Howl's Moving Castle

Original Title: ハウルの動く城
Romanized: Hauru no Ugoku Shiro
Literal: Howl's Moving Castle

Plot Synopsis

In the land of Ingary in a world not too different from our own lives the young hat-maker Sophie. Her very ordinary life takes a sudden turn into the very unordinary when a curse is placed on her by an evil witch, turning her into an elderly woman and preventing her from telling anyone about her predicament. She sets out wandering, only to run into the dangerous--but dashing--wizard Howl, his young assistant Michael, and his grumpy fire demon Calcifer, all living in Howl's fantastic Moving Castle. As she blusters into his life and the war that threatens to engulf their entire country looms ever nearer, Sophie will seek both a solution to her own problem and perhaps a resolution to the dark secret that Howl's castle hides.

Quick Review

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2005-05-08

Howl's Moving Castle is, sadly, not yet another Miyazaki Masterpiece. Much like the Castle of the title, it is a grand spectacle without a foundation, held together by magic alone. Both the movie and the castle are full of interesting people and a sight to behold as they amble by, but in the end neither really seems to be going anywhere. It's biggest strengths are the fabulous visuals and sweet story, but the romance lacks both the bite and some of the depth of meaning that it could have had, and the war that provides the backdrop for the second half feels shallow and poorly connected to the rest of the plot.

In all, it's an enjoyable movie as an imaginative fantasy spectacle, but it lacks the depth and solid story to complete the package. Watch it, enjoy it, but try not to think too hard about it.

US DVD Review

Disney DVD is characteristically impressive--bilingual, anamorphic widescreen, and with all the fixings.

Content Guide

Rated PG for some violence and a few scenes that might scare small children.

Violence: 2 - Most of the violence is in several brutal, though not graphic, scenes of bombing and similar large-scale combat.

Nudity: 0 - Nothing at all.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Gentle romance, nothing more.

Language: 1 - Probably quite clean.

Notes and Trivia

Howl's Movie Castle, as discussed in the review, is based on a novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. There is also a loose sequel, Castle in the Air (an amusing coincidence given Miyazaki's Castle in the Air, though her novel has a plot more reminiscent of Disney's Aladdin). Both novels, though sometimes identified as children's fiction, are well-written fairy tale fantasies with a strong sense of down-to-earth realism, making them perfect candidates for Ghibli films.

The release date noted above is the beginning of Japanese wide release in theaters; it premiered a few months earlier at an international film festival. It also saw limited theatrical release in the US.

Availability

Available in the US from Disney on bilingual DVD (after a limited theatrical run).

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