:: Howl's Moving Castle

Adapted from a novel by Dianne Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle is an adventurous and magical journey during a time of war. A young and insecure girl named Sophie is cursed by the ugly Witch-Of-The-Waste who turns her into a 90 year old woman. Sophie is forced to leave her local village and seeks help from a handsome young wizard named Howl. Howl lives in a castle which stands on two walking legs and constantly moves from place to place. Both Howl, Sophie, and other characters work together to complete certain conquests that include Howl trying to find his heart - literally.

I have to admit, I am quite bored by the amount of movies these days whereby the narrative predominantly relies on special effects, and especially computer generated imagery. It is so entertaining to break away from movies such as Spiderman or The Hulk, and watch a Japanese animated cartoon movie with an astoundingly imaginative storyline. Academy Award-Winning director Hayao Miyazaki’s film Howl’s Moving Castle is a movie which does not need multi-million dollar special effects to excite and capture the audience’s attention.

Howl’s Moving Castle offers us a world of fantasy where there are no borders to how far one’s imagination can go. The landscapes and characters Miyazaki creates in his film are truly unique and wonderfully impressive. Typically Miyazaki, many of the characters possess random qualities. Howl, the kind and handsome wizard, becomes manically depressed and his body begins to melt when he believes he looks less attractive with different coloured hair. Also, the scarecrow in this film is no ordinary scarecrow. His name is Turnip Head and is remarked by Sophie near the beginning of the film as being unfortunately unattractive.

Scenes that include people flying in the sky, slimy monsters creeping out of walls, or the rich and vast flower-field (somehow reminding me of a grassy scene from “The Sound of Music”) Howl creates for Sophie, are filled with bright colours and fine detail.

While the movie is very adventurous and mystical, there is an element of romance. Howl and Sophie fall in love even though they are forced into a journey of battles filled with violence, hatred, and destruction. There is also a strong sense of how love and friendship can grow between all sorts of characters as they get to know and help one another.

Unlike the typical childish humour in most cartoon films (which sometimes bores parents to tears), this movie offers humour for both the young and old. This is a great modern film which will be passed down through the generations for the whole family to enjoy.