Directed by:
Hayao MiyazakiScreenplay:
Hayao MiyazakiCinematography:
Atsushi OkuiCast:
Takuya Kimura, 倍賞千恵子, Akio Ōtsuka, Ryūnosuke Kamiki, 大泉洋, Shigeyuki Totsugi, 美輪明宏, 加藤治子, Makoto Yasumura, Mayuno Yasokawa, Seiji Sasaki, Keiko Tsukamoto (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Howl's Moving Castle follows the story of young Sophie Hatter, a bookworm, the eldest of three daughters, a girl doomed to an uninteresting life as a hat maker. Sophie resigns herself to her boring fate, but fate has other plans for her. Cursed by the Witch of the Waste with the body of a 90-year-old woman, she finds her way to the moving castle inhabited by the wizard Howl, said by all to eat the souls of young girls. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (12)
What I appreciate about this film is its unpredictability. Miyazaki completely breaks the stereotype of fairy tales or fantasy stories – you have no chance to guess what will happen in the next few minutes, you are constantly surprised, the differences between bad and good characters are blurred (the one who is the embodiment of evil at the beginning can become a good friend) and all this happens without any stumbles in logic. Moreover, Miyazaki is like a small child, blessed with a vivid imagination, throwing one obscure idea after another in front of him. The film combines the classic fairy tale world with the industrial age of steam, the classic world of magic with crazy war mechanisms. The viewer's senses are so overwhelmed that the final impression sometimes teeters on the verge of being cluttered (which is my only complaint).
()
Miyazaki's films grab you by the hand and take you on a magical walk through an incredible landscape. He is simply a sure thing. Once again I couldn't stop gawking at the sheer amount of boundless imagination and beautiful music. The story here was perhaps even more engaging than in Spirited Away, yet as a whole it falls a little short of it. I could still use another half a teaspoon of cuteness here. Even so, it's extremely real... almost 5 stars.
()
The transition from a steampunk fairy tale to a philosophical adventure full of various metaphors was so smooth that I didn't even notice it and I was entertained from beginning to end, even though I was sometimes confused about what was going on, especially in the finale. I’m sure I’ve written several times already that Miyazaki's imagination is admirable, but I'll happily write it again. A beautiful film with a beautiful idea.
()
As with Miyazaki's other films, what captivated the most was the main idea around which the story unfolds. However, while Spirited Away added something extra to the wonderfully imaginative story, something that forced me to devour every image and watch every scene with joyful anticipation, Howl's Moving Castle, with its strange but literally unprecedented in animation concept and perfect sophistication, did not allow me to appreciate all its beauty with anything more than "my eyes and ears". But that doesn't change the fact that Miyazaki is probably the best animator of our time and that Howl's Moving Castle is a most beautiful and impressive film.
()
Miyazaki first got me with Spirited Away and here he confirmed his status as one of the best animators ever. In many ways, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away are similar (the look of the characters, the love motif between the girl and the supernatural being), but this is not a bad thing at all, because the director knows how to present it with elegance. If I were to compare these two Miyazaki's works, Spirited Away would win by a hair. The Witch of the Wastelands was a really interesting character and the castle itself was unique. The music and animation were a feast for the ears and eyes. This director just knows how to engage the viewer.
()
Gallery (70)
Photo © Buena Vista International
![Howl's Moving Castle - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/050/158050310_1d0e82.jpg)
Ads