Movies like Castle in the Sky

If you like "Castle in the Sky" you are looking for anime, fairy tale and visually appealing movies about / with friendship, lost civilization, steampunk, pirate, imaginary kingdom, magic and young heroes themes of Animation, Adventure and Family genre shot in Japan.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
Castle in the Sky (1986)
 8.0
 170K
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Original name: 天空の城ラピュタ
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 125 min.
Story: A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Style: anime, fairy tale, visually appealing, atmospheric, stylized, epic, light, inspirational, mind bending, clever ...
Audience: kids, family outing, pre-teens
Plot: friendship, lost civilization, steampunk, pirate, imaginary kingdom, magic, young heroes, orphan, castle, robot, artifact, fantasy world, runaway, brutality, greed, love story, escape, villain, military, kidnapping, legend, jewel theft, army, escapades, good versus evil ...
Place: japan, tokyo, wales

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to Castle in the Sky

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out anime, visually appealing, stylized and melancholic films with plots about friendship, storytelling, fantasy world, childhood, mentor, transformation and runaway mostly in Animation, Fantasy and Adventure genres. Some movies like Castle in the Sky: Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Spirited Away (2001), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min.
Story: When Sophie, a shy young woman, is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking home.
Style: anime, fairy tale, atmospheric, touching, captivating ...
Audience: family outing, kids, date night, pre-teens
Plot: witch, magic, steampunk, supernatural ability, fantasy world, self discovery, demon, wizards, curses spells and rituals, wizards and magicians, magical, young woman ...
Time: 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
96%
 8.6
 777K
Spirited Away (2001)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 125 min.
Story: A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Style: anime, surreal, atmospheric, stylized, colourful ...
Audience: family outing, kids, teens, pre-teens
Plot: friendship, magic, surrealism, supernatural, dragon, witch, parallel world, ghost, human becoming an animal, fantasy world, rescue, bathhouse ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min.
Story: After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley Of The Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the ...
Style: anime, exciting, captivating, serious, cerebral ...
Audience: kids, family outing
Plot: post apocalypse, ecology, environmental, nature, apocalypse, female protagonist, giant insect, steampunk, teenage girl, insect, distopia, death of father ...
Time: future, year 1984, middle ages
Place: tokyo, japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 86 min.
Story: Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister ...
Style: anime, atmospheric, feel good, sweet, touching ...
Audience: kids, family outing, preschoolers
Plot: children, countryside, friendship, magical, childhood, parents and children, teaching the ways of the world, sick mother, sister sister relationship, father daughter relationship, little girl, young heroes ...
Time: 50s, 20th century
Place: japan, asia, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
86%
Movie in collections
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Genre: Animation, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min.
Story: A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Style: anime, touching, feel good, colourful, fairy tale ...
Audience: family outing, kids, preschoolers, pre-teens, teens
Plot: witch, self discovery, magic, friendship, coming of age, supernatural ability, cat, young heroes, wizards and magicians, friends, female protagonist, child ...
Place: japan, tokyo, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
89%
 7.7
 93K
Porco Rosso (1992)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min.
Story: Porco Rosso, known in Japan as Crimson Pig (Kurenai no Buta) is the sixth animated film by Hayao Miyazaki and released in 1992. You're introduced to an Italian World War I fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air ...
Style: anime, humorous, talky, stylized, melancholic ...
Audience: kids, family outing, teens, pre-teens
Plot: cartoon pig, aviation, fascism, airplane, heroes, escapades, haunted by the past, heroic mission, daring rescue, save the day, good versus evil, melancholy ...
Time: 1920s, 20th century, 1930s
Place: italy, japan, tokyo, europe, croatia ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 7.6
 148K
Ponyo (2008)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 101 min.
Story: The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary ...
Style: touching, sweet, anime, scenic, semi serious ...
Audience: kids, family outing, preschoolers, pre-teens
Plot: obsessive quest, magic, mermaid, magical, fish, love, friendship, magic realism, unlikely friendships, princess, sea, children ...
Time: 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
89%
The Cat Returns (2002)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 75 min.
Story: Haru, a schoolgirl bored by her ordinary routine, saves the life of an unusual cat and suddenly her world is transformed beyond anything she ever imagined. The Cat King rewards her good deed with a flurry of presents, including a very shocking ...
Style: anime, sweet, humorous, feel good, fairy tale ...
Audience: kids, family outing, pre-teens
Plot: imaginary kingdom, cat, rescue, friendship, talking cat, human animal relationship, prince, disorder, family relations, mischievous children, magic, coming of age ...
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
castle movies
1222
robot movies
1385
artifact movies
311
 6.8
 18K
Steamboy (2004)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 126 min.
Story: After receiving a package from his Grandfather, Rei, a young inventor living in England during the mid-19th century, has his life thrown into disarray. The package contains a "Steam Ball", a device of incredible power, and a letter asking ...
Style: anime, stylized, exciting, serious, atmospheric ...
Audience: family outing, teens
Plot: steampunk, betrayal, technology gone awry, heroic mission, inventions and discoveries, rivalry, master villain, mad scientist, weapons, father son relationship, chase, inventor ...
Time: 1860s, future, 19th century
Place: england, japan, london, tokyo, manchester ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Patema Inverted (2013)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 98 min.
Story: In an underground world where tunnels extend everywhere, even though they live in dark and confined spaces, people wear protective clothes and lead quiet and enjoyable lives. Patema, a princess in her underground village, loves to explore the ...
Style: anime, captivating, colourful, semi serious, melancholic ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: friendship, fighting the system, self discovery, beautiful scenery, love and romance, steampunk, future dystopia, culture clash, conspiracy, escapades, investigation, good versus evil ...
Time: future
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: The world's most highly qualified crew of archaeologists and explorers is led by historian Milo Thatch as they board the incredible 1,000-foot submarine Ulysses and head deep into the mysteries of the sea.
Style: fairy tale, atmospheric, exciting, stylized, anime ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: disney, steampunk, princess, treasure hunt, expedition, adventurer, atlantis, ancient civilization, fantasy world, ancient mystery, monster, museum ...
Time: 1910s, 20th century, year 1914
Place: atlantic ocean, washington d.c., iceland
⇓ similarity ⇓
85%
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min.
Story: The story is set in 1963 in Yokohama. Kokuriko Manor sits on a hill overlooking the harbour. A 16 year-old girl, Umi, lives in that house. Every morning she raises a signal flag facing the sea. The flag means “I pray for safe voyages”. A 17 ...
Style: anime, sentimental, touching, atmospheric, romantic ...
Audience: teens, family outing, kids
Plot: high school, friendship, destiny, twists and turns, teenage life, fighting the system, teenager, love and romance, self discovery, teenage love, longing, high school life ...
Time: 60s, 20th century, year 1963
Place: japan, tokyo, asia, england
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 134 min.
Story: Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Ainu tribe, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to ...
Style: anime, captivating, stylized, atmospheric, exciting ...
Audience: kids, family outing, teens
Plot: wolf, forest, mythology, human animal relationship, demon, nature, human spirit, talking animals, friendship, good versus evil, hopes, strong female character ...
Time: 15th century, 16th century, middle ages
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
75%
 7.2
 123K
Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms. But, soon, Jim realizes Silver is a pirate intent ...
Style: fairy tale, exciting, entertaining, futuristic, stylized ...
Audience: family outing, kids, preschoolers, teens, pre-teens
Plot: pirate, steampunk, treasure hunt, alien, treasure, disney, space, space travel, fictional planet, androids and robots, adventurer, betrayal ...
Time: future, distant future, 18th century
⇓ similarity ⇓
83%
The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min.
Story: 14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers ...
Style: anime, fairy tale, touching, colourful, emotional ...
Audience: family outing, kids, preschoolers
Plot: friendship, mysterious character, midget, childhood, beautiful scenery, secrets, daring rescue, friends, little people, runaway, self discovery, disney ...
Time: 21st century
Place: japan, asia, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
71%
The Last Unicorn (1982)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA, Japan
Duration: 92 min.
Story: From a riddle-speaking butterfly, a unicorn learns that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is eventually ...
Style: touching, anime, exciting, feel good, fairy tale ...
Audience: kids, family outing, pre-teens
Plot: unicorn, good versus evil, horse, magic, friendship, rescue, heroic mission, mythology, dragon, bird attack, magician, female protagonist ...
Time: year 1982, 80s
Place: ireland
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
The Secret of Kells (2009)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Ireland, Belgium, France
Duration: 75 min.
Story: Adventure awaits 12 year old Brendan who must fight Vikings and a serpent god to find a crystal and complete the legendary Book of Kells. In order to finish Brother Aiden's book, Brendan must overcome his deepest fears on a secret quest that ...
Style: stylized, fairy tale, anime, light, surreal ...
Audience: kids, family outing, date night, pre-teens
Plot: good versus evil, magic, legends and myths, childhood, forest, monastery, celtic, heroic mission, self discovery, medieval, fairy, children ...
Time: middle ages, 9th century
Place: ireland, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Kubo mesmerizes the people in his village with his magical gift for spinning wild tales with origami. When he accidentally summons an evil spirit seeking vengeance, Kubo is forced to go on a quest to solve the mystery of his fallen samurai father ...
Style: stylized, fairy tale, atmospheric, breathtaking, touching ...
Audience: kids, family outing
Plot: magic, samurai, creativity, imagination, stop motion, childhood, talking animals, friendship, monkey, plot twist, destiny, mentor ...
Time: 2010s
Place: japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
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9365
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10417
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5606
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4766
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 137 min.
Story: Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her - but ultimately she must confront her fate, the ...
Style: anime, touching, atmospheric, stylized, melancholic ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: coming of age, friendship, children, princess, parents and children, dream, adolescence, self discovery, female protagonist, japanese woman, family relations, artist ...
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
67%
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'. Curious as to who he is, Shizuku meets ...
Style: anime, feel good, touching, uplifting, emotional ...
Audience: teens, family outing, kids, pre-teens
Plot: imagination, self discovery, love, school, fall in love, teenage life, follow your dream, high school life, youth, cat, love and romance, teenage love ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: japan, europe, tokyo, asia, italy
⇓ similarity ⇓
50%
Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: France, Belgium, Luxembourg
Duration: 71 min.
Story: Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.
Style: anime, fairy tale, sexy, dark fantasy, experimental ...
Audience: kids, preschoolers, family outing
Plot: good versus evil, magic, witch, idealism, courage, gangsters, mentor, culture clash, prejudice, redemption, runaway, imagination ...
Place: africa, tokyo, england, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
April and the Extraordinary World (2015)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: France, Canada, Belgium
Duration: 105 min.
Story: France asleep in the nineteenth century, governed by steam and Napoleon VI, where scientists vanish mysteriously, a girl, Avril, goes in search of her missing scientist parents.
Style: anime, intellectual, exciting, stylized, enigmatic ...
Audience: kids
Plot: steampunk, scientist, electricity, alternate reality, lizard, cat, serum, female protagonist, chase, inventions and discoveries, love, friendship ...
Time: year 1941, 1930s, 19th century, 2000s, year 2001 ...
Place: paris france, france
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 8.1
 46K
Wolf Children (2012)
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min.
Story: After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.
Style: anime, heartbreaking, sweet, atmospheric, sentimental ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: werewolf, childhood, parents and children, single mother, children, social relations, wolf, mother daughter relationship, school, female werewolf, breast feeding, death of father ...
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
17%
Movie in collections
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4846
villain movies
2960
military movies
3369
kidnapping movies
5987
Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: France, Belgium, Spain, Italy
Duration: 99 min.
Story: Once upon a time there were two children nursed by same woman. Azur, a blonde, blue-eyed son of a noblewoman and Asmar, the dark skinned and dark-eyed child of the nurse. As kids, they fought and loved each other as brothers do. As grown ups, they ...
Style: stylized, feel good, semi serious, humorous, anime ...
Audience: kids, family outing, preschoolers, pre-teens
Plot: genie, imaginary kingdom, wish come true, curses spells and rituals, obsessive quest, fairy, legends and myths, siblings relations, friends, orphan, heroes, father son relationship ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Song of the Sea (2014)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, France
Duration: 93 min.
Story: The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the sea, their journey becomes a race against time as ...
Style: touching, emotional, colourful, fairy tale, stylized ...
Audience: family outing, kids, date night, preschoolers, pre-teens
Plot: folklore, young heroes, supernatural, children, supernatural ability, curses spells and rituals, ocean, getting home, lighthouse, celtic, magic, legends and myths ...
Time: 80s, 20th century
Place: japan, europe, ireland, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
 7.5
 14K
Tekkonkinkreet (2006)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min.
Story: When mysterious foreign entrepreneurs appear with the intention of tearing down Treasure Town and replacing it with an amusement park, Black and White face their greatest adversaries yet. It is up to the destructive Black to save the fate of the ...
Style: anime, psychedelic, stylized, exciting, enigmatic ...
Audience: kids, boys' night
Plot: good versus evil, orphan, friends, fantasy world, flying, heroic mission, save the day, mischievous children, heroes, escapades, rivalry, gangsters ...
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story: The luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain is a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side, and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one ...
Style: colourful, humorous, funny, entertaining, witty ...
Audience: kids
Plot: pirate, stop motion, mentor, children, rivalry, greed, twists and turns, treasure hunt, friendship, creativity, rescue, pirate ship ...
Time: 19th century, edwardian era, 1830s
Place: london, england, caribbean, madagascar, fictional island
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
 6.5
 158K
Antz (1998)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min.
Story: In this animated hit, a neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a parade, he ends up under the command of a bloodthirsty general. But he's ...
Style: feel good, humorous, light, exciting, anime ...
Audience: kids, family outing, pre-teens
Plot: fighting the system, ant, worker, culture clash, stereotypes, soldier, misfit, rebellion, childhood, heroism, heroes, friendship ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: new york, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
The Boy and the Beast (2015)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min.
Story: Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That ...
Style: anime, breathtaking, touching, intense, feel good ...
Plot: training, mentor, beast, childhood, martial arts, friendship, father son relationship, destiny, loneliness, orphan, good versus evil, fantasy world ...
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
67%
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story: Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen ...
Style: fairy tale, stylized, humorous, anime, tense ...
Audience: kids, family outing, horror for children
Plot: magic, good versus evil, pig, sword and sorcery, sword, fantasy world, princess, beast, witch, wizards, mythology, supernatural ...
Time: middle ages, 80s
Place: britain, england
⇓ similarity ⇓
30%