Howl's Moving Castle (Animated) (Subtitled and Dubbed) (DVD)

...Sophie was able to find Howl's Moving Castle.

As she eventually got on board, she was greeted by a grumpy but rather welcoming fire demon called 'Calcifer'. He was the heart of the house and without him, the house would crumble. In the house, was also Howl's young assistant called 'Markl', who did not warm to Sophie and blame the fire for allowing her in. But where was Howl?

When Howl returns, he accepted Sophie as his ...
...solution to her own problem, Howl's transformation problem and the dark secret the Moving Castle actually hides.



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HAYAO MIYAZAKI
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I am a huge fan of Japanese Hayao Miyazaki and would always make a conscious effort to see as many of his work as I can, though I know there is still a few that I haven't managed to come across yet. I think his animation is always breathtaking ... more

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SYNOPSIS
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The story sets in a place called Ingary, which is very similar to our own world in many ways. The heroine of this film is a young lass called 'Sophie'. She works hard day and night to run her father's business - a hat shop. Sophie's father has past away and her mother is always away, leaving Sophie single-handedly slaving away.

Due to this unappealing lifestyle, Sophie is convinced that she is plain, yet her more glamorous sister, 'Lettie', is surrounding by many admirers as she serves behind the bar at a popular café. A lonely but ordinary life soon turns around to an adventure that perhaps; even Sophie can do without.

On day in town, Sophie became acquintant to 'Howl' as he rescued her. Howl is the stud of the town with many ladies falling immediately for him. He also a powerful wizard and therefore, have a moving castle to keep himself hard to find by others.

Having this knowledge of Sophie's encounter, the evil 'Witch of the Waste' placed an evil curse on her on evening in the hat shop. Sophie has turned from a young lady to a 90-year-old granny. The worse bit of this curse was that she does suffer the aches and pains an elderly would, which is a huge leap from her previous self. This curse is incredibly hard to curse and Sophie cannot tell anyone about her unfortunate ordeal. The words would just be gibberish if she wants to speak the truth and nobody can understand it. The Witch of the Waste wishes to seek vengeance on Howl, for breaking her heart many years ago. She was once beautiful and powerful, and it was his heartless deed, which made her seeks the worse and became old and ugly.

Knowing that she cannot show herself to her mother and employee like this, she decided to 'run away' and set out wandering the far land that nobody dares go to. Along the way, she has rescued a fallen scarecrow, whom she named 'Turnip Head'. It was with Turnip Head's assistant, Sophie was able to find Howl's Moving Castle.

As she eventually got on board, she was greeted by a grumpy but rather welcoming fire demon called 'Calcifer'. He was the heart of the house and without him, the house would crumble. In the house, was also Howl's young assistant called 'Markl', who did not warm to Sophie and blame the fire for allowing her in. But where was Howl?

When Howl returns, he accepted Sophie as his cleaning maid and Sophie was quite happy with this role. As their lives develop together, Sophie's love and support has changed Howl from a self-indulgent bachelor to stand up for himself and care for others. Howl is in grave danger as he defies the royal orders to fight in a meaningless war. This explains why he is always missing and away. Howl has to enter a 'in-between-world' to fight with other wizards and monsters. However, the more Howl fights, the more he will become a monster, which will overtake him forever. Sophie must seek a solution to her own problem, Howl's transformation problem and the dark secret the Moving Castle actually hides.

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HAYAO MIYAZAKI
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I am a huge fan of Japanese Hayao Miyazaki and would always make a conscious effort to see as many of his work as I can, though I know there is still a few that I haven't managed to come across yet. I think his animation is always breathtaking and is definitely the master of the craft. I admire him for continuing the art and conventional way of hand drawn images, rather than 'fitting in' with the modern technology and computer animation. The film fulfils all gorgeous animation, fantastic visuals, and imagination you'd expected and the plot of the story is gripping, surreal and creative at times. Another success of the film is the great cast and characters that we meet and indulge the journey with.

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THE CHARACTERS
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The voice actor of Christian Bale (Howl), Lauren Bacall (Witch of the Waste), Emily Mortimer (Sophie), Josh Hutcherson (Markl) and Billy Crystal (Calcifer) has done an outstanding job generally. I was warm to their characters very early on, and sympathised with their ordeals. It is the characters, which made the film alive, especially Billy Crystal as Calcifer. He was electrifying, with some very dry humours, which would suit the older audience. And as for the character of Sophie, the juxtaposition of her naivety, her charm and her energy with the old fragile body works wonderfully. It was comical and well as endearing. It was becoming increasingly impossible to say 'bless her little soul'; every time old Sophie is on screen. I am not sure if Christian Bale is the right person for Howl, as he did sound a lot older than young Sophie. But I guess the decision was made as Howl IS actually very old (being a wizard, they work on different time scale), a more mature voice might make him wiser.

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BRIEF COMPARISON TO THE BOOK
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Howl's Moving Castle is derived from a novel by British writer, Diana Wynne Jones, where the story was written in 1986. To be fair, the film adaptation follows the book fairly closely compared to a lot of other adaptations, but alteration has been made in terms of relationship and plots. The film has made its own unique choices, such as the war. It was mentioned briefly in the book that a war is brewing in the kingdom nearby, yet Miyazaki chose the war element as a big part of the film to fit in with Howl's suffering.

As for Witch of the Waste, there was a sense of a much stronger character in the book. In the film, the power was shared with Sorceress Pentstemmon, the very mighty person who trained Howl when he was a tad boy. I am not sure if this has worked as well as the book, as the evilness has perhaps weakened in the film. Would it be for the benefit of the younger audience?

However, the main difference between the film and the book is the relationship between Sophie and Howl. The book shows a clash between the two titans, where they are both stubborn and strongheaded yet still falls in love in the end despite all the difference. The film shown a softer approach and very little mismatch was detected between them. They were both very accommodating to each other.

Perhaps it was safer for Miyazaki to stick to the book more closely. Something seems to be missing that I cannot pinpoint. Perhaps, it is the lost in translation. The relationship of Sophie and Howl was sweet, but the movie failed to represent Howl has a person who is too superficial to have lasting relationship. I think it is a big deal for Howl to fall in love with plain Sophie, yet it was not highlighted in the film.

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THE MUSIC
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As with Miyazaki's films, the music was well orchestrated, probably comes to the fact that he is collaborating with Jo Hisaishi yet again. The main score consist of a fluid and light sense, which fits nicely with the mood of the film. The more dramatic score was not as memorable, but does its job when emphasising the more tense moment during the film.

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THE VERDICT
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I believe that Howl's Moving Castle is definitely worth watching no matter what nationality or how old you are. The constant climaxes in the film will keep you alert and entertained. I don' think that this is children's film that appeals to the adult, but vice versa. The film takes you through journey of twists and turns, with some unexplained moments (as tends to happen in his film). For a cartoon, it is somewhat complicated, as the metaphysics are often arbitrary, the transformations are an inconsistent which, sometimes end up meaning little.

No longer is Miyazaki making films just for the Japanese audience, but to the world. With success with 'Princess Mononoke' and 'Spirited Away', I don't think it is time for him to retire just yet. Howl's Moving Castle is being released in subtitled and dubbed versions to suit a wide range of audiences.

Many Japanese critics has stated that this film is not the traditional Miyazaki film as it lacks personal touches which made his earlier work so well praised. What they may forget, this film is perhaps the new wave for Miyazaki as he is taking on influences beyond Japan, i.e. Diana Wynne Jones' book.

This film is a big budget project, with beautiful spectacle that attracts the audience. The film is filled with rich visual images that are drawn to the highest details. Howl's Moving Castle is a charming film that must be watched by all.

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INFO
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Director = Hayao Miyazaki / Rick Dempsey
Writing Credit = Hayoa Miyazaki / Diana Wynne Jones
Year = 2005
Duration = 119 minutes
Language = English Dubbed
Cert = PG

 

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