Miyazaki’s Unknown Classic: Howl’s Moving Castle

Hello ladies and gentlemen!  It’s that time again.  And since it’s still September, today I will be doing another one of my favorites.  However, this will be the last review that I will do for this special “event”-if you could call it that.  This week’s review will delve into a Studio Ghibli film that I feel has kind of gotten swept under the rug.  So enough of the stalling and let’s get to this review on my favorite Studio Ghibli film as well as my favorite anime film, Howl’s Moving Castle.
Howl’s Moving Castle entails the adventure of a young girl named Sophie.  After afflicted with a curse that turns her into a ninety year-old woman, Sophie embarks on a journey to find a way to break the curse.  That’s when she comes across an enchanted castle that is able to walk on its own.  Sophie enters the castle to escape the elements.  There she meets the residents of the castle:  a fire demon named Calcifer, a wizard-in-training named Markl, and a young wizard named Howl.  After making a deal with Calcifer to find a way to break the curse, Sophie agrees to stay and work as the maid.  After some time, she learns about Howl’s situation which he has been summoned by the king to fight in a war that is in effect throughout the film.  Then, after a dangerous encounter with the king’s sorceress Madame Suliman, Sophie and the gang are forced to go into hiding in Sophie’s hometown-not a very good place to hide personally.  It is during this time that Sophie realizes that she is in love with Howl, which ironically is the cure for her curse.  Suddenly, Sophie’s hometown, as well as the castle, comes under attack by the enemy kingdom.  In response to this, Howl tries to defend the castle and the town to protect Sophie.  On the flip side, Sophie attempt to save Howl by destroying the castle in order to sever the castle’s tie to Sophie’s home.  And in a series of events, Calcifer is nearly destroyed and the plan to save Howl backfires.  While Sophie becomes upset over the fact that Howl may be dead, a portal from what is left of the castle appears.  This portal turns out to be a time warp that shows how Howl met Calcifer and their relationship with each other-that Calcifer is in fact Howl’s heart.  Now knowing that the only way to save Howl is to return his heart, Sophie escapes the portal where she runs into a transformed Howl.  Howl’s heart is returned, Calcifer is set free, and coincidently, the war ends-off film at least.  Oh yes, I forgot to mention, another major character in Howl’s Moving Castle is the scarecrow Turnip Head.  The importance of this is that Turnip Head is actually the prince of the warring kingdom, who’s disappearance is the whole reason there was a war in the first place.  Anyways, by the end of the film, Calcifer returns, a new castle is built, and Sophie’s spell is broken and she permanently stays with Howl and the gang.  Typical, but not a bad ending for the film.

As a fan of Howl’s Moving Castle, I love this film.  Granted, this is aStudio Ghibli film, and Ghibli films are relatively good.  But, and unlike last week, this film isn’t perfect.  In my overall opinion, Howl’s Moving Castle get’s a rating of four out of five stars.  Now, despite this, there are several good things about this movie.  Given Miyazaki’s history, the animation is pretty good.  Then again, Studio Ghibli has a distinct anime style that no other Japanese animation company has and is recognized worldwide.  The story is also very well done.  Though it has the usual happy ending that we love to see at the end, the story does have some depth to it.  And of course, what Miyazaki film would be complete without the music of Joe Hisaishi? It’s a must in any of his films, and Howl’s Moving Castle has the Hisaishi soundtrack to please.  But the one thing that I think really makes this film is the all-star cast in the film-at least in the English dub.  It’s very common in the English dubs of Miyazaki films to have the voices of the characters done by very well known actors.  Some of these a-list stars include Liam Neeson, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, and Jada Pinkett Smith.  One of the most notable actors in Howl’s Moving Castle-at least for me-who is also a well-known in American acting is Christian Bale, who voices Howl.  For those of you who don’t know, Christian Bale was famous for his role as Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, in the new Batman films.  Another famous actor in Howl’s Moving Castle is the legendary Billy Crystal, who voices Calcifer.  Howl’s Moving Castle also brought back Jean Simmons and Lauren Bacall-two very well known older actresses from the forties.  And for otakus, one big name in voice acting is also in the film.  Providing the voice for Turnip Head-at least when he turns back into a prince-is the legendary Crispin Freeman.  For those who aren’t familiar with Mr. Freeman, many of his well-known anime roles include Jeremiah Gottwald from Code Geass, Itachi Uchiha from Naruto Shippuden, and- my personal favorite- Alucard from Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate.  Yeah, like I said, pretty big line-up as far as acting is concerned.  Still, being that it is a Ghibli film created by the legendary Miyazaki, it certainly meets all the standards.
Now, despite the fact that this is a great film, there one bad aspect to it.  However, none of it has to do with its production.  Many people may not be familiar with Howl’s Moving Castle because it does seem to get over-shadowed by some other well-known Ghibli films    Critics have praised this film, and even Rotten Tomatoes gave it a “Fresh” rating.  It was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2006, much like Spirited Away-a big Miyazaki classic- was nominated for the same award four years earlier- but unlike Spirited Away, it didn’t win the award.  Despite that, it still gets swept under the rug.  So yes, though it does have great characters, great animation, a great story, great acting, and great music-should you expect any less from Studio Ghibli?-it seems to be less noticed, and therefore less appreciated. 
So overall, Howl’s Moving Castle is a magical Ghibli film with a lot of greatness to offer, but get’s a bit ignored, and so it may not be as popular.  Still, despite that it’s not as big or as popular as Studio Ghibli’s other films, it is certainly a treat to watch!  By far, the easiest way to watch this film is to buy it.  Though someone out there has the full film streaming online, I feel it’s better just to buy it in store or online.  Well, I have to say I said a lot this time around.  So to end this very, very long post, I have nothing else to say.  So until next time, stay tuned for more!

-Hanime on Anime




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