Howl's Moving Castle

UK Release Date: 23 September 2005

Certification: U

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Cast: Chieko Baishô, Tatsuya Gashûin, Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Haruko Kato, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa

Rating: 62%

A mediocre Studio Ghibli film. 

Review:

Having to read 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Dianna Wynne Jones a few years ago for a Book Quiz, I despised every second but after my successful viewing of Princess Mononoke I thought I would  give the movie a chance. Whilst the theatrical version of Howl's Moving Castle is a huge improvement, it's still a huge let down compared to other Studio Ghibli films. 

As is to be expected with a Ghibli film the animation is out of this world. Every single shot is so sleek, it isn't hyper-realism animation, and yet it feels like it belongs in the world that's been created. That's simply due to the time and care that the animators put in to bringing to life frame after frame. It was revealed recently that every year Studio Ghibli create twelve minutes of a movie. After the hard work over multiple years is finished it must be so rewarding for the animators to see the sheer beauty put on screen. 

The characters fabricated by Miyazaki are a bit of a mixed bag. They are no where near as interesting as the ensemble in Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away. Sophie makes for an ok lead character and whilst a little boring her perseverance is admirable. Howl himself isn't as good and to me comes off as stiff. The side characters make Howl's Moving Castle entertaining. Calcifier, Markl and the Witch of the Waste are all thoroughly enjoyable when on screen and have an interesting dynamic. 

Collaborator of Hayao Miyazaki, Joe Hisashi, once again provides Miyazaki with an original score. The opening credits, 'Merry-Go-Round of Life' contributes to the start of the film by setting the tone. Similarly, 'The Flower Garden' captures the whole theme and message within Howl's Moving Castle in the space of three minutes. 

But Howl's Moving Castle has numerous flaws that just can't be ignored. First of all, the movie soars into the plot straight away without giving any explanation at all. This is obviously no concern at all if you've already read the source material but it's quite disorientating as you're left to figure everything out on your own with expositional dumps. The film attempts to fit too much into too little time and then doesn't even resolve the problem that kickstarted the plot in the first place.