There is no doubt that Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest anime filmmakers of all times. Every self-respecting anime fan knows his movies, from the worldwide acclaimed Spirited Away to Nausicaa and the now legendary Princess Mononoke. And every moviegoer with taste will recognize his superiority over massive cartoon franchises, even those megaton names of Disney and Pixar. There simply is no way to compare Miyazaki's masterpieces, all of which are all time classics, with Disney and Pixar's productions. The ice first broke in 2002 when his little miracle, 'Spirited Away' won not only the highly acclaimed Golden Bear of the world-famed Berlin Festival, but it also got itself the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture it truly deserved, and which proved to the whole world that there's more in cartoons than Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks. Three years later, and just when everyone thought Miyazaki wasn't going to make an appearance for a while, Miyazaki gives us yet another stunning movie, and yet another work of art: Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru No Ugoku Shiro).

Howl's Moving Castle's plot is loosely based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones, and tells the story of a young woman, 18-year-old Sophie, who thinks herself as simply plain-looking, and works in her mother's hat shop in a kingdom that could be a beautiful blend of Central Europe kingdoms just before WWI. The kingdom itself is in the middle of a war with a neighboring kingdom, and the turmoil between the two sides is pretty tense. And in the middle of all that, a young and very talented wizard named Howl, vain and flamboyant in his youth, is trying to stay away from the war his former teacher wishes to throw him into. One fateful day, on her way to her mother's shop, Sophie is cornered by a couple of not so friendly soldiers. Gallantly rescued by Howl, she is then escorted by him for a short while, during which some mysterious, black gooey-like creatures (these kind of creatures appear very often in Miyazaki's films and along with the aspect of flying and pigs are among his signatures) chase them down, obviously after Howl.

Howl easily gets them out of the tight situation, and Sophie is literally swept off her feet by him. But it won't stop there. While preparing to close up the hat shop, later in the evening, Sophie is visited by the notorious Witch of the Waste, who is after Howl. The witch puts a curse upon Sophie, turning her into a 90-year-old woman, and rendering her unable of telling anyone about her predicament! Ashamed and afraid of her appearance, Sophie flees the city and starts to wander the wastelands outside the city, when she finds Howl's Moving Castle. She finds refuge there, and befriends Calcifer, the small fire demon who, under a contract with Howl and with terms he cannot reveal, is powering the castle. Calcifer, like Howl, can see through the curse, and promises to help Sophie find a way to break the curse, if she will help him find a way to break the contract with Howl. Sophie is then officially taken in as part of the 'family' with Howl's apprentice Markl, and does all the house keeping and has to put up with Howl's vanity, flamboyance and discovers that he actually a quite gentle young man who just has issues...

And from there the story takes to new heights that only Miyazaki could take us. It’s a story filled with romance, adventure, breath-taking scenery, wonderful dialogues, exciting action scenes, and filled with that unique magical feel and flavor that only Miyazaki can give us. 

When it comes to story, it is widely admitted that few can surpass Hayao Miyazaki. Like almost all of his films, the beginning is a smooth introduction to the main characters and the story's problem. In Moving Castle, the problem seems to be the impending war between the two countries, the curse put on Sophie and her ending up working for Howl, when in fact, the true problems are Sophie and Howl themselves, and the complexes and difficulties they must both face and overcome. Miyazaki's style of revealing us the story is of a true storyteller's. The story is presented smoothly, at its own pace, and the viewer has all the time he needs to take in everything, understand and marvel at its simple ingenuity. Miyazaki's story doesn't need too many focal points, or too many plot twists to be exquisite to perfection; its beauty lies in its simplicity, the beautiful dialogues that reflect and develop the characters, the little details that bring out all the emotions, even those finest ones that are usually so hard to depict. Sometimes, through the least expected situations (like old Sophie carrying the asthmatic dog up a huge flight of stairs) the characters' true strengths are shown.


Miyazaki's characters are falteringly human, and although they may have certain powers, they still remain bound to their humanity, complex in their weaknesses and magnificent in their resolve. Miyazaki’s characters strive for life and they show it with everything they do and stand for. What is even more outstanding is that Miyazaki's 'villains' are never really evil. They have just lost their way, driven by passions, selfishness, pride, greed and other sins that make them act the way they do. As the story courses on, they do not remain stationary; they evolve and progress, sometimes helping to resolve the initial (or further) problems of the story. Overall, Howl's Moving Castle has one of the most wonderful stories seen in animations (with the exception of Spirited Away) in the past decade. It really is, a dream turned into a movie.

As for the animation and artwork, Miyazaki, as always, is refined to the highest level, giving us the finest of Studio Ghibli. The movie begins in the most beautiful manner, and continues at the same awesome pace all the way. Miyazaki set high standards with his earlier movies, especially in Princess Mononoke, and without fault he keeps pushing the standard higher and higher with every movie he makes. Each scene surpasses the other in beauty, detail and vividness. Battle fields, bustling cities, remote wilderness, building interiors, the characters themselves and visual effects, they are all presented in all the life, detail and vividness that has defined Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's work for years.

The movie's animation combines modern and traditional techniques seemingly and smoothly. From the movement of the compartments of Howl's castle to the breath-catching cinematic of Howl in flight and the astounding magic firing off in many scenes, everything is smooth, flowing and near-perfect. Miyazaki's make-believe imagination is depicted wonderfully, and tied together with the story create an un-repeatable visual experience. Stunning scenery, uniquely designed characters and dream-like visual effects, these features all contribute in making Howl's Moving Castle fairy-tale like theme come to a real life that only Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki could have produced.

As for the characters, you can never be disappointed with Miyazaki. His characters are beautifully portrayed through their actions and dialogues, and span an amazing variety. From vain and flamboyant yet actually kind Howl, the greedy and menacing Witch of the Waste, timid yet determined and hope-driven Sophie and sarcastic and cheeky Calcifer, the characters are all sure to touch you with their humanity. Miyazaki gives us a batch of characters that are just perfect for his fairy-tale setting and virtually are the living, breathing soul of the story.

The cherry on the top of this wonder is the soundtrack and the voice over. Music composers Joe Hisaishi and Youmi Kimura have given it their all to make a sountrack for Howl's Moving Castle that reaches the quality of Miyazaki's past films. The music is discrete, enticing and ever-present, always careful to fit the mood. From the soft, relaxing tunes that follow the moving castle as Calcifer steers it around, to the faster, wilder tunes of the battle themes, and the lovely sentimental songs meant for the moments for character development, till the theme song "Sekai no Yakusoku", there is no fault in the movie's music. Simply put, it just couldn't get any better for the movie. Also the voice actors are doing a most excellent job.

Each character has a voice fitting his or her personality and appearance. From Howl's smooth, low pitch to Sophie's two voices, the old woman's and the young, real Sophie's, they all are absolutely flawless. Lip synch and voices work like clockwork and only add to the movie's goodness. Having sampled both the Japanese original and the USA dubbed versions, I must admit that for once, Disney’s done a good job dubbing the movie. The selections of the actors turn out to be excellent. Acclaimed Christian Bale (Batman Begins) gives Howl his voice, with a wonderfully fitting smooth and charming tone, while well-known performer Billy Crystal (Analyze This) givers Calcifer that lively and sarcastic spark that fits him perfectly. Lauren Bacall provides voice for the notorious Witch of the Waste, while Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons suitably illustrate young and old Sophie perfectly. The English version can pride itself, that for once, it has managed to reach the quality of the original Japanese version.