Notes: Doobity-doo, here's a review! Comments and advice are greatly appreciated, as always.
This review contains spoilers, and thus is more aerodynamic and will handle better at high speeds.
Hot on the trail of success left in Spirited Away's wake, Howl's Moving Castle is Studio Ghibli's 2004 feature film, directed and written by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. The film is on the whole very good thanks to excellent quality animation and detailed (but not exactly watertight) storyline and dialogue, but comes out a little flat when held against other titles that Miyazaki has worked on.
Howl's Moving Castle is set in a fictional Edwardian era kingdom, though there are some elements of fantasy thrown in, most notably magic and a good dose of steampunk. The main character, Sophie, works as a milliner and doesn?t regard herself as particularly beautiful, but when walking to see a friend one day after work, is quite literally swept off her feet by the mysterious sorcerer Howl who rescues her from a couple of shifty characters. However, Howl's action draws the attention of the jealous Witch of the Waste and is turned into a 90-year-old woman.
Meanwhile, the kingdom has gone to war with a non-specific enemy over the disappearance of a Prince, and all of the witches and wizards are being called up for military service. Sophie sets out into the wastes (a misleading name, as it's not entirely "wasteland-ish") in hopes of breaking the curse, and in the process is drawn in with Howl's "family" and the conflict surrounding the kingdom.
For most of the duration, the story is very nicely put together enjoyable to be a part of even if it did move at a fairly leisurely pace, but I do think it began to fall apart near the end. A brand new character is introduced without any explanation of how he got there and brings the movie to a convenient and slightly anticlimactic close. This may be a good thing depending on how you look at it, as the film was beginning to split at the cracks and grind to a halt before this point, and in this sort of situation it is better to stop when the tyre goes flat than keep going and drive off a cliff, but in either case a more tightly woven ending would have been appreciated.
Lettie, could you come out front before gravity acts on the crate above my head?
Howl's Moving Castle also gave me a rather preachy vibe. Inner beauty, the responsibility of government, learning to love yourself and questioning authority all get on their respective soapboxes a few times through the film, but the condemnation of war takes precedent over all of these, making it's presence known to all around. I'll accept that it's a Miyazaki film and there's bound to be a symbolism, but sometimes the metaphor becomes much too obvious, essentially spoon-feeding you the emotion you're intended to feel. An example of this would be the banter between Sophie and Howl when they see a battleship float over outstretched field of flowers, the entire scene dripping in melodrama:
Sophie: A Battleship?
Howl: -grizzled- Still looking for more cities to burn.
Sophie: Is it the enemy's or one of ours?
Howl: What difference does it make? -another battleship flies overhead- Those stupid murderers. -scowl-
Thankfully, every other aspect of the film is top notch. Studio Ghibli continues their tradition of spectacular animation, putting incredible detail is put into all of the film's environments, as well as imaginative and creative technologies. Gigantic flying battleships and ironclad warships to much smaller buggies and cars and of course Howl's Moving Castle itself (essentially a quadrupedal scrap-heap) adorn the movie, as do the lovable characters like the Madame Suliman's wheezy old dog, and Turnip-Head, an ever quizzical and resourceful scarecrow.
There's a beautiful orchestral soundtrack over the film that aids in conveying emotion which is never too invasive or needlessly overpowering, which made the film all that much better. Sound effects are all very nicely done, and the English voice track is solid, featuring the vocal talents of people like Christian Bale and Emily Mortimer. Special credit should be given to Billy Crystal, for some absolutely hilarious lines as the Fire Demon Calcifer.
Also available for those on tight budgets: Howl's Moving Platform.
Howl's Moving Castle is a bit raw compared to some of Miyazaki's other works, but is still a really good film. It's a really enjoyable story if you can bear some slight plot holes at the end, and if you were looking to get into anime films then Howl's Moving Castle would be a safe bet. Sadly, the die-hard Miyazaki fan will certainly feel it to be one of his weaker films, for much the same reasons. Rent it.
This review contains spoilers, and thus is more aerodynamic and will handle better at high speeds.
Hot on the trail of success left in Spirited Away's wake, Howl's Moving Castle is Studio Ghibli's 2004 feature film, directed and written by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. The film is on the whole very good thanks to excellent quality animation and detailed (but not exactly watertight) storyline and dialogue, but comes out a little flat when held against other titles that Miyazaki has worked on.
Howl's Moving Castle is set in a fictional Edwardian era kingdom, though there are some elements of fantasy thrown in, most notably magic and a good dose of steampunk. The main character, Sophie, works as a milliner and doesn?t regard herself as particularly beautiful, but when walking to see a friend one day after work, is quite literally swept off her feet by the mysterious sorcerer Howl who rescues her from a couple of shifty characters. However, Howl's action draws the attention of the jealous Witch of the Waste and is turned into a 90-year-old woman.
Meanwhile, the kingdom has gone to war with a non-specific enemy over the disappearance of a Prince, and all of the witches and wizards are being called up for military service. Sophie sets out into the wastes (a misleading name, as it's not entirely "wasteland-ish") in hopes of breaking the curse, and in the process is drawn in with Howl's "family" and the conflict surrounding the kingdom.
For most of the duration, the story is very nicely put together enjoyable to be a part of even if it did move at a fairly leisurely pace, but I do think it began to fall apart near the end. A brand new character is introduced without any explanation of how he got there and brings the movie to a convenient and slightly anticlimactic close. This may be a good thing depending on how you look at it, as the film was beginning to split at the cracks and grind to a halt before this point, and in this sort of situation it is better to stop when the tyre goes flat than keep going and drive off a cliff, but in either case a more tightly woven ending would have been appreciated.
Lettie, could you come out front before gravity acts on the crate above my head?
Howl's Moving Castle also gave me a rather preachy vibe. Inner beauty, the responsibility of government, learning to love yourself and questioning authority all get on their respective soapboxes a few times through the film, but the condemnation of war takes precedent over all of these, making it's presence known to all around. I'll accept that it's a Miyazaki film and there's bound to be a symbolism, but sometimes the metaphor becomes much too obvious, essentially spoon-feeding you the emotion you're intended to feel. An example of this would be the banter between Sophie and Howl when they see a battleship float over outstretched field of flowers, the entire scene dripping in melodrama:
Sophie: A Battleship?
Howl: -grizzled- Still looking for more cities to burn.
Sophie: Is it the enemy's or one of ours?
Howl: What difference does it make? -another battleship flies overhead- Those stupid murderers. -scowl-
Thankfully, every other aspect of the film is top notch. Studio Ghibli continues their tradition of spectacular animation, putting incredible detail is put into all of the film's environments, as well as imaginative and creative technologies. Gigantic flying battleships and ironclad warships to much smaller buggies and cars and of course Howl's Moving Castle itself (essentially a quadrupedal scrap-heap) adorn the movie, as do the lovable characters like the Madame Suliman's wheezy old dog, and Turnip-Head, an ever quizzical and resourceful scarecrow.
There's a beautiful orchestral soundtrack over the film that aids in conveying emotion which is never too invasive or needlessly overpowering, which made the film all that much better. Sound effects are all very nicely done, and the English voice track is solid, featuring the vocal talents of people like Christian Bale and Emily Mortimer. Special credit should be given to Billy Crystal, for some absolutely hilarious lines as the Fire Demon Calcifer.
Also available for those on tight budgets: Howl's Moving Platform.
Howl's Moving Castle is a bit raw compared to some of Miyazaki's other works, but is still a really good film. It's a really enjoyable story if you can bear some slight plot holes at the end, and if you were looking to get into anime films then Howl's Moving Castle would be a safe bet. Sadly, the die-hard Miyazaki fan will certainly feel it to be one of his weaker films, for much the same reasons. Rent it.
