Howl's Moving Castle

Voices of: Chieko Baisho, Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Josh Hutcherson, Billy Crystal, Jena Malone, Crispin Freeman, Will Friedle
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young woman (Chieko Baisho/Emily Mortimer) is cursed by a witch (Lauren Bacall) and turned into an old woman, befriending a troubled wizard (Christian Bale) and his moving castle.

Review:

Tim: You just know that any Hayao Miyazaki film is going to take you on a fantastic journey, one filled with oddities, fantastic elements, adventure, and heart. Howl's Moving Castle is no exception a thoroughly exciting and memorable movie that adds to his oeuvre. This film seemed a bit more appropriate for slightly younger viewers, so I watched it with my 8 year-old son. It was his first Miyazaki movie and we both really enjoyed this incredible story.

There's so many elements here you could dig into, but the heart of the story is an isolated young woman who runs afoul of a dangerous witch, who transforms her into an old woman. This leads her to seek out Howl, a wizard with his own personal demons. There, she meets a young wizard apprentice, a sentient flame, and a kind scarecrow who may be suffering from his own curse. This is all set against the backdrop of war between two nations, airships dropping bombs and aerial combat between the forces, using magic as weapons. It's a bit complicated to explain in a paragraph because it's all so unique. I'm unfamiliar with the original novel upon which this was based, but it's quite impressive from a story standpoint. Miyazaki kept most of the elements of the novel in place, but it seems like he drew upon his own experiences to put a personal touch on the movie. The story is excellent and compelling. The movie might be a tad long at 1 hour, 59 minutes, but with a solid story, it only rarely feels like that.

The characters are exceptional and the voice cast (I watched the film in English) is wonderful. I imagine the Japanese cast is, too. Emily Mortimer does great work as the young Sophie. Mortimer has such a pleasant, unique voice and puts real emotion into bringing this character to life. Christian Bale makes an ideal Howl- he's complex, gruff at times, but his voice can shift into great warmth, too. Bale was a brilliant choice for this role- I read he actively wanted to work on a Miyazaki film, so it sounds like it worked out well for everyone. Jean Simmons carried a hefty amount of the film as the elderly Sophie. Simmons was a great choice and I really enjoyed hearing her take on the character. Her voice sounds old, but she brought such youthful energy to the role, you believed it was a young woman under a curse. Lauren Bacall as the Witch of the Waste (such a cool name) feels almost unfairly excellent casting. What a delight for audiences to get to hear her voice this role. Blythe Danner adds nice work in a small supporting role. Josh Hutcherson was perfectly cast as Markl, I really enjoyed what he did. And, of course, Billy Crystal steals every scene as Calcifer. Crystal is one of the all-time great voice actors, yet I don't think he gets nearly the credit he deserves. Yes, Calcifer is a wonderful character in his own right, but it's Crystal's astonishingly good voice work that draws the audience in and makes a talking fire one of the best and most memorable characters in this film. You can only feel awe at Crystal pulling this off so well. It was nice hearing Jena Malone, too, although her role is quite small. The English cast for this film was tremendous.

As you might expect from this film, the animation from Studio Ghibli is gorgeous. You watch this movie and it just feels like you are watching moving art. The landscape scenes are so beautiful it's almost painful. The use of color, of shadows, the way the characters are animated, it's all so remarkable. There's nothing shiny or sleek about the animation here and the movie is better for it. I do want to highlight one exceptional quality to this. As the film progresses, Sophie is mostly in her elderly body prison. However, towards the end, she starts changing- she might appear slightly younger in one scene, back to elderly in the next. She looks youthful in one with gray hair, then somewhere in between in the next. This happens so subtly that it takes you a moment to notice. I wondered at times, was she looking more upright? Her total mass seems have to shrunk there. This is one compelling detail that isn't specifically mentioned, but it tells us so much about this character and her journey. The animation in this film was so incredible.

Howl's Moving Castle was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, but it lost to Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, a good but inferior movie. This film is broader in scope, tells a more powerful and emotional story, is more beautifully animated. Miyazaki should have won again. This movie might not be quite as stunning as Princess Mononoke, but it's close. This is a wonderful, beautiful film and another incredible win for Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. And, I feel so thankful to this movie for giving me a chance to experience a fantastic journey with my son and introduce him to a story unlike any he's seen before.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke