masked stranger then tells her not to forget who she really is, as he said so before. Suddenly, the Cat King calls for the music to stop, demanding to know who the stranger is. He removes his mask to reveal the Baron! The Cat King sends his troops to take down the Baron and retrieve Haru, but this quickly fails. In the ensuing scuffle, Muta is freed from the bowl of catnip jelly, and joins the battle. Off to one side, Yuki appears and hastens Baron and Haru to her. She explains that there is a way for Haru to regain her human form, and helps her and the Baron escape through a secret entrance, which leads to a maze outside the castle, of which a large tower extends from it's center. Yuki explains that if they can get to the top before a specific time, they will be able to return to their world. Muta then joins them, and they set out going through the maze. However, the King sends a number of troops, and tries to throw them off course. His plans fail, and Haru, Baron and Muta make it to the tower, climbing up it's outer stairway. Just when it seems they've made it halfway-up, the King detonates the tower, causing the mid-point to plummet to the bottom! Haru, Baron and Muta are then met by the King, though the reunion is short-lived when Prince Lune arrives, along with a contingency of soldiers. The King explains to the Prince about Haru, but the Prince explains that he wishes to marry Yuki. He then hands her the same box that Haru saw him with on the street. The box contains some fish crackers. Yuki then explains that they are just like the kind that Haru gave her when she was a kitten, and thanks her for helping her all those years ago. The King finds this very moving, but then tries to see if Haru will marry him instead. Haru angrily rejects his advances, and Muta happily proclaims that he admires her spirit. The King, not one to be spurned, still tries to claim Haru, but Muta and Lune's soldiers prevent him from advancing, and Haru heads up the nearby steps for the top of the tower. Baron also confronts the King, and wins in a duel against him, before hearing Haru cry out from the top of the tower...which leads to the other world, but whose opening is several hundred miles up in the sky! Muta and Baron rush to her aid, but not before she falls over the edge. They freefall towards Haru's hometown, when a flock of crows appears, courtesy of Toto. Haru makes it safely down, and they say their goodbyes, with Haru admitting that she has a bit of a crush on Baron, before he takes off. The next day, Haru's Mother awakes, and is shocked to see that Haru is up before her, having already prepared breakfast. Later on, Haru meets up with Hiromi, who happily tells her friend that the guy she has a crush on has broken up with his girlfriend. However, instead of being excited at this, Haru shows no concern, as this is now unimportant to her. It appears that her experience has allowed her to become more independent.

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

Shizuku Tsukishima is a junior high school student, living in a cramped apartment with her father, mother, and sister. As she returns from an errand to the store, her father who is a librarian, mentions how they're converting their check-out system, so that the check-out cards at the front of the books will now become obsolete. Pondering this, Shizuku goes to read a book that she checked out, and is drawn to the name Seiji Amasawa on the card. Checking her other library books, she's amazed to see that his name also appears on their cards as well! The next day, Shizuku gets up and goes early to school. Shizuku gets one of her teachers to allow her to check a book out from the school library, since the local public library does not have a copy. Looking over the book, she notices a dedication inside, that mentions the name Amasawa. While she is pondering this, her friend Yuko appears, and the two go off to talk. Shizuku has been working on a translation of the American song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads." While Yuko likes it, Shizuku still feels it's 'trite.' She also reveals a parody she wrote titled 'Concrete Roads,' the lyrics of which amuse them both. After a little bit, Yuko becomes serious, and secretly reveals that she got a love letter, but her feelings are torn, as she actually likes someone that she and Shizuku know: a boy named Sugimura. Shizuku then accompanies Yuko to her cram school lessons (important high-school entrance exams are a short time away), but then realizes that she left the book she checked out back at school. Going back to where she was sitting, she finds a boy there, reading it. He mentions her name (which he found in the check-out card on the front), and makes a mention that 'Concrete Roads' needs some work. This infuriates Shizuku, who stews over this critique of her writing all the way home. Later on that day, her older sister returns from visiting relatives, and begins critiquing Shizuku even more, much to her consternation. The next day, Shizuku plans to go to the library where her father works. Her sister makes a lunch for her to deliver to him as well. Getting on the train, Shizuku is surprised to see a large cat board the train. Curiously, she follows it out and into the city. After some time, the cat leads her to a small shop in a quiet neighborhood. Entering the shop, she is greeted by its owner, an old man named Shiro Nishi. Seeing her admiring a statue of a humanized cat in a suit, he then shows her a grandfather clock he has been restoring. However, realizing how late it is, Shizuku runs off to the library, but overjoyed at the wonderful little shop. Upon reaching the library, she suddenly realizes she left her father's lunch at the store. However, the boy she met previously who 'critiqued' her work appears, and gives it to her. He makes a little joke about the lunch being pretty big for her, and leaves singing 'Concrete Roads.' This just infuriates Shizuku even more with the mysterious boy. After some time, school finally starts up for Shizuku. During a break period while talking with Yuko, Sugimura appears, and Shizuku (knowing of Yuko's crush) hints that the two should study together. Yuko grows upset and drags Shizuku away, chastising her friend for her 'playful help.' Still curious about the dedication in the book she checked out, Shizuku goes to the teacher's lounge, where someone informs her that a Mr. Amasawa donated it, and that he also has a son who goes to the school. Shizuku bolts from the room, feeling that somehow, the boy she saw is Mr. Amasawa's son. While heading to lunch, she and Yuko pass by the boy again, who passes without a word. For some reason, this seems to upset Shizuku. At lunch, Yuko regales two of their classmates and a teacher with this news, and the girls tease Shizuku that 'springtime has finally come for her.' Shizuku vehemently denies any feelings for the boy, and holds back showing the latest work on her translation of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" unless the girls apologize. Doing so, they read the new translation, and admit to really liking the newly translated lyrics. On her way home from school, Shizuku stops by the little shop, only to find it closed. Later that night, she gets a call from Yuko, whom she meets at a nearby park. Yuko is in tears after she met with Sugimura, who was relaying a message from another boy about asking her out. The fact that it was Sugimura who made this requests upsets her so much, that she decides not to go to school the next day. The next day at school, Sugimura meets up with Shizuku, and they discuss what happened. Sugimura is not sure what he did to make Yuko run off and cry. Shizuku chastises him for not understanding that Yuko has feelings for him. The surprise on Sugimura's face is soon reflected in Shizuku's, when he reveals that he actually likes her! Shizuku rejects this idea, saying she just wants to be friends with him. Later on that evening, Shizuku sobs about how 'dense' she is about love as well. Later on, she gets on the train and goes back to the little shop. Still closed, she notices the cat, who sits down next to her. She begins to talk to it to get her mind off things. As she does so, the boy she saw the other day appears, and begins to have a conversation with her. He notes to her that he knows the cat, and calls him Moon ("Because he looks like a full moon"). However, the cat has no actual owner, and he's heard other people have their own names for him. The boy then reveals that his Grandfather owns the little shop, but that he's away at the moment. However, he allows Shizuku to enter the shop from the rear entrance. Bringing her onto the main floor, Shizuku is surprised to see the Grandfather clock is gone. The boy explains that his Grandfather had just completed fixing it the day she forgot her lunch. Still upset over that joke, Shizuku is then surprised when the boy shows her the cat statue, which the boy dubs 'The Baron.' A cleaning accident to the statue, resulted in the eyes on the statue sparkling brilliantly in the setting sun from the nearby window. Afterwards, the boy shows Shizuku a workshop in the basement, where violin-making lessons are taught. He reveals that he wants to make this his profession, but admits that he still isn't that good at it. Overjoyed at such a creative venture, Shizuku asks him if he can play a violin. When he affirms this, she begs for him to play for her. He agrees on the condition that she sing. He begins to play "Take Me Home, Country Roads," and Shizuku begins to sing her translation. As she does, Grandfather and some of his friends come home, and join in with their own instruments. At the end of the song, they are all introduced, and Shizuku finds out the name of the boy: Seiji Amasawa. The same Seiji that had been checking out the same books as her. Later on that night, Seiji walks her partway home, as they discuss his plans to go to Cremona, Italy, where he wants to study violin-making. Grandfather is all for it, but Seiji's Father is against it. As Shizuku takes leave, Seiji mentions that he actually did like her song parody, "Concrete Roads." This leaves Shizuku in a good mood as she heads home. The next day, Shizuku sees that Yuko is back in school, but a rumor has circulated that someone saw Shizuku walking with a boy. Shortly afterward, Sugimura appears to chat with Yuko, telling her that he will tell his friend (whom he relayed the message from the other day) that she turned down his request. As Sugimura leaves, Yuko smiles in a relieved fashion. When Seiji comes by the room asking to see Shizuku, the classroom erupts into a raucous cheer that Shizuku (finally) has a boyfriend! Shizuku angrily storms off, and takes Seiji to the roof where they can talk. Seiji informs her that his Father will allow him to go to Italy, and the two have an intimate conversation, where Shizuku reveals that she seems to be developing feelings for him. However, some of her classmates have been spying on them, and she chases them off. For the rest of the day, she is very quiet, deep in thought. Later on that evening, she goes to Yuko's house to talk to her. Shizuku feels distraught for a number of reasons. One is that if Seiji goes to Italy, he'll be gone for several years, and she won't see him for quite some time. Another reason is that she feels that Seiji is working towards accomplishing a goal...something she doesn't have. Yuko points out that Shizuku does have talent, given how well she translated the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Yuko's observation energizes Shizuku, who vows to write a story. On her way home, she happens to see Moon leaving a person's house, and a little girl in the doorway calls him 'Muta.' Shizuku then begins to write her story, and consults with Seiji's Grandfather, who applauds her determination. On one visit, he shows her a rock that had been chipped away, revealing some lapis lazuli inside. This helps to inspire Shizuku even more in her writing, as she uses the lapis lazuli and the statue of the Cat Baron for inspiration. Sometime afterward, she meets up with Seiji again, who is going off to Italy. They say their goodbyes, and Shizuku continues to work on her story. However, her determination soon begins to get in the way of other things, such as her schoolwork. After her Mother is called to the school, and her sister sees the grades from a 'mock quiz,' Shizuku's Father sits down with her to talk. Shizuku reveals that she does care about her studies, but also needs to do what she is doing to better herself. Her Father shows sympathy, and allows her to continue what she is doing. Finally, Shizuku finishes the story, titled 'Whisper of the Heart.' She goes to Seiji's Grandfather, requesting he read it and let her know how she did. Once he finishes it, she panics, admitting that it is not perfect. However, he admits while it was not perfect, she can still keep refining it. The wave of exhaustion and realizing that it is not perfect, causes her to break down in tears, as she admits that she feels so far behind Seiji in achieving something. Seiji's Grandfather realizes how much she cares for his Grandson, and treats her to dinner to calm her down. After dinner, Seiji's Grandfather tells Shizuku that her story had some interesting points, notably that the Baron had a wife. In real life, the Cat Baron statue did have a partner. He had found the two statues while living in Europe, but the Baron's wife was being fixed at the time. It was then that Seiji's Grandfather decided that he would take the Baron statue, and his girlfriend would join him later, bringing the Baron's wife. However, this was during the war, and he never saw her or the Baron's wife again. Before Shizuku leaves, she is given the chipped rock with the lapis lazuli center as a gift. Very early the next morning, Shizuku awakes to find Seiji waiting outside! She rushes down to see him, and gets on his bicycle, as he peddles her towards a hidden place. When they arrive on a hillside, they are just in time to see the sun rise over the hills. It is then that Seiji reveals his true feelings, and that he is willing to wait for Shizuku, if she will wait for him. She agrees, and he embraces her, declaring his love for her.

『紅の豚』 Marco Pagot (voice: Michael Keaton in the Disney English dub), a WWI pilot who has lost faith in humanity and acquired a curse that turned him into a pig, is now known as Porco Rosso. Porco has become an airborne bounty hunter, offering his services from a small island hideout for a fee. When word comes that some sea pirates have kidnapped a group of girls from a cruise liner, Porco goes after the pirates, severely damaging their aircraft. Porco strikes a deal with them: turn over the girls and half of the loot collected, and he'll let the pirates go. Being desperately in need of money, the pirates comply, and Porco returns the girls to the cruise liner. After the rescue, Porco goes to the Hotel Adriano, where he talks with Gina (voice: Susan Egan), an old friend who owns the hotel and sings in the club. While there, Porco meets an American pilot named Donald Curtis (voice: Cary Elwes), who has been hired by a local band of sea pirates. Afterwards, Porco and Gina sit down to a meal, reminiscing about the old days. Looking at her wall, Porco notices a photo of several younger persons, with the face of one of the young men scratched out. Porco tells Gina of his wish that the photo be taken down, but she refuses, saying that even with the scratched-out face, it's the only known photo of Marco when he was still human. Porco returns to his island hideaway. Over the radio, he hears that several bands of sea pirates have pooled their resources and robbed another cruise liner, delivering the caveat that they are planning to get Porco next. Porco decides to head off to Milan to enjoy the scenery and get his plane repaired. However, on the way there, an impromptu dogfight breaks out when Curtis spies Porco; Porco's plane is heavily damaged and the engine gives out entirely. Porco saves the body of his plane by hiding it under the greenery on a small island. Believing that Porco has been killed, Curtis flies off. Porco has the plane transported to Milan. He calls Gina to let her know he is all right since reports have surfaced that Curtis shot him down. Gina tries to get Porco to change his mind about Milan, as the Italian authorities have a warrant out for his arrest. Porco ignores her concern. He rings up an old friend named Piccolo (voice: David Ogden Stiers) who can repair his plane. Upon arrival at the Piccolo SPA workshop, Porco finds that all of the men that Piccolo worked with (both family and friends) have gone off to find work elsewhere. Piccolo's new staff is his granddaughter Fio (voice: Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and the female relatives of his former workforce. Porco is at first against having someone as inexperienced as Fio redesign and work on his plane, but he relents when she displays a natural enthusiasm and knowledge for planes and design work. Eventually, the plane is completed, but word has reached Porco that the Italian police know he's there and intend to arrest him. Porco tries to make an early-morning escape, but is thrown for a loop when Fio invites herself along, intending to make sure the plane functions perfectly and to make any necessary adjustments. Porco and Fio escape in a hair-raising take-off from a canal. They make their way to Porco's island hideaway. However, the sea pirates have already arrived with intent to hurt Porco and smash his plane. Surprisingly, Fio talks them out of their plan, speaking of honor among sea pirates. The meeting is interrupted when Curtis climbs down the cliff to challenge Porco to a duel. Upon seeing Fio, he claims that he wants to marry her if he wins. Fio (without Porco's consent) agrees, but only under the stipulation that if Porco wins, Curtis pays the fee for Porco's plane and repair costs. The sea pirates leave, and Porco and Fio settle down for the evening, with plans for the duel the next day. As she lies in a sleeping bag, Fio looks at Porco, and for a few moments, glimpses him in human form. However, when she calls to Porco, his face reverts to his porcine features. Fio asks Porco about the curse, but he doesn't reveal much. Fio playfully suggests that maybe if she kisses him, he'll turn human again, as in the story of the princess and the frog. Porco dismisses this and tells Fio to go to sleep. She agrees to do so if Porco will tell her a story. Porco relates a story in which he and several of his comrades (one of them Gina's late husband) engaged in a dogfight. During the battle, Porco found himself shrouded in a cloud bank. When his plane emerged above the clouds, it was not under his control. He saw a massive procession of different airplanes high above, all flying together in a tight group. As he watched, the downed enemy planes, as well as those of his downed comrades and Gina's husband, drifted up and joined the procession. Porco called to his friend and tries to go after him, but the controls on his plane refused to move. Eventually, the plane drifted down below the clouds, and he lost consciousness; when he came to he found himself over the ocean. The next day, the sea pirates host the air duel between Porco and Curtis. Numerous persons from around the Mediterranean have congregated on a small island where members of the pirate gangs are taking bets on the two combatants. Finally, the duel gets underway. However, while Curtis attempts to shoot down Porco, Porco's code of not firing on another pilot keeps him from easily taking down Curtis. After some time, Porco finally has a bead on Curtis' engine, but finds his guns jammed. Curtis has also run out of ammunition, and soon the two pilots are throwing whatever they can at the other and yelling. Finally, the two land their planes and engage in a fistfight to settle the score. During the fight, Curtis brings up Gina and how she's been waiting for Porco. Finally, the two knock each other out and fall into the water. Just then, Gina arrives and berates Marco for trying to ruin Fio's life as well. This seems to give Porco the will to get up, winning the fight. Gina tells the rest of the bystanders that the Italian Air Force has heard of what is going on, and are sending their planes to intercept. The majority of the spectators flee the island and Porco puts Fio in Gina's plane, despite Fio's protests. As the plane takes off, Fio leans out and kisses Porco. With only Porco and Curtis left, the two agree to work together to lead the Italian Air Force away, but not before Curtis notices something different about Porco's face. Fio ties up the loose ends in a voice-over: Porco helps lead the Italian Air Force away and is not caught. Curtis goes back to the United States, where he becomes a movie star. Fio and Gina become friends, and Fio stops by to see Gina every once in a while. The air pirates still frequent Gina's establishment, even as the years have gone by and they have moved on or retired. Fio later took over the Piccolo Company, putting her design and airplane knowledge to use. Whether Porco and Gina ended up together, Fio tells us, is still a secret.

Along with her black cat Jiji, Kiki settles in a seaside town and starts a high-flying delivery service. Here begins her magical encounter with independence and responsibility, making lifelong friends and finding her place in the world. A young witch named Kiki is now 13 years old. She is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty cat named Jiji by her side, she's ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she's chosen as her new home. —Anthony Pereyra (hypersonic91@yahoo.com) More than anything, sweet 13-year-old novice witch Kiki wants to leave the nest to find independence and her place in the world. But fresh starts are always challenging. However, even though her broom-flying skills still need honing, Kiki has faith in herself and her abilities; no matter what, the girl is determined to reach her full potential. As a result, Kiki zooms off in her mother's broomstick to the picturesque port city of Koriko, accompanied by Jiji, her bright-eyed feline confidante. Now, the sky is the limit. As the bubbly newcomer learns how to handle responsibility, will Kiki get the chance to spread her wings and make her dream come true? —Nick Riganas Kiki, a teenage witch-in-training, has reached the age of 13. According to tradition, all witches of that age must leave home for one year, so that they can learn how to live on their own. Kiki, along with her cat Jiji, flies away to live in the seaside town of Koriko. Kiki must learn how to deal with her new life. —Mike Konczewski

『天空の城ラピュタ』 A Special Stone The Tiger Moth, a flying pirate ship commanded by a pink-haired woman called Dola (voice: Cloris Leachman in the Disney English dub) and manned by her seven or eight grown sons, spots a larger flying ship, from which a girl looks out a window. The men in the cabin with the girl wear dark suits and dark glasses (which is odd, as its dark outside). The men seem to recognize the pirates, who have apparently been lying in wait. They attack using small four-winged chariot-like fliers called flapters, dropping from the flapters to the top of the larger ship. Once inside, the pirates run through a crowd in a spacious glass-walled cabin—there's a party going on—and trade gunshots with some of the dark-suited men. Dola shouts "I want that girl!" The leader of the dark suits enters the girl's cabin, and calling her Sheeta (voice: Anna Paquin), tells her to stay out of the way. He opens a suitcase that holds a transmitter and starts sending a message in Morse code. While he's occupied, Sheeta knocks him out with a wine bottle, reaches inside his jacket and from an inner pocket pulls a necklace, which she puts on. There's knocking and shouting outside the door, so she opens the window, climbs out, and clings to the side of the plane. The pirates burst into the room and recognize the unconscious man, Muska (voice: Mark Hamill). They nearly miss the girl, but one thinks to look out the window and spots her. Dola notices that she's wearing the necklace, and says "I want that crystal!" Sheeta inches over to the next window, but one of the pirates gets into the room and rushes the window; she falls. "There goes my crystal!" wails Dola. Sheeta disappears into a cloud. The opening credits show steampunk industrial scenes of mining, building flying machines, and islands floating in the sky. Sheeta falls from the clouds and hurtles toward the ground, head-first and unconscious. Her crystal lights up and she falls more slowly, turning so she's lying face-up. She seems to be asleep and falling toward a lighted town; it's still dark. On the ground, working-class folk in 19th-Century European clothes are shopping and talking. A boy (voice: James Van Der Beek) comes into a shop and asks for some meatballs for his boss. The man behind the counter, calling the boy Pazu (pronounced pot-zu), is surprised that the boy is still working at this hour. Running back to work, the boy sees something falling from the sky, realizes it's a person, and catches Sheeta as she floats down into the open shaft of a mine. From down in the hole the mine boss (voice: John Hostetter) irately calls for his dinner, and is too busy with his malfunctioning machinery to listen when Pazu tries to tell him about the girl who came down from the sky. Pazu leaves Sheeta, still sleeping, on a platform near the top of the mine shaft and goes back to work. He operates the elevator hoist by himself for the first time, bringing up a crew of miners and their haul for the day, a small cartload of coal. They complain about not finding any silver or even tin. The boss, predicting that they'll all be starving soon, asks Pazu to shut off the boiler and oil the machinery, and goes home for the night. Dola has returned to her ship, but her sons are out searching for Sheeta in their flapters. One complains there's too much cloud cover and it's too dark, but Dola won't call off the search. She tells them to call her captain, and they reply "yes, Mom," in unison. The Legend of the Castle in the Sky Next morning, Pazu wakes up at home—he slept on the floor—and sees Sheeta, still asleep in his bed. He climbs through a skylight to the roof and opens a window in a brick tower attached to his small wooden house, releasing some white doves. Then he climbs to the top of the tower and plays his trumpet. Pazu's house is perched on the lip of a cliff, and is part of a larger building that's mostly in ruins. The trumpet wakes Sheeta, who climbs the ladder to the roof, following the music. Pazu shakes her hand and introduces himself, then gives her some food to feed the doves. She's surprised to hear from Pazu that he found her floating in the air; she remembers being in an airship, but nothing more. Pazu has a theory about how she can float; he asks to see her necklace. She hands it to him and says her grandmother gave it to her and it's been in her family for generations. The crystal is blue with a gold symbol. Pazu puts on the necklace and jumps off the roof. He doesn't float. Sheeta finds him in a hole; he's broken through a terrace into his own basement. The room is set up as a workshop, with the wooden framework of a plane in the middle of the floor. When Pazu goes back upstairs to see to breakfast, Sheeta notices a photograph on the wall that looks like an island or a fortress surrounded by clouds. Its captioned "Laputa." Pazu finds her looking at the picture and says his father, who loved to fly, took it from an airship. He explains that most people think Laputa, the island that floats in the sky, is a legend. There's also a picture of Pazu's father's airship, and his journal, with drawings of the castle on the floating island. But nobody believed he'd seen it, and Pazu thinks that being called a liar killed his father. He says that as soon as he finishes building his plane, he'll prove that Laputa is real. Beware of the Pirates Sheeta sees a car pull up outside, and Dola looks out. Sheeta backs away from the window while Pazu exclaims "a real automobile! You don't see many of those around here!" Sheeta says the people in the car are pirates, and they attacked her airship. The pirates are much better dressed than they were the night before and look quite respectable, but Pazu immediately accepts that they're pirates and they're after Sheeta. When the pirates come to the door, Pazu runs out, accompanied, apparently, by another boy. He stops when asked if he's seen a girl and says "there are about 100 little girls in this town—which one?" He and Sheeta run off as the second pirate, who went around and got in the back of the house, comes out holding Sheeta's bluish-purple dress and saying she must be in disguise now. On the village street, a pair of pirates in white suits are asking Pazu's boss about a little girl in pigtails and a purple dress. When he says he hasn't seen her, Pazu can be heard in the distance shouting "Boss! Boss!" As Pazu and Sheeta come running up the street, the pirate Shalulu (voice: Michael McShane) urges the boss to think harder, saying "she would be about the age of those two." Sheeta trips and falls, dislodging her borrowed cap and exposing her pigtails. The pirates try to grab her but Pazu and Sheeta take refuge behind the boss; Pazu tells him the men are pirates and they're after Sheeta. Pazu's boss turns out to be standing outside his own front door. As the pirates approach and threaten the boss, Sheeta, then Pazu are pulled inside and told by the boss's wife to run out the back door. Meanwhile at the front door, Shalulu, the beefiest pirate, tries to intimidate the boss by flexing his muscles and bursting out of his shirt. A crowd gathers, and the boss, who's pretty beefy himself, bursts his own buttons. His wife looks over his shoulder, frying pan at the ready, and remarks that she's not going to mend his now-shredded shirt. The two men fight. Soon the villagers in the street take exception to the other pirates' heckling and the fight become a melee. The car pulls up to the edge of a cliff, from which Dola and a couple more pirates can see the village street. "Leave it to my little idiots to start a riot," she says. Then she spots Sheeta and Pazu running toward the railroad tracks. The kids jump on a moving train, tell the engineer (voice: Matt K. Miller) the Dola gang is after Sheeta, and ask to be dropped off at the police station in the next town. The engineer, who knows Pazu, asks no questions; all he says is "help me stoke up the engine." Dola drives through the village to extract Shalulu and his party of pugilists, who are astonished to hear that Sheeta has escaped. The villagers chase the car and throw things as it drives off; Dola throws them a hand grenade "to remember us by." The engineer spots the pirates' car approaching the moving train; he says the engine is old and can't go any faster. Dola drives the car onto the tracks and draws closer to the train in a hair-raising chase over rickety trestles. When they catch up, Pazu releases the empty cars behind the engine and the train pulls away, but the pirates' car is moving so fast it pushes the loose cars ahead of it and they quickly catch up with the laboring engine. Pazu cranks up the brakes on the lead car and it slows down, separating the pirates from the engine before they can grab Sheeta. As Pazu waves good-bye from the engine, Dola, sounding like the Wicked Witch of the West, says "you'll get yours!" The pirates heave a train car off the tracks, but pause as they're trying to jettison the second one because Dola notices a military spy plane, which she thinks is Muska. Meanwhile, the engineer stops because there's an army engine coming toward him. He cheerfully says "it's the army to the rescue!" and asks for help for the kids, but Sheeta quickly realizes that the men coming from the military engine look just like the ones who were working with Muska. She says "good-bye, Pazu," and takes off, bad guys in pursuit. Pazu trips them before running after Sheeta. The quick-witted engineer scalds the bad guys with his steam-powered brakes when they try to shoot the fleeing kids. The kids almost immediately see the Dola gang coming at them; they're still on a trestle, but Sheeta runs down a siding, telling Pazu not to follow her or he'll get hurt. The Dola gang catches up to them, destroying the trestle as they approach. Pazu and Sheeta jump off and dangle precariously as the gang's train car passes over them. Dola watches Sheeta and Pazu fall toward the town below and then, with a flash of light, they float back up as Sheeta's crystal saves them. Pazu tells Sheeta, "this is what happened the first time I saw you—I knew there was something special about that necklace." Dola isn't surprised and tells her sons, "it's the power of the crystal." The soldiers from the armored train can see the kids too. They float gently down into a mineshaft. The pirates go after them, while overhead, the spy plane watches. Lost in the Mine Sheeta's crystal, which has been glowing, goes dark when they land at the bottom of the shaft, but Pazu has a lantern. They walk for a bit in the old mine, then sit down to eat. (Pazu is still carrying the fried egg on toast he made for breakfast.) Asked where she's from, Sheeta says "I come from Gondoa, deep in the northern mountains." After her parents died, she cared for their farm animals until some men came and took her away—the same men in dark glasses who are now pursuing her. Pazu realizes that the men and Dola are both after the crystal, which Sheeta didn't realize was so powerful. She says her mother gave it to her before she died, and told her never to show it or give it away to anyone. Pazu says "we orphans should stick together." Sheeta apologizes for getting him mixed up in her problems, but Pazu isn't sorry at all: "this is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me!" The children are frightened when they hear someone approaching, but it's an old miner friend of Pazu's, Uncle Pom (voice: Richard Dysart). They tell him there are pirates chasing them and the army is right behind the pirates, and Uncle Pom thinks that sounds splendid. He takes them to his camp by an underground lake and gives them tea. He says that the rocks speak to him, and they've been restless since last night. Then he blows out the lamp, leaving them in the silent darkness. It doesn't stay dark long. Soon crystals on the floor, ceiling, and walls around them start to glow. Pazu wonders what's doing that, and Uncle Pom cracks open a rock to show him; it briefly glows. He says "it's a long-forgotten element called aetherium. People no longer know how to mine aetherium." Sheeta pulls out her crystal, which is glowing. The old man says "that's a pure aetherium crystal!" Pom tells them such crystals haven't existed since his great-grandfather's time; according to legend, only the people of the floating city of Laputa knew how to make them. It's aetherium that makes Laputa float. After a few minutes Uncle Pom is overcome and asks Sheeta to put the crystal away—"it's speaking too loudly to me, too sadly." Uncle Pom's great-grandfather told him that the rocks become restless when Laputa appears over the mine. He tells Sheeta that the crystal's power comes from the earth, and to use it selfishly will bring great unhappiness. Outside, the military spy plane flies off and the disheveled pirates, who are peeking out of the mine, ask Dola if they can go back to the ship. She says it's too quiet; they decide to sit tight. The kids say goodbye to Uncle Pom at another entrance to the mine. Captured Once outdoors, Pazu and Sheeta climb a steep hill and stop to admire a huge cloud. Pazu is sure the cloud is hiding Laputa. Sheeta says she hasn't told him the traditional name her family gave her: Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa. While they're talking, a plane spots them and lands nearby; they're captured by army men in green uniforms and a man in a dark suit and dark glasses, who knocks Pazu out with the butt of his pistol. Muska disembarks from the plane and growls "and about time!" when told they've been captured. Pazu comes to in a bare cell in a coastal fortress. He hears soldiers drilling outside his arrow-slit window, but can't see them. In a room above, Muska tells a portly general (voice: Jim Cummings) that they'll get what they want, but it will take time. The general responds that they're wasting time; Muska should twist an arm or two and the girl will talk. Muska says military tactics risk wasting more time. The general says military tactics would have saved them from Dola's interference, but Muska replies, "it was a military transmission that the pirates decoded." He says the general's job is to mobilize the troops when the time comes. The general says he's in charge of finding Laputa; Muska counters that as the government's secret agent, he's in charge of the general. Sheeta huddles on a window seat in a sunny tower room. Muska walks in and picks up a dress, remarking that it's fit for a princess. Sheeta asks if Pazu's all right and asks to see him. "Your friend is being treated as if he were the guest of royalty," he says. He takes her down in an elevator to show her a battered, broken giant robot. "Laputa was just a legend until this dropped from the sky." Muska explains that his job is to figure out the robot's—Laputa's—secrets. He points out a small red shield on the robot's chest; it bears the same symbol as Sheeta's crystal. He needs her help to get the crystal to lead them to Laputa. Sheeta tells him to keep the crystal and take Laputa's treasures for himself. Muska, trying to convince her that it's not about the money, says Laputa used to dominate the world, and it's still dangerous. And the stone only works for her. Sheeta just wants to see Pazu. Muska says if she'll cooperate, she can help free Pazu. If she won't, he can't control what the military might do to him. Then Muska calls her by her real name, Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa. "Toel means ruler in Laputian; Ul means true. You are the legitimate heir to the throne of Laputa, Princess Lusheeta." Sheeta is stunned. A Broken Promise Pazu, meanwhile, is climbing the walls of his cell when a soldier comes to let him out to see Sheeta and Muska. Muska says there's been a misunderstanding; they had no idea how bravely he fought to defend Sheeta from the pirates. Pazu is confused, and still more confused when Sheeta tells him to forget about Laputa. Muska says Sheeta has agreed to help the army search (secretly) for Laputa, and Pazu really should forget about it. Pazu objects, but Sheeta leaves. Muska gives Pazu several gold coins "to show our appreciation of your efforts." Pazu walks out of the fortress. As Sheeta watches him go from her window, Muska fastens the crystal around her neck and tells her to remember the words that bring the crystal to life. "Keep your promise and you too will be free." In the mining village, it's evening. A small child with a broom chases a pig out of her house. She see Pazu walking slowly up the street and calls her mother, the boss's wife, who comes out to say they've all been worried, and where has he been and what happened to his friend? Pazu only says "it's over now," and runs off. He comes to his own front door and finds the pirates making themselves at home. They discover the gold in his pocket and accuse him of selling Sheeta out; he replies that he only left because Sheeta told him to. "So you believed her and you came back here?" sneers Dola. Dola suggests that the army forced Sheeta to make a deal to save Pazu's life, and they're not likely to keep Sheeta alive once they get what they want. A telegraph receiver on the table comes to life. Dola translates the Morse code: "They're calling for air destroyer Goliath. They're about to take off with Sheeta. We've got to hurry or it will be too late!" Pazu begs to come with them. Dola agrees, thinking he'll be useful in getting Sheeta to cooperate. He grabs his father's aviator headgear, complete with goggles, and opens the dovecote so his birds can get out and feed themselves while he's gone. The pirates take off in their flapters, Pazu riding with Dola. The huge airship Goliath arrives at the fortress as Muska and the general watch. The general asks if the girl has surrendered the information yet; Muska says it will take a little more time. The general says they'll have plenty of time aboard Goliath, and they'll depart at first light. The Rescue The pirates buzz through the night in their flapters. Dola urges them to hurry as they have to get there before sun-up. Pazu thinks of Sheeta. Sheeta's looking out at the night and remembering a time when her grandmother taught her a spell that would help her if she was ever in trouble. Sheeta learned the words in Laputian; in English, they mean "Save me and revive the eternal light." She recites the Laputian, and her crystal lights up and emits so much energy that she cries out in distress and tries to cover her eyes. Far below, the robot is activated and its broken parts move together. Muska comes into her room, saying "the sacred light! The ancient documents were true—it's not just a legend!" He reaches for the glowing crystal but it seems to hurt him. He pulls his hand back but demands that she tell him the spell. The soldiers guarding the robot think they hear something and open its door, which it blocks when they try to close it again. They get on the phone to say the robot is alive. It bursts out of its prison; at the same moment, the crystal goes dark. When Sheeta and Muska come out of her room, they see the robot climbing the stairs toward them. The soldiers shoot at it, doing no damage, then shut the fire door at the top of the stairs. The robot melts it. Muska is amazed at the robot's power. He realizes the crystal has brought it to life. The robot uses a laser to cut the wooden walkway where Muska, Sheeta, and others are standing; the pieces separate, leaving Sheeta alone on one side. The robot unfurls its wings, flies up the inside of the tower, and follows the terrified Sheeta up the stairs at the top. On the roof of the tower, her crystal flashes again and points through the clouds—at Laputa, she and Muska both believe, but we can't see it. The robot breaks through the roof of the tower as the soldiers bring their artillery to bear on it. The robot communes with the crystal for a moment before it's hit by a shell and falls. The soldiers try to revive Sheeta, who groans, and then the robot comes back to life. It picks her up and starts shooting with its laser eye. It does a lot of damage to the fortress, leaving much of it in flames, and starts setting fire to the surrounding countryside. From their flapters, the pirates see the fortress lit up in the distance. The sun is beginning to rise. When Sheeta comes to, she tells the robot to stop, climbing up to sit on its shoulder. But by then everything around them is burning. Pazu has spotted them, though, and directs Dola to the top of the tower. In trying to get close enough to grab her, they clip the tower; Dola is knocked out and the flapter plummets toward the water below until, at the last moment, Pazu gets to the controls and pulls out of the dive. Dola recovers and they make another attempt to get Sheeta. The robot, which seems to be in some kind of trouble itself—burning out from within—has put Sheeta on the battlements of the tower. Muska sees what they're up to just as Pazu, hanging upside-down from the flapter, grabs Sheeta. "It's not over," Muska promises himself as the pirates fly off. An Adventurous Trip As the general expresses his anger over the loss of Sheeta and the robot and orders a pursuit, one of Muska's men draws Muska away: "I think we may have found what you've been looking for." Muska finds Sheeta's crystal on the ground near the tower, still pointing to Laputa. He's able to pick it up. He sends a message to the general that they'll be departing on time. Sheeta cries on Pazu's shoulder as the pirates fly them toward Pazu's home. Dola is annoyed because Sheeta lost the crystal. Pazu asks if they can sail with the pirates. They say they'll work, and Sheeta says she needs to find out about Laputa for herself. They fly over Pazu's house but keep going and rejoin the pirates' airship, the Tiger Moth. One of Dolas sons takes Pazu to the engine room and introduces Pazu to his father, a short bald man with a huge mustache. He's the ship's engineer, and he needs an assistant. Pazu immediately shows his mechanical ability. After conferring with Sheeta about the location of Laputa, Dola announces that Goliath is heading for Laputa and they're going after her. The first to spot Laputa will get 10 gold coins. Dola takes Sheeta in hand, telling her she has to start talking like a pirate (Sheeta's "shiver me timbers" is not convincing) and dressing like a pirate (Dola gives her an enormous pair of pink pants). And Sheeta has to clean up the filthy galley (which is piled high with dirty dishes, pots, and pans) so she can start producing the five meals a day the hungry pirates require. Dola gives her an hour. When Dola opens the galley door, most of her sons fall into the room—they've been outside listening. Later, as Pazu hangs on the hull of the airship hammering at something, one of Dola's sons peers through the galley porthole at Sheeta, who's making soup. He goes in and offers to help. It turns out that several of his brothers are already there with the same idea. In the captain's quarters, Dola and her husband are playing chess. He remarks that its not usual for her to challenge a ship like Goliath. He says the kids are cute, and the little girl reminds him of Dola. Cut to the crew, eating hungrily and asking Sheeta for seconds. That night, one of the sons comes to wake Pazu, who's sleeping on the floor under some bunks; its Pazu's turn to stand watch. The pirate gives Pazu a brown poncho, remarking that it's cold, and sends him up the ladder on the outside of the ship to the crow's nest at the top of the hull. Sheeta, who's been sleeping on Dola's floor, gets up and follows him. She's almost blown away as she climbs into the crow's nest. They talk a bit and Pazu throws the poncho over her, so they're both in it at once. Dola is awake and can hear them through a speaking tube. Sheeta confesses that she's afraid of going to Laputa; she doesn't want anyone else to get hurt. She feels awful about the robot, which died to save her. As Dola listens, Sheeta talks about the spells her grandmother taught her—not just the one that revived the robot, but a spell to find things, a spell to cure sickness, and a spell of destruction, which her grandmother told her never to use. (To give power to good spells, she had to know evil ones too.) But she never knew the spells were connected to her necklace. She worries that Laputa has the same power as the necklace, and poses the same danger if the power is misused. Pazu argues that even if she'd thrown the crystal away and they'd never met, sooner or later someone would have managed to land on Laputa and claim it. They can't let it fall into the hands of people like Muska. If they run away, Muska will chase them forever. Sheeta feels bad that Pazu is becoming a pirate; he says he isn't going to become a pirate, and Dola will understand—"she's much nicer than she pretends to be." He promises that after they find Laputa, they'll go to Gondoa and see her old home. Then they spot Goliath, a shadow in the clouds beneath them, and raise the alarm. Something's Wrong Dola orders a change of course, but Goliath breaks through the clouds and starts shooting at them. Tiger Moth quickly descends into the cloud layer; they get away without much damage, and Goliath doesn't pursue. On Goliath's bridge, the general argues for chasing the Tiger Moth. Colonel Muska won't let him, saying it's a waste of energy. He has Sheeta's crystal on the compass, still directing him to Laputa. On Tiger Moth's bridge, Dola calls up to Pazu through the speaking tube. She says they can't lose Goliath, so Pazu must keep her in sight. To do that, he'll have to release the crow's nest from its moorings on the hull; it remains attached by a cable and flies like a kite. She explains how to release it and open the wings, then tells Sheeta to come down because flying the kite is man's work. Sheeta points out that Dola is female, and that she, Sheeta, grew up in the mountains, and she can handle this. Dola, laughing, gives in and says once they take off they'll need to use the phone to communicate. Dola's phone immediately rings; when she picks it up, Sheeta's voice says "you mean this phone?" Pazu releases the kite. The ride is peaceful except when the wind gusts. They can't see Goliath, but Pazu does see a storm coming. As a precaution against the storm, Pazu tells Sheeta to get rope out of his bag and tie them together. On the bridge, the pirates note that the mercury is dropping fast and it's an hour to sunrise. When the sun comes up, Pazu and Sheeta notice that it's in the wrong place—or more accurately, they're flying in the wrong direction: east, not north. The bridge reports that something is confusing the compass, which is pointing east. Sheeta sees the cloud that covers Laputa, heading right for them. Dola, realizing it's also a hurricane, orders the engines to reverse, but the Tiger Moth is already caught in the winds. When Goliath appears above them, they're sitting ducks. Pazu and Sheeta in the kite and Muska aboard Goliath are determined to get through the storm to Laputa. The kite passes through an electrical field into a weird zone where for a moment Pazu catches site of a familiar ghostly airship, and recognizes the pilot—his father. Then they break into relatively clear air over Laputa. They're still trailing their cable, but its not attached to the Tiger Moth any more. It drags among the vegetation on Laputa, slowing them down so they come to a softer landing than they might otherwise have done, but it's not gentle. Pazu and Sheeta are knocked out when they land and fall out of the kite. The Wonder of a New Place As they lie there, the fog and clouds disperse. They come to on a sunny, flowery lawn at the top of a tower, still tied together. Thrilled at finally being on Laputa, they laugh and hug each other and twirl exuberantly. They can see old stone structures that look a little the worse for wear, and a huge tree that seems to be the center of the island. A giant robot shows up and picks up their kite. Sheeta thinks it can't know who she is as she doesn't have the aetherium crystal, but she asks it not to take the kite as they need it to get home. The robot pauses and seems to register her remarks, but moves the kite anyway. There's a bird's nest underneath it, holding three eggs. The robot puts the kite down nearby and flashes and burbles at them, which Sheeta understands to mean they should follow. The robot leads them across a bridge, where they see some small animals dive into an ornamental pool. But when they peer into the water, they can see a city down there. The robot is still walking. They run to catch up; it leads them to an enormous garden. The garden is enclosed in nearly invisible walls; at the center is a giant tree that Pazu guesses is a thousand years old. There's some stonework scattered around, and some inside the tree. They see another robot and realize it's not the one they followed; this one is dead and seems to have been frozen in place for a very long time. Looking more closely at the roots of the tree, then can see that they're littered with dead, moss-covered robots. On a flat stone that looks like a grave marker, someone has laid a row of pink flowers. Their robot comes back holding another pink flower, which Sheeta takes with thanks. Some striped animals that look like a cross between cats and squirrels appear on the robot's shoulders and chase each other around its neck. The robot looks at them and goes about its business. The kids think it's probably the only working robot left. In the underground part of the city, a detonator triggers an explosion. It disturbs birds and is followed by several smaller explosions—or aftershocks. Pazu and Sheeta run off to find the source of the disturbance. They find a section of the city that's been destroyed—Pazu attributes that to the army. The Invasion Sheeta and Pazu spot Goliath, moored at the edge of a large plaza and disgorging crowds of soldiers from two gangplanks. Beside it are the ruins of the Tiger Moth. Sheeta worries about Dola and the boys; Pazu sees that they've been captured. They know the pirates will be hanged if they can't help them escape. A soldier brings the general a heavy, jeweled necklace; he reports they've broken through the wall and the city is full of treasure. The general taunts the pirates with the necklace and tells Muska to send a radio message about their discovery of the city, adding snidely, "see if you can make it difficult to decode." He runs off to keep his underlings from pocketing any jewels, and Muska smugly observes that the jewels have thrown "those fools off the scent." Pazu has a plan. He and Sheeta climb down the roots of the giant tree toward Goliath. They peer through a high window into a huge chamber where soldiers are rushing to and fro, grabbing treasure and taking it outside. But there's shooting going on as the looters work. Some other soldiers break through a door, enter the chamber, and fight with the looters. Sheeta says they can't let the soldiers ruin the garden too. Pazu says they have to find the aetherium crystal to protect the garden, then notes that all the storm clouds around Laputa have disappeared. If that hadn't happened, the army wouldn't have been able to land. Pazu thinks they used Sheeta's crystal to dispel the storm, and resolves to prevent Muska from learning to use the crystal. Sheeta realizes that the spell of destruction might be the only way to do that. Just then they hear soldiers nearby, looking for them. They sneak off among the tree-roots. The kids climb down near the Tiger Moth, staying out of sight as much as they can. At the broken foot of an arcade below the plaza where the ruined Tiger Moth and her crew are being held, Pazu has to jump from one pier to the next. But the pier he jumps to crumbles as he climbs. While he struggles to hang on, Muska and two of his men emerge on the walkway Sheeta and Pazu were on a minute before; they're looking for a door. Sheeta is just a few yards away hiding in a niche, and Pazu is in full view behind the men, trying to reach a window. Muska, consulting a little blue book, finds the hidden door and uses Sheeta's crystal to open it. They turn around when they hear Pazu knocking loose another chunk of masonry and one of Muska's henchmen takes a shot at him as he reaches the window. Sheeta rushes them, knocks one over, and tries to run, but Muska catches her by a pigtail. Pazu, too far away to h