Hayao Miyazaki has done it again. If you're a fan of "Spirited Away," then get ready for another wild ride. The story focuses on witchcraft and a young girl named Sophie who is the unfortunate victim of an old-age spell. It's quite comical watching this young girl learn to be an old woman and deal with her new physical image, as well as become engrossed in the magical world of the wizard she self-hired herself to work for - Howl. And Howl's companion, a fire-demon character named Calcipher, is so awesome - he's a snappy little character full of attitude, who really comes to life with Billy Crystal's voiceover. Between the smart and witty comments between Calcipher and Sophie, this movie definitely made me laugh out loud, which I never do when watching animated movies! The funny thing is I first saw this with the English voice-overs, then decided to watch a clip on [...] of the Japanese version, and there were 2 things I didn't like about it. 1. Calcipher's voice was so deep and sounded so non-animated in his voice tone - almost boring. 2. Sophie's voice, while in an old woman's physical form, still sounded like that of a young child. I think it was much smarter and added so much more to the character in the English dubbed version to give her the voice of an older woman, in this case, Lauren Bacall. So in my opinion, when you watch it for the first time, watch the English version - the character voices are so much more rich with personality! This movie is a true gem that will keep you entertained time and time again. I would highly recommend it to anyone. In fact, after I saw it for the first time, I made my boyfriend and roommate sit down and watch it with me again so that they would be able to be exposed to such a great film! See it today!Read full review
Howl's Moving Castle was my first Myazaki movie and I found it to be far more enjoyable than many other films of this genre (animated). I completely enjoyed watching it, and I love the interesting characters; The Turnip Head Scarecrow was my favorite, and of course he is hanging around for a good reason, because we find at the end of the movie that he too, was cursed; and because Sophie was so kind to him he will ultimately end the wars...but I am getting ahead of myself. The film is based on the book of the same title written by Diana Wynne Jones. The film's story is told from the viewpoint of 18-year-old Sophie, who works at a hat shop. But she can hear the sound of bloody battles from the distance, and it is clear that the beautiful country, where witches and wizards live among humans, is going to see another war sooner than later. But daily life goes on for the ordinary town folks until Sophie's routine days are suddenly thrown into turmoil when the Witch of the Waste turns her into an old woman with a curse that Sophie cannot tell any one about; she is left with the task of discovering how to reverse the spell. Sophie leaves because she cannot face her friends as an old woman, nor can she explain the condition she is in; so she goes out into the wilderness to find the Wizard Howl, who she believes is the only person who can and will figure out that she is cursed and help her. The love story is very sweet, the depth of Howl's own curse is very poignant and involved; The fact that both Sophi and Howl discover love and help end the wars that ravage the lands is very well described. This is geniune fairy tale stuff and it is told in the truest Miyazaki way. This film has made me curious enough about his works so I had to watch a few of his earlier films; I'm sure you will enjoy them just as much; [Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Deliver Service, et al] are just a few that I have seen so far and highly recommend.Read full review
Howl’s Moving Castle, to me, is the easiest storyline to follow of the animation features by Hayao Miyazaki. I have seen Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and frankly did not like it, too violent. Princess Mononoke I found difficult to understand it’s convoluted with too many characters plot progression. In contrast, Howl’s Moving Castle is a rather simple story of growing up and finding love, in one’s self and others. Like all Hayao Miyazaki films the animation is outstanding. But unlike the afore mentioned tales, this one is more gentle. It still has the obligatory war scenes and violence but it is tempered with magic, love and real tenderness.
This has to be my favorite movie from Studio Ghibli. Another itle that took me 2 years to watch as it puts me to sleep. its not a bad thing i would put it on and lay in bed and the soothing music would put me to sleep. When my daughter was born in 2008 we would leave it playing when we laid her down and it would put her to sleep, it really does work wonders. The story is really nice and has some great comedy elements to it. A story about war, love, sacrifice, honor. I really enjoy the story of how some things are never what they seem and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The writing is great, the music really made this movie for me to this day 10 years after seeing it for the first time still puts me to sleep and i love it. I would recommend this title to everyone, try it out, it is the best sleep aid i have found.Read full review
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This is a beautifully illustrated DVD and the story is engaging as well. I am older and grew up watching the original hand drawn Disney and other cartoons and I really dislike the computer animation they use now. This movie is a joy to watch and my grandkids love watching it as well. The story is fantasy at it's best with a love story thrown in. Magic, mayhem ( nothing too bad), and rescuing abound making for a fun and entertaining movie that let's you find something new each time you watch.
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