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June 18, 2005
Howl's Moving Castle (Review)
A good review from EW-CNN
Disney's Website for Howl's Moving Castle
On Friday June 17th, I ended up seeing the newest film by Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Laputa, Kiki's Delivery Service), Howl's Moving Castle. I almost never miss a Miyazaki film. For those who don't know, he's been referred to as the "Walt Disney" of Japan, but most of the time I think Miyazaki's films are more clever and vibrant... for one, many of Disney's stories are based off known fairy tales, which Miyazaki's films are often straight from his imagination. In this case though, the story was from a kids' book which I haven't read. The irony of the comparison to Disney is that Disney has been the one bringing Miyazaki films to the U.S. The version in theaters was dubbed, which I usually abhor for anime, but most of the films brought by Disney have had very well done dubs.
The story is fairly simple. We open with a young girl named Sophie, in a town which is involved in a war. At this point, I should note that the "world" is sort of an alternative reality, based somewhere around the Industrial Revolution, where flying machines exist, although in a different form than that we are used to (this is not uncommon for Miyazaki films). Also in this world, wizards and witches exist as a normal part of life. It sounds strange as I tell it, but trust me, you get used to it quickly. Sophie works in a hat shop, and seems to live a fairly normal life. Stories are told in the town of a reclusive wizard named Howl, who traverses the countryside in a walking (yes, I kid you not, walking) castle. Well, as you may guess from the title, a chance encounter with Howl in the town results in a witch casting a curse upon Sophie, turning her into an old woman. One thing leads to another, and soon Sophie is aboard the strange castle to discover the secrets of Howl's home.
It was an interesting story that was developed fairly well. The characters of Turnip-Head and Calcifer (voiced by a surprisingly unannoying Billy Crystal) are very amusing, and most of the characters provide a lot for the story. The lone exception was the Prince of this country... I haven't read the original book, but he seemed rather... unnecessary. I'm also left with the question of who started the war that takes place and how it REALLY got started. The ending of the movie seems rather rushed and very conflicted... in the car on the way home, my friends and I talked about how it seemed like the writers thought "Well, we have to wrap this up in 15 min to be under 2 hours.... we better get down to it!" The story seemed a little forced at times as well... I really can't explain too much without giving away plot, but interactions between Howl and Sophie (the young version) seemed a bit... off. None of these problems really spoiled the movie though
Overall, the movie wasn't quite as good as Spirited Away. It's difficult to compare the two because they had such different "worlds" in them. I'm sure people will gloss over this movie. Especially people in Orlando, where the Sentinel, as usual, gave a movie I liked a subpar review.... what a shock. It's no surprise that everyone I know of considers any movie the Sentinel reviewers rate badly as a "must-see." Roger Moore's review seemed more a rant on anime than an actual review. It's a crime that he liked Steamboy better than the last two Miyazaki films. In any case, the audience at my showing was VERY entertained, and its probably more quality entertainment than you'll see with Batman Begins. Miyazaki films are usually what I used to introduce anime to my friends with, and this film should not disappoint.
Posted by Drylnn at June 18, 2005 04:15 AM