Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) Howl's Moving Castle

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

A Miyazaki film adapted from the book written by Diana Wynne Jones, the plot has a very different feel to any other film from Miyazaki. There's not a huge amount I can add to arsaib4's comments and I'm pretty much in agreement with him on the film so all I really want to do is try and encourage everyone to go and see it, preferably on the big screen.

The castle is brought to life beautifully and is a character in itself, it's breathtaking in its design like some large mismatched lumbering beast. It reminded me of Terry Gilliam's animations that he did for Monty Python, I was also reminded of the mad inventive designs of Heath Robinson.

The adventure is set in an imaginatively stylised mid to late 19th Century French/European town full of foot and horse troops and steam? powered vehicles. We meet the selfless heroine of the story Sophie, a young girl who has settled into a rut working at her familys millinery. She is rescued by a dashing stranger after being accosted by two soldiers, Sophie discovers that her saviour has some potent magical powers and is himself being tracked by strange blob like creatures.

Her adventure begins in earnest after crossing paths with the Witch of the Waste; it was her creations that were tracking the stranger. The witch turns her into an old woman withered and hunched, forcing Sophie to leave her home and family to head out into the barren wasteland to try to find a remedy for the witches curse. 

A friendly scarecrow whom she helps leads her to Howl's Moving Castle, which is the last place she wants to go (because of all the rumours she's heard about Howl, kidnapping girls and eating their hearts). It turns out that Howl was her rescuer but is in need of rescue himself, the castle is in such a mess that Sophie takes on the job of cleaning it and looking after everyone.

Calcifier, a fire demon literally powers the castle and provides some comic relief although there was a moment (at least in the dubbed version) where he goes a little too much into Robin Williams Genie from Aladdin territory. 

Meanwhile, a prince from a foreign land has disappeared and war has been declared, enormous flying machines bomb towns and villages on both sides with neither side gaining ground, there is a strong anti-war element to the film. The castle itself has a magical door with portals that open into wizard's shops in towns either side of the confrontation, so we witness the stupidity and effects of the war from both angles, another portal opens into the wasteland while another leads to somewhere that only Howl can access.

The story runs along at a good pace with quite a few interesting characters along the way until the final few minutes, it then feels as though everything is brought to a head and dealt with providing a happy ending for everyone far too swiftly. So if I have any complaints, it would be that it could have done with a little more time towards the end. 

The animation is gorgeous as you would expect and the film gets a definite recommendation, this can't compare with Spirited Away or Kiki's Delivery Service but it is head and shoulders above most films you'll see whether animated or live action. For the best experience, try and catch it in the cinema, it's well worth it.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated U.