Howl's Moving Castle (English Subtitles)

Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of such tremendous films including the Academy award winning “Spirited Away,” the astounding “Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind” and the incredible master piece “Princess Mononoke” has proven over and over again the rational forms of animation, combined with technology is limitless. The impossible is possible and the world is beyond magical, whether viewed through a child’s eyes, or the ones of an old miser. In 2004, Hayao Miyazaki came back with the enchanting adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel “Howl’s moving Castle.” Returning with his love of flight, fairy tale, dazzling worlds and landscapes, and of course unbelievable magic. The main story is about a young woman name Sophie who lives more or less an ordinary and sheltered life until she bumps into the mysterious and handsome wizard Howl. Shortly after she placed under a terrible spell and has to seek Howl out in order to remove the curse, and mean while change her tedious life forever. Similar to many of Hayao Miyazaki’s films, it is a coming of age story. A tale about the struggle and the fine line between good and evil, and the condition of world and the responsibility of human kind. These are the elements that I love the most about Miyazaki’s films. Even though they are animations and fun to watch, they also have meaningful stories. One factor that I felt the film touched strongly was the purpose of war, which as the film shows serves no purpose except to destroy homes and people. It is very easy to get lost in this film. The animation is spectacular! It is incredibly detailed, from the trunks of the trees, to the waves in lake and the superior looking aircrafts. And as always Miyazaki is more than happy to have fun with his animations. I remember when I first saw the castle itself at the beginning of the film, and my first thought was “Geez Hayao? You couldn’t think of anything for a castle except a walking junk yard?” But take another glance, it is actually a very clever design. The castle is a creature, another character that is playing the titled role. It has facial expressions and reactions, subtle of course but they’re there. The way it moves is very precise, and must have taken a great deal to draw over and over because it is so well detailed. Miyazaki never fools around in any of his films and it pays off. The castle and the whole film are just unbelievable! And it’s hard to imagine that everything is done by drawings, ink and painted cells and the help of computer animation. As always, Miyazaki included thrilling flights scenes into the film, Howl being the biggest flyer, with the biggest ego. The flight scenes were definitely a joy to watch, and they also served as almost bookends for the story. As the flight scenes progressed the story intensified with them. Take Howl’s character, who is also cursed under a strange spell. While the details aren’t made clear, we know that he transforms into a flying being in order to observe the war going on and intervene whenever he can. However, every time he transforms his condition gets worse and he becomes more beast than human. As the story reaches closer to it’s incredible climax, Howl becomes more and more beast-bird. This is great for the younger viewers who may not know where the story is going but know it is the suspense is rising because Howl is getting worse. Hayao characters are always a lot of fun, and much like the film they aren’t one dimensional but are complex and it’s very interesting to watch them struggle and show the audience that in life there are never easy answers. There was definitely a Beauty in the Beast element as well, hence the Fairy Tale in the film. We are shown once more that there is more to a person than what is on the outside. In the film, all the characters seem to be in disguise or transformed into objects, monsters, or elderly beings and spend the rest of the film finding out who they really are within themselves and each other. The biggest conflict in the film is the human condition which is a brilliant problem because it is something even the youngest viewer can relate to. Should we act on our selfish impulses, and if we do what are the consequences? What is the right thing to do? Should it serve us, or another person? Or can we find a solution that can serve the good of both. “Howl’s Moving Castle” takes it to the next extreme by asking if it is possible to do what is right for the greater good and serve everyone? Of course, the film shows that this is not always an easy solution to create but one worth aspiring to. This concludes the film in a light hearted ending. It’s complex yes, but who wants to watch a film that has a happy beginning, a troubling middle and a happy end all laid out in a straight neat path. Unless you really love Old school Disney, I think we can all upgrade a little. So, basically “Howl’s Moving Castle” is a roller coaster of conflicts, characters, emotions, and amazing scenes of flight and magic! The magic scenes were another favorite of mine. Particularly the part where Howl uses a combination of something similar to alchemy and witchcraft to move his castle to new location. It was such a fun scene because it also combined savvy animation with some cartoon like stars and poofs. It was such a classic scene, which goes to show that animation can be fun and not cheesy. In the hands of the right animator and director of course. Now I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. All of his films are great! “Howl’s Moving Castle” is my personal favorite because I get so lost in the story. Being a girl rooting for the heroine is also an obvious point. And then there’s the cute wizard Howl, English voiced over by Christian Bale, and the sweet and not corny romance mixed in. I mean, what’s not to love? And there are good stuff for the guys too. War scenes, explosions and aircraft combat, shape shifting goons and granny panties! Ha ha! Girls can enjoy these too, I did minus the granny panties, but you can decide. If you don’t watch it for these fun things, watch it for the semi-modern fairy tale, or just for the film itself. It is a brilliant work of art, story telling, and will make you want to believe that magic is real. Because “Howl’s Moving Castle” really shows what magic’s true potential could be.

Another masterpiece by the sensational Hayao Miyazaki. Another entrancing film that captivated me. A must own for any Ghibli/Miyazaki fan ^ ^

I love studio ghibli's art and i have loved their stories... so therefore people who loves studio ghibli must buy this dvd and all in all i can only use one word to sum up this BEAUTIFUL!

This is a must see for all Ghilbi Fans. This Miyazaki film really shows the power of love. There are also of comic situation which you can't help to laugh. The animation is great in scenic views with contrast or dark and light.

The animation in this movie is so perfect. Everything looks crisp and clean. The stroy just sucks you right into it. To top everything off, the first press comes with the 1 single frame from the movie. This is a must buy.