Friday Movie Review - Howl's Moving Castle

This week's movie review is yet another film by Hayao Miyazaki, who created the notable production company Studio Ghibli. You may remember my earlier review for "The Cat Returns," which is a must-see film for cats and their beans. While "The Cat Returns" is fun and fanciful, "Howl's Moving Castle" has a more serious tone, yet still manages to be fun.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writers: Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)

Diana Wynne Jones (novel)

This is probably my mommy's favorite of Miyazaki's films. Thanks to this movie, mommy discovered the incredible fantasy author, Diana Wynne Jones! If you are more into reading than viewing films, you should definitely give her novels a try. Ms. Jones combines fantasy, humor, and heart into all of her works. She is an author who is definitely worth paying attention to.

The film version differs significantly from the original novel, but both have their own charm, and the fact that Miyazaki changed the story to fit his own vision does not detract from the film in the least. In fact, both can be appreciated for their unique style and meaning. This is unusual for me to say, because I am usually picky about making sure the film version meshes with the original novel. However, Miyazaki made it work. For that alone, the film deserves a paw up.

At the beginning of the movie, we meet Sophie, an unassuming girl working in her family's hat shop. Sophie does not think much of herself, in fact, she views herself as plain and boring. On a holiday, she decides to pay a visit to her pretty younger sister who works in town in a pastry shop. On the way she has an encounter with a handsome wizard, and her adventure begins.

Sophie soon learns that the wizard she met is the infamous Howl, who is known both for living in a magical moving castle and for eating the hearts of young girls! What is even worse is that the Witch of the Waste places a curse on Sophie due to her recent meeting with Howl!

Sophie finds herself turned into an old woman, thanks to the witch's curse. Leaving home and the hat shop, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her to Howl's castle, where she will find that all is not what it seems. While trying to break her curse, Sophie learns more about herself and the world around her, and finds adventure and romance in unlikely places.

I give "Howl's Moving Castle" (both film and novel) two paws up! It combines action, adventure, fantasy, humor, and romance flawlessly, and as an added bonus the film has gorgeous animation and a beautiful musical score. Even if you are not a fan of animated films, you should give this one a try.