Maps of Movies
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Where Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Almost every place in this film is fake: the whole world was drawn around actors on a blue screen in one English studio
View on the map
Scenes and places
The airship docks atop the Empire State Building (1939)
A zeppelin ties up at the top of the Empire State Building in a 1939 New York. A scientist hands over a package of two vials, and then he is gone. It is the first of the disappearances Polly will chase.
Set in Empire State Building — The zeppelin Hindenburg III moors at the tower's mast; a scientist leaves a package of two vials and then vanishes. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Manhattan skyscraper that served as an airship mooring mast in the film's retro-future city.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Shot on a blue screen at Elstree; the setting was added digitally, so nothing here exists on location. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Polly and her editor at The Chronicle (1939)
Polly, a reporter, is investigating the vanishing scientists. Her editor warns her off the story, but a cryptic message has already pointed her toward Radio City Music Hall.
Set in The Chronicle newspaper office (fictional) — Polly Perkins reports for The Chronicle and talks to her editor, Mr. Paley, about the missing scientists.
A fictional newspaper office. Per the film's production notes, this is the one scene built as a physical set.
Dr. Jennings at Radio City Music Hall (1939)
Polly slips into a screening of The Wizard of Oz and meets Dr. Jennings. He warns her that a Dr. Totenkopf is coming for him next. Then giant robots start to attack the city.
Set in Radio City Music Hall — Polly meets Dr. Jennings during a showing of The Wizard of Oz. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Rockefeller Center theatre in Midtown, here part of the digital 1939 city.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Shot on a blue screen at Elstree; the setting was added digitally, so nothing here exists on location. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Flying Legion air base (1939)
Joe, the city's hero, has brought a disabled robot back to his base. Polly follows him there and talks him into letting her join the investigation. Soon the base itself comes under attack.
Set in Flying Legion air base (fictional) — The mercenary air force's base, where the technology expert Dex examines a disabled robot.
An invented base for the Flying Legion, built entirely in the computer.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — The base is a digital set; the actors were filmed on a blue screen at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Flight to Nepal (1939)
Dex's map points east, so Joe and Polly take off. They are heading for the Himalayas and a clue to where the missing scientists are.
Set in Nepal — Joe and Polly find Dex's map and fly to Nepal. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Himalayan country, used here as a stop on the route; coordinates mark the country's centre, not a specific site.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — No filming took place in Nepal; the stretch is a digital backdrop shot at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Meeting Kaji in Tibet (1939)
Joe and Polly land in Tibet to find Joe's old friend Kaji. He helps them track down an abandoned mining outpost in the mountains.
Set in Tibet — Joe's old friend Kaji helps them locate an abandoned mining outpost in the Himalayas. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The high plateau region of Asia; coordinates point to Lhasa, used for the region as a whole.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Tibet is a digital backdrop; the actors stood on a blue screen at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The abandoned mine outpost (1939)
Two guides turn out to work for Totenkopf. They take the vials from Polly and lock her and Joe in a room full of dynamite. The two escape just before it explodes.
Set in Abandoned mining outpost, Himalayas (fictional) — Two guides working for Totenkopf make Polly hand over the vials and lock the pair in a room full of dynamite.
An invented outpost somewhere in the Himalayas; no real location is given.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Digital set; filmed on a blue screen at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Waking in Shangri-La (1939)
Joe and Polly wake up together in the mythical Shangri-La. Tibetan-speaking monks tell them how Totenkopf forced their people to work in the uranium mines. The last survivor leaves a clue to where Totenkopf hides.
Set in Shangri-La (mythical) — The monks tell Joe and Polly how Totenkopf enslaved their people to work in the uranium mines.
The legendary hidden valley of fiction; there is no real place to point to.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Digital set; filmed on a blue screen at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Franky's flying aircraft carrier (1939)
Joe and Polly are running low on fuel when they meet a Royal Navy flying aircraft carrier. It is commanded by Franky Cook, another of Joe's former flames, who will lead the strike on Totenkopf's island.
Set in Royal Navy flying aircraft carrier (fictional) — Short on fuel, Joe and Polly meet Commander Franky Cook, who leads the attack on Totenkopf's island lair.
A fictional airborne carrier of the Royal Navy, drawn digitally.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Digital set; filmed on a blue screen at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Totenkopf's island lair (1939)
Joe and Polly reach an island with dinosaur-like creatures, and Polly has only two shots left on her film. Inside a mountain they find robots loading animals and the vials onto a giant rocket.
Set in Totenkopf's island (fictional) — Joe and Polly land on an island with dinosaur-like creatures and find a secret facility in a mountain.
An invented island; none of it exists outside the computer.
Filmed at Elstree Studios, Stage 2 (George Lucas Stage), Hertfordshire, England — Digital set; filmed on a blue screen at Elstree. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Joe Sullivan — "Sky Captain", the city's hero and commander of the mercenary Flying Legion.
- Polly Perkins — A Chronicle reporter chasing the disappearances of renowned scientists.
- Franky Cook — Commander of a Royal Navy flying aircraft carrier and one of Joe's former flames.