From Amazon.com
Like a dream,
Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million,
Howl passed Miyazaki's
Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his
Spirited Away and James Cameron's
Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones,
Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of
Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as
Howl's Moving Castle.
--Charles Solomon
Review
Hayao Miyazaki's reputation as the creator of the most enchanting and inspiring animated films of the past 20 years is only strengthened with the fresh and complex fairy tale Howl's Moving Castle. Those looking for the beauty and magic of a Disney yarn but thirsting for more underlying meaning could convert based on this movie alone, while hardcore Miyazaki fans should find that this installment falls perfectly in line with the filmmaker's prolific and much-loved filmography. While the narrative is charming and accessible, much like Kiki's Delivery Service, it also remains true to an epic and purposeful subtext in a style that calls to mind Princess Mononoke. Both a coming-of-age tale and an essay on the human price of war, each character in Howl's Moving Castle -- especially Sofi, Miyazaki's trademark strong female protagonist -- is confronted with questions about self-image. Like many of us, Sofi struggles to discern whether her true self is defined through her own actions or through her relationships with others. The way Miyazaki employs this theme is particularly clever in that, rather than seeking to answer the question, he focuses his energy on illustrating how universal the issue is, as nearly every peripheral character in the story also wrestles with the same impasse in a different way. For instance, title character Howl, who is a charming and aloof conjurer, grapples with a curse that changes his physical form, warping his perception of what he is in the most literal terms. Even the villainess in this fairy tale eventually proves that the most wicked of deeds seldom reflect the actual wickedness of people. By the end of Howl's Moving Castle, Miyazaki has spun a delightful fable into an expressive examination of identity, and what it means for all of us as the struggle to grow up continues through old age. It's a theme that speaks to young and old alike, proving once again that there is still room for meaning in the world of charming, animated fantasy. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
DVD ~ Hayao Miyazaki
DVD ~ Hayao Miyazaki
DVD ~ Hayao Miyazaki
DVD ~ Hayao Miyazaki
