Howl's Moving Castle Review

 Howl's Moving Castle Review

An almost faultless tale about love, war and self reflection

    Howl's Moving Castle is one of Miyazaki's absolute finest creations. The fantastical world he is able to construct is unbelievably vibrant and alive and this is despite the total lack of information it allows the viewer to directly receive. Miyazaki's excellent direction means the world he creates is able to make these rather harrowing themes of war, specifically commenting on the duty somebody has to uptake to fight for their home and loved ones, and self doubt told in such a fun way with the spell placed upon Sophie. The fact the rules of the spell are never actually revealed to the viewer creates such a deeper connection to her and her struggles as the audience is tasked with piecing together all the context clues given to them to make their own interpretations. Her constantly changing appearance is such a fun way to convey her exploration of her own self confidence and love for Howl, it also gives the viewer a chance to look inside themselves and the way they perceive themselves and they change when they feel love confidence.

    Each of the films three acts feel wildly different in tone yet all stream together masterfully. The film's screenplay is almost perfect. The first act has wonderful sense of whimsy as Sophie ventures out to try and break this spell yet her personality does not fault. She is never whiny nor annoying after the transformation. The voice acting work between Jean Simmons and Emily Mortimer is masterful. The two are able to affectively keep a tonal consistency between young and old Sophie which can all be seen in the first act. The second and third act's increased tension is very affective. After a fantastical opening to the film the following themes of war and purpose are a welcome change. It's rather a strange shift compared to some of Ghibli's other films but is done amazingly here. Again, this is thanks to a great screenplay, tight script and amazingly illustrated world spoken into life by some of the best in Hollywood. Christian Bale's performance is striking, he is able to bring the typical brooding and melodramatic style we expect from him but is also able to have more fun with the role at certain points that we don't typically get from him especially over the last two or three decades. Billy Crystal also is fantastic. His voice is suited perfectly to a more comical character but knows exactly how to keep a certain amount of reality to his performance so the more sombre moments still hit hard.

    As to be expected from Ghibli the animation is unmatched. Howl's castle itself is masterfully animated, coloured and shaded. It truly feels like something come to life out of the adapted novel. If it wasn't so masterfully created the film's opening moments and introduction to the world may have not felt so affective. The way it dominates shots is unlike anything else in the medium. The score is also immense. It's way to capture the tone of each and every situation within the film and lift them to greater heights along side the beautiful animation is unmatched.

    The films conclusion however is slightly messy. While the time travel element of the films is acceptable to spring up thanks to world that it is in, it is displayed in such a quick throw away manner that its reasoning for being in the film is lost on the viewer. The spell which is lifted on the missing prince is also poorly portrayed and again springs up out of the blue. This being the reasoning for the war as well is somewhat disappointing. The feeling we get as a viewer is the war has no reason its consuming people and spitting them out as shells of their former selves but they are forced into it due to their need to fight for their loved ones and beliefs. This then feels somewhat soured when it was actually being fought for a missing prince who just so happened to be turnip head the entire time.

Despite the awkward conclusion the rest of the film is able to make up for the late blunders within the story. It is one of Ghibli's best films and perhaps their best and most fantastical world.

    9.5/10