Review of "Howl's Moving Castle"

Howl's Moving Castle (2005)
movie review by Boo Allen, Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

It's hard to imagine a film more imaginative and creative than this latest work from the world's premier animator.
"Howl’s Moving Castle" by Boo Allen (****1/2) Rated PG, 119 minutes

Trying to describe "Howl’s Moving Castle" is as impossible as trying to explain it or analyze it. So, instead of putting it under the microscope, just relax and enjoy this latest slice of magic from the movie-making enchanter Hayao Miyazaki.
Possibly the greatest single creative mind working in films today, the 64 year-old Japanese Miyazaki has continuously turned out one outrageous animated work after another since the early 1960s. "Howl" is his first film since his amazing "Spirited Away" won an Oscar for Best Animated Film in 2003.
Miyazaki’s films are not throwaway cartoons, and, as such, his convoluted stories are much more suited for a mature brain. But, the animation itself, while often relying on now-outdated methods such as hand-painted backdrops, will still attract youngsters with its avalanche of colors and outlandish creatures and dynamic characters.
Re-capping the plot of a Miyazaki films proves slippery because from second to second it changes directions, never letting a viewer relax, but instead demanding attention for its brilliant landscapes. "Howl" is based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones but has been thoroughly done over by Miyazaki.
Linear progressions rarely occur, if at all. A girl will be standing on a floor, which quickly opens up, and the girl falls though an Alice-in-Wonderland imaginary world, only to return seconds later. Miyazaki’s dreamlike, and often nightmare-like, scenarios have just enough basis in reality to be frightening.
In "Howl," the young Sophie (voice of Emily Morton) gets a curse put on her by the Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) and she’s changed into a 90 year-old woman (Jean Simmons). Then she meets Howl (Christian Bale), who lives in a moving castle, a huge Rube Goldberg-contraption that makes no sense except that it fits into the Miyazaki oeuvre by changing forms and possessing magical properties.
Sophie and Howl travel through many locales and stages of reality before they accomplish their archetypal task of saving the world. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Although a practitioner of old school animation, Miyazaki fills his screens, at times making them look like paisley patterns come to life. Likewise for his breathing creations, which seamlessly enter the realm of the human and then return to spirit form or, frequently, the grotesque.
Because of their nature, foreign language animated films better withstand dubbing. Perhaps because Disney is behind the film’s U.S. release, "Howl" benefits from a stellar voice cast. Billy Crystal’s fire-demon goes a little over the top, as expected, but talents such as Mortimer and Bale combine seamlessly with such legends as Lauren Bacall and Jean Simmons.
Anyone who avoids animated features thinking they are child-fare has never experienced a film by Miyazaki. It’s never too late to start.

boo allen

Howl's Moving Castle was shown at the library on Friday, September 15, 2006. If you missed your chance to watch this wonderful movie, you may rent it for $1.00.