Howls Moving Castle
On the whole I was a little underwhelmed by this 2004 Hayao Miyazaki film which sees a young woman, Sophie, transformed into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste after her chance encounter with the powerful wizard Howl. Unable to tell anyone about her curse she finds Howl’s Moving Castle and gains work as his cleaner, making friends with Howl’s young apprentice, a fire demon who provides heat for the house and a living scarecrow. I loved the intricate storytelling of the establishing first hour which introduces everyone’s relationships and goals (just about everyone is cursed in one way or another) and visually it’s just as rich and detailed a work as Spirited Away. But in the last hour the plot becomes muddled and almost forgotten, lost in a series of set-pieces that don’t go anywhere, there is an underdeveloped story about two countries being at war and the ending is a rushed cop-out.
It did leave me wanting to read Diana Wynne Jones’ book on which the film was based which apparently has some substantial differences. Even if I didn’t love Howls Moving Castle on the whole, it’s still an example of the fertile and rich imagination of Hayao Miyazaki and another showcase of hugely impressive animation work.
My Year of Films 