00s Movie Review - Howl's Moving Castle

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Genre: Animation/ Adventure/ Romance/ Fantasy

Runtime: 119 minutes

Year: 2004

Starring: Christian Bale, Jeanne Simmons, Emily Mortimer, Billy Crystal, Blythe Danner, Lauren Bacall, Josh Hutcherson, Jena Malone

Description: When an unconfident young woman (Emily Mortimer) is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch (Lauren Bacall), her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard (Christian Bale) and his companions in his legged, walking castle.  

Review: Within the field of Japanese animated film or anime there is an enormous variety of genres, and a dazzling difference in quality. While Foxkids daily bombards youthful viewers with yet another uninspired Pokémon clone, films from the renowned Studio Ghibli are screened at prestigious film festivals. Hayao Miyazaki is considered the master within the anime world, and rightly so. “Howl’s Moving Castle”, an adaptation of the book by British fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones, will not achieve a classis status, but is again a wonderful animation.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is set in an imaginary Central European kingdom at the beginning of the 20^th century, a fairy tale variant of Austria or Hungary. The worlds of magic and industry are still intertwined: while people are already moving by steam train and flying machine, the enigmatic wizard Howl hides his walking castle amidst the misty mountains. That castle is a true piece of Miyazaki’s art: a giant, pulsating huddle of metal and wood, held together and propelled by a demonic force.

The timid young seamstress Sophie accidentally comes into contact with Howl himself, and is therefore transformed by his enemy, the Witch of the Waste, into an ancient female. To break the spell, she sets off in her new form on her way to the mountains: to find Howl, or another magician who can break her spell.

As an old Sophie finds out that although her body no longer cooperates, she has suddenly become a lot more balanced and is no longer surprised by a lot of things. She finds Howl’s castle and in no time at all makes herself a housekeeper. Together with the little boy Markl and the fire demon Calcifer, she forms the entourage of the charming but freaky Howl, who sets off at night to face the advancing war in the region. Little by little, Sophie finds out what magical powers are at work in the kingdom and what the alliance between Howl and Calcifer means. And as always with Miyazaki, hardly anyone is who he seems at first sight.

Another ingredient in every Miyazaki movie are the wonderful and often funny characters, and in “Howl’s Moving Castle” too. An absolute favorite is Calcifer, the mighty demon that sees itself reduced to a cozy fire. He is hilarious and endearing at the same time. But the contrast withing the main characters is great. Especially Howl remains a sketchy figure who does not really come to life, even though he is provided with a complex background story. Why he cares so much about the war and what all this has to do with his monstrous side, remains in the dark. There are many elements and characters in the film that are not really well-executed. This makes the story more obscure. The film loses a bit of logic towards the end.  

All this does not alter the fact that “Howl’s Moving Castle” is still worth watching. It’s not a masterpiece, like many of Miyazaki’s films are, but it can still easily enchant an audience with its beautiful animation and images.

Rating: 3,5/ 5