Howl's Moving Castle

This is a great movie for kids of all ages - it really is not for everyone, as great works often are. For those who appreciate artwork gifted with great imagination and a poetic, wild sense of emotion, this movie is an instant classic.

My brother doesnt even like these type of movies and he really enjoyed them. I liked the storyline. Coming from someone who is relatively new to Miyazaki's work, the way he portrayed the love is nice. It wasn't unbelieveable. It was refreshing.
Christian Bale is the voice of Howl-the young, conceided magician who falls in love with Emily Mortimer as Sophie-the young turned old girl(by a spell). THey have up and downs just as anyone normal person.

My favorite part was where Howl has a tantrum because Sophie rearranged his maigc potions in the bathroom. He runs down the stairs saying "What's the use of living if I can't be beautiful?".

Anyways, I strongly recommend this for everyone.

I read most of the reviews here and I wanted to give a different light to this movie that I don't think is emphasized enough. I'm assuming that you read the synopsis so I won't bore you with the plot of this movie. Basically want I think is the central theme of this movie is the love story between Sophie and Howl. I love that Sophie and Howl were able to love without prejudice and without restrictions. They saw in each other the strength to help each other overcome the curse that they were both under. In Sophie, Howl was able to see the courage that he lacked in himself and to face his fear of caring for someone and sticking with them. In Howl, Sophie was able to see someone who loved her for her even if she was turned into an old lady.

I think this movie focused more on the characters and their development than the plot of the movie which I know Miyazaki is very popular for. The plot to me did not matter in this movie b/c IT WAS about the characters! I understand that a lot of people didn't understand the plot or they thought the plot wasn't going anywhere but I honestly think that's the point. I also thought that Miyazaki created a useless "war" b/c most wars are fought over useless things anyway and are started over useless things, like the king's son being lost. I mean do you really need to bomb a whole country side or village b/c your son is missing? He didn't make "war" a central theme in the movie or made the "war" plot go anywhere b/c I think the whole point was that war shouldn't be the answer to finding everything or solving anything and that's why the war plot didn't go anywhere. Personally I liked that he didn't focused on war and more on the characters and how they came to love each other, become a family, and trust each other. It's about love and redemption and the power to look past the appearance of a person and into their heart. I have all of Miyazaki's films and this is still my all time favorite Miyazaki and I wish he would make more movies like this. I hope this shine a different light for viewers next time they watch the movie and think about the characters and not the plot.

Howl's moving castle, along with "Spirited Away", (The highest grossing film in Japanese History) are the two best movies ever made in my opinion.

Buy these two movies, you will not regret it.

"Howl's Moving Castle" directed by Hayao Miyazaki first came to my attention when it was nominated for an Academy Award. I thought the title was ridiculous and what was a `moving castle'? While channel surfing, I was immediately stunned by the imagery of this conventionally-animated film and I've bought the DVD.

Sophie leads a quiet life in her family's hat shop. This imaginary world is like early twentieth century western Europe with significant differences. Magic exists along with technology. One day while going to see her sister, she is aided by a handsome stranger. This stranger (later reveled to be the wizard Howl) has problems of his own and they are chased by mysterious black rubbery creatures. These creatures are henchmen of the Witch of the Wastes. Seemingly cornered, Howl literally sweeps Sophie off her feet to safety.

When he sets her down again, we know she will love him forever.

Later while alone in the shop, she is cursed by the Witch of the Wastes who believes Sophie is her romantic rival for Howl. Instantly Sophie is aged from 19 to 90. She leaves town and ventures out into the countryside. In her journey, she is befriended by an enchanted scarecrow. She helps him and he helps her. She ultimately finds refuge in the moving castle of Howl. She is allowed entry by the fire demon, Calcifer who powers the castle. She later meets Markl, Howl's young apprentice. Then the Wizard Howl returns home. Sophie recognizes the man who rescued her. What she does not realize, is Howl recognizes her despite the curse.

In time, she becomes a member of the family. Howl is also cursed along with other problems. Events in the outside world intrude in their personal lives when their nation goes to war. If you want to know what else, watch the movie...... :-)

This film is nothing short of a masterpiece. I never would have thought of Christian Bale as having a romantic voice. His voice is the perfect compliment to the beautifully animated Howl. The characters are vivid. Howl can be dashing and the man certainly knows how to make an exit. Sophie is insecure as a young woman but oddly comfortable as a old woman. As her confidence and love for Howl comes through, her appearance returns to normal. It as though the curse is a physical manifestation of her insecurities. Young Markl is initially annoyed by this old lady but she soon fills a void in his life.

The DVD extras were interesting. Remember this is a foreign film. Even though it is a cartoon, it is dubbed. The animated characters lips were originally synced to a Japanese language script. When American voices were used, the translated script had to take into account the lip movements of the animated characters.

The movement is based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones. Having read the novel, I think the movie is an improvement. It seems Pixar Director Pete Doctor has not. While pointing out the interesting plot elements made by Miyazaki, he names things created by Ms. Jones. While this is a wonderful film, it is based on Ms. Jones work. It would've been nice if she'd been given proper credit.

Even though this is a cartoon, it isn't necessarily a children's film. Adults will love this also.