Howl's Moving Castle (2004) directed by Hayao Miyazaki
One thing you can count on with a Hayao Miyazaki film is a unique fantasy driven story with great visual flair and artistry. His films, like Ponyo and Spirited Away, have a magical quality that transcends the stories which are typically free floating to begin with. His films are more about the path than the destination, not confined by the rules of conventional cinema or storytelling.
In Howl's Moving Castle, we see Miyazaki's vision at work in the form of the castle itself, a building that can walk, fly and shift in shape. We are introduced to the world of wizards and witches and moving castles through the heroine of the film Sophie. She is a sweet young girl who falls victim to a curse cast upon her by the wicked Witch of the Waste and is turned into a 90 year old woman. She finds refuge in this moving castle whose master is the enchanting wizard Howl. Howl is embroiled in a testy war between two nations where wizards and witches are the key.
The film's narrative is rather complex as it involves the war, Howl's backstory, and breaking Sophie's curse amongst other things. The story feels bogged down by its weight sometimes and unable to flow as freely as the magical castle, or more specifically like Miyazaki's other films. Much of the film's initial charm gets lost in the mix. Regardless, the film is still intriguing to watch if not for anything other than its visual storytelling. Sometimes Japanese animation may not make a whole lot of sense, but they undoubtedly create interesting and unique images on screen.
Oh, and big kudos to Billy Crystal's voice acting as Calcifer, who gives the character a lot of life. One minor issue I might have though on using really famous distinct voices is that all you see is the actor rather than the character on screen. Christian Bale plays the voice of Howl and there a couple scenes where he must speak in a whisper and I can't help but think that is Batman's growling voice! But overall the voice acting here is pretty good and Billy Crystal is the man.
Grade: B-
One thing you can count on with a Hayao Miyazaki film is a unique fantasy driven story with great visual flair and artistry. His films, like Ponyo and Spirited Away, have a magical quality that transcends the stories which are typically free floating to begin with. His films are more about the path than the destination, not confined by the rules of conventional cinema or storytelling.
In Howl's Moving Castle, we see Miyazaki's vision at work in the form of the castle itself, a building that can walk, fly and shift in shape. We are introduced to the world of wizards and witches and moving castles through the heroine of the film Sophie. She is a sweet young girl who falls victim to a curse cast upon her by the wicked Witch of the Waste and is turned into a 90 year old woman. She finds refuge in this moving castle whose master is the enchanting wizard Howl. Howl is embroiled in a testy war between two nations where wizards and witches are the key.
The film's narrative is rather complex as it involves the war, Howl's backstory, and breaking Sophie's curse amongst other things. The story feels bogged down by its weight sometimes and unable to flow as freely as the magical castle, or more specifically like Miyazaki's other films. Much of the film's initial charm gets lost in the mix. Regardless, the film is still intriguing to watch if not for anything other than its visual storytelling. Sometimes Japanese animation may not make a whole lot of sense, but they undoubtedly create interesting and unique images on screen.
Oh, and big kudos to Billy Crystal's voice acting as Calcifer, who gives the character a lot of life. One minor issue I might have though on using really famous distinct voices is that all you see is the actor rather than the character on screen. Christian Bale plays the voice of Howl and there a couple scenes where he must speak in a whisper and I can't help but think that is Batman's growling voice! But overall the voice acting here is pretty good and Billy Crystal is the man.
Grade: B-
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