Howl’s Moving Castle – Hayao Miyazaki
There is no doubt that Hayao Miyazaki and his team of animators at Studio Ghibli are the ultimate gurus on traditional animation. Together, they have continuously put out visually pleasing and educational masterpieces. Children and adults alike are astounded each time by the color and movement of Miyazaki’s fantastical films. Although Howl’s Moving Castle is based on a novel by Diane Wynne Jones of the same name, the animated feature has all the characteristics of a Ghibli film. In Ghibli movies, a young hero or heroine finds courage through helping others overcome their strange obstacles. Howl is no exception: Sophie is a young hat maker who is the victim of a curse that turns her into a 90 year-old. Despite her physical frailties, she goes on to make friends with Markl, Howl’s apprentice; Calcifer, the fire demon who powers Howl’s moving castle; Prince Turnip Head, a cursed scarecrow; and even her nemesis, the dreadful Witch of the Waste. This motley group forms a family of sorts, finding strength in each other to survive internal conflicts and being hunted by both armies involved in a war.
The story of survival and romance between Sophie and Howl is less impressive than the imagination put into the film. From talking fires to lizard bombs, Miyazaki never ceases to amaze. In a parallel world where walking in the sky while being chased by black blobs is normal, the viewer finds it surprisingly easy to believe that Howl is also a giant pacifist bird who doesn’t support the war that he has been recruited to fight. Like in many other Miyazaki movies, Howl’s Moving Castle incorporates a subliminal message. By allowing viewers a considerable amount of time to admire the tranquility and innocence of the landscape of pre-World War I Alsace, Miyazaki spreads his environmental and pacifist ideals.
Overall, Howl’s Moving Castle is a pleasant imaginary retreat from the real world. Viewers of all ages should expect to be entertained both by the grand images, awesome camera zooms and Belle Epoque waltzes. Composer Joe Hisaishi was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his simple yet elegant score that extends the dreaminess of the film. If viewers are watching the DVD, make sure to use the Japanese audios with English subtitles. The English voice-over eliminates many amusing little sound effects and completely changes the personalities of the characters. In Japanese, Howl’s voice is smooth, charming, with hints of rebellious teenager when his temper flares up; in English, Christian Bale as Howl is dark and angry, reminiscent of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast. The young Sophie sounds like a middle aged British woman who smoked one too many cigarettes, instead of the innocent girl that she is in Japanese. In fact, most of the female voices in the English version sound too dark and too mature for the warm characters that they played. The only highlight of viewing the film in English is Billy Crystal’s comic relief as Calcifer, the talking fire. For hardcore anime fans, there are special features ranging from storyboards set to the soundtrack to interviews with various personalities involved with the making of the film.
Though a very entertaining and dazzling movie, Howl’s Moving Castle only gets a B comprehensively. It is too similar to Spirited Away to receive markings above a B- in originality and script. It was perhaps the similarity to Spirited Away that made critics and academy members hesitant to reward Miyazaki for the great job he did on Howl. Regardless, audiences will enjoy the formulaic funny sidekicks, sarcastic jabs, and the dreamy romanticism that is characteristic of this and most other Ghibli films.
The wonderful visuals, DVD extras and voice acting (in Japanese) make up for the repeated themes, scoring A-‘s across the board for another well-executed feature by Hayao Miyazaki.
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