Howl's Moving Castle (film)

USA BluRay cover.

Howl's Moving Castle is an animated movie produced by Studio Ghibli on 2004-09-05. The film was co-produced by Tokuma Shoten, the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and Toho.

It is based on the book Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and was converted to film by Hayao Miyazaki. The movie is about a girl named Sophie who, after being mistaken for a friend of a rogue wizard named Howl, is cursed by Howl's nemesis. Sophie then seeks out Howl to remove the curse, but gets mixed up in his magical life.

Personal

Howl's Moving Castle was, I think, the fourth Miyazaki film I saw, and I really like it. I'm also amazed at how much better the film is than the book, which is a rarity.

I do not own this film, but I have seen the Japanese subtitled version.

Review

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

As usual, the background art is phenomenal and they really draw you into the fantasy world.
The characters are really interesting and, unlike most Western cartoons, they aren't caricatures. There is no mustache-twirling villain or a archetypal hero, but rather everyone has their own flaws and talents.
The castle is very interestingly designed.
The anti-war theme is carried well through the film.
I found the film to be superior to the book in most respects.