NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

qingruivic-25161 A magic spell turns a young girl into a ninety-year-old lady. However, this spell in fact becomes a form of freedom that encourages her to be herself and gives her courage to take risks, so she takes the journey of challenge to go into the magic world full of witches and wizards.The protagonist, Sophie's youth has offered her few opportunities, while being old frees Sophie's determination to reach her goal, to assert her presence and her will. After the arrival of the castle, Sophie takes up the role of a responsible housekeeper, putting the household in order. In turn, the magic castle and its residents give her new experiences, where she has learnt to deal with the problems and confusions from both human nature and magical situations. In the process, her dynamic energy necessary for change and renewal brings transformation to the castle into a warm family. Also, she has grown up with strong will, braveness to express love and protect her beloved ones, which marks her distinguished characteristics. Domestic peace has also been brought by her and Howl as a happy ending of the film.This film well represents Miyazaki's ability to illustrate hope for future, with positive energy enabling audiences to cope with realistic challenges, for which it always remains my favorite.

bonnie-37350 It's directed by Hayao Miyazaki. every scene of his directed movie is magical, he is a artist, a wonderful artist. It's about a mysterious wizard and a cursed women. And how did the wizard protect the women that he loves in the moving castle. I moved with their catchy music, and the scene of the movie made me feel very comfortable. I'd highly recommend it to all of you.

ElMaruecan82 I'm glad that Hayao Miyazaki reconsidered his decision to retire otherwise his 2004 "Howl's Moving Castle" would be his last movie I'd experience and well, you got it, it wasn't as pleasant as the previous ones. I watched it three times, as I used to because his movies tend to be rich content and form wise so the two aspects can distract one from another, but then checking some other users' comments, I stuck to my initial reaction: the animation is as great as you can expect from the master but it's one of these cases where, paraphrasing Emperor Joseph from "Amadeus", you can just sigh and say there are simply too many 'notes'.Don't get me wrong, it's not a case of Emperor with no clothes, but with so many clothes you can't even recognize him anymore. But I had my reservations from the beginning because the title reminded me of "Castle in the Sky" and that film didn't leave me ecstatic either, an action-packed coming-of-age story, puppy romance with environmentalist and anti-war messages venturing in the realm of magic led to a real overdose of effects not easily 'digestible' by a younger audience. The film is still just a lighter version of "Howl's Moving Castle", a real 'fantasy' bouillabaisse and perhaps the unique instance where a point came I stopped to care about the film and was waiting for it to end.Was it because Miyazaki was so intoxicated by the universal (and deserved) acclaim of "Chihiro's Travel" that he felt he could fly that close to the sun and get away with it, there was just something a tad pretentious in that late-minute eruption of fantasy and witchcraft. And yet it started so promisinglyI just loved the quiet beginning in that small European town, I figured the action took place during World War I, then it started with a meek and mousy milliner named Sophie who's saved from two bullying soldiers by a handsome flying 'angel' named Hauru (the titular Howl) and then you have your set-up for a typical Miyazaki journey, a young female candidate for a great coming-of-age story, flying, magic and war as the backdrop. Then the troubles begin: a cruel sorceress named the Witch of the Waste turns Sophie (for no apparent reason) into an old woman and not only we've had to say goodbye to the pleasant look of Sophie to (yet another) ugly looking grandmother. What's with Miyazaki and old women anyway?Still, the real problem is that the personality of Sophie changes as well, in fact, it changes so radically that she becomes like another character. This might be the most disturbing thing about the film, all through her adventure; the changes in Sophie's looks and personality are so inconsistent that I had a hard time detecting the aspect of her personality that was meant to evolve. I initially thought being an old woman would help her to embrace life with more enthusiasm, but she seemed to have understood it very quickly and become your typical domineering lady as soon as she enters the castle (with the help of the turnip-face scarecrow). So what was Sophie's lesson to learn? From the ending, we gather that "Howl's Moving Castle" was meant to end like a love story. I didn't read the original novel from Diana Wynne Jones (in fact, when I heard the name "Witch of the Waste and saw the scarecrow, I expected a 'Wizard of Oz' like journey) but even in the novel, I guess there was an arc to close, but here, Sophie falls in love with Howl or Hauru, why? She did save him in a way but since she spent most of her time as an old lady trying to break her spell, she acted more as a motherly figure helping an insecure kid, those were interesting twists on the usual characterization, but at the end it seems that there's a return to a basic narrative that didn't match the beginning.I quite enjoyed the film say after the visit to the Queen and then, the overuse of magic and ominous malevolent spirits, then the chants and the chases and I just stared at the screen and thought "boy, that escalated quickly". The problem with magic is that it's a double-edged sword, basically when the main protagonist is victim of a curse, her 'love' interest is a wizard, the nemesis turned protagonist is a witch, and the wise queen an even crueler witch, and the castle is a magic spirit moved by a talking fire, well, there are so many possibilities there's no savor to unpredictability anymore, it becomes boring. The movie goes in too many directions and magic shortcuts itself in a chaotic extravaganza. Kiki's incapability to fly the broom was more intense than anything from "Howl's" climax.Yes, the film is visually pleasant but at some point but so are many Terry Gilliam's movies and they're not in the same league of greatness. At least, "Castle in the Sky" had the pirates and couldn't be a love story anyway, while "Howl's Moving Castle" seems to cut-and-paste all the usual elements of Miyazaki and provide a great entertainment without any 'ubstance', the ingredients are all there but making a film is also like making a good cake. Miyazaki did this film like the pastry cook who's just finished his cake, added some Chantilly cream, then some fruits, then some raspberry coulis, and then some walnuts... individually, they all taste great but in the same recipe, they can only contribute to something indigestible.While not a bad movie or a misfire, I think this is just Miyazaki being carried away at the most pivotal moment of the film and realizing at the last minute that it should have a proper ending. Definitely a case where the best was the enemy of the good.

tdeskew Howl's Moving Castle is a 2004 film directed by one of my favorite film- makers, Hayao Miyazaki. The movie is based on a series of books by Diana Wynee Jones. The use of romance and sacrifices made for each other to help rise each other to the top while working together makes the film very delightful and enjoyable to experience. There are many friendship and teamwork lessons within the film which makes it great for audiences of any age. The magic and fairy tale like theme makes it spectacular watching the use of good and evil contradict each other but you eventually realize that each character has a justified reason to their actions which ends in delight for even the not so good characters in the film. Everyone deserves a happily ever after and Hayao Miyazaki shows that well in this piece.Insecurity is a large influence in this film. Sophie, a hat maker who works in her father's shop, is practically saved by Howl and literally swept off her feet from perverted officers while walking to her sister's bakery and that is when her life is changed forever. Howl is a wizard with a moving castle that he uses to flee from the dangers of his magic powers. Sophie is eventually cursed by the Witch of the Waste since she was seen with Howl and turned into an old woman. The catch to the curse is, she is not allowed to talk about what has happened to her. This reaches out to audiences and allows them to relate to Sophie's insecurities with how accepting she is to being an old woman. She eventually sets off on her own adventure to figure out how to reverse the curse which leads up to magical experiences and teamwork with involvements of romance and friendship.Despite Sophie's low self confidence, she put on a brave face and made it to an empty land where she befriends a scarecrow which leads her to Howl's castle that she uses for shelter for the majority of her adventure. The fire that keeps the castle moving is a demon called Calcifer who is under a curse which keeps him stuck as being nothing but a fire. Also living in the castle is a young wizard in training called Markl. Sophie, Howl, Calcifer and Markl all support and make sure each other are safe and secure. Howl was a coward but with the help of his friends he becomes one of the strongest happiest wizards in the land. Disaster strikes when Howl is called to war. The spinning dial at the front door is a portal to different parts of the land. Sophie poses as Howl's mother and is accompanied by the Witch of the Waste and a dog to Madame Sullivan's castle, who is the ruler. The Witch of the Waste is stripped of her powers while Sophie explains how Howl is not able to fight his battles. Once Madame Sullivan angers Sophie, Howl must come to the rescue to escape back to home when they are joined by the Witch of the Waste and the ruler's dog. This part demonstrates strength, Sophie originally went to the castle to explain Howl's failures but then allows Howl to gain courage and save the love of his life. From this point forward, Howl is portrayed as a hero and a fighter. He goes through weakening battles during the war to protect his true love, Sophie, and to help defend his land. Miyazaki demonstrates character development in many ways starting with Howl's bravery. In addition, the deeper Howl and Sophie fall in love the more Sophie is able to embrace herself and reverse the curse on her own. You notice throughout the film sometimes Sophie looks younger than other times and those are the moments when she is feeling confident. The more that goes wrong, the more Sophie is able to allow her strengths to shine and she becomes a more secure person. As you can see, I am amazed by the story line leading up to Sophie's confidence rising. The Witch of the Waste follows this pattern when she discovers Calcifer holds Howl's heart within his flames. She grabs the heart which results in disaster for everybody, but when the situation becomes more content, Sophie persuades her to give the heart back and save Howl's life. The use of examples of growing from your troublesome experiences makes it an eye opener to audiences to realize that when life gets rough, you can always find a way to prevail. The life lessons in this film are outstandingly portrayed by the producer. He never fails to provide a strong female role in his films which implies self confidence and examples of leadership for girls everywhere. Sophie may seem stronger than Howl in the beginning of the movie, but by the end they balance out each other's strengths and weaknesses to make a great team. Friendship is a major component in this movie. Calcifer is set free of his curse but returns to his friends as the free spirit he is. In addition, the scarecrow saved the crew from falling like an avalanche from the top of a mountain once Calcifer's spirit is freed, but once Sophie kisses him on the cheek, his curse is reversed showing that she is his true love. He is very accepting to the fact that Sophie loves someone else and just wants to do the best for his people by attempting to put an end to the war. The ending is well for everyone, even Madame Sullivan! When the dog somehow checks in with her through a crystal ball, she decides to put an end to the war due to seeing Howl using the potential of his powers and finding his true love. In Miyazaki's movies, he uses his knowledge of every soul developing so they deserve their happily ever after no matter how cold they may seem.