Castle in the Sky:

The treatment of the Japanese mother-son bond is hilarious in this film. The pirates unwavering loyalty to Dola is a reference to the mother-son bond, which is considered the most important relationship in Japanese culture and agruably as equally revered in the US. The pirates conform to her every whim suggesting a veiled critique of the conformity in Japanese society. He is not suggesting that conformity is purely negative, but reiterates the importance of conforming for the right reasons. The pirates align themselves with Sheeta and Pazu once it is beneficial for them, and everyone reaps those benefits as a result. Throughout the film, he heavily emphasizes the theme of balance: technology vs. nature. Laputa exemplifies the harmony possible when balance is achieved, but also portrays the irrational behavior humans will display in order to acquire a natural resource with the potential for power and prosperity. Only the children can value Laputa for its beauty and mystism, where as the adults view it as a haven of potentially profitable finite resources.