Howl’s Moving Castle
Purely by accidental serendipity, I wound up watching HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE last night, which is a Japanese animated movie based off a British novel by Diana Wynne Jones. I don’t know anything about Japanese animation, and I’ve never read any of Diana Wynne Jones’s books (alas), so I went in with no expectations whatsoever.
It was a strange, but thoroughly entertaining movie. It is basically a romance novel – boy meets girl, boy and girl unable to be together due to mutual obstacles, boy and girl struggle to overcome obstacles.
That said, the setting is weird and entertaining, this sort of version of Napoleonic France with flying battleships and a Royal Academy Of Sorcery. All the characters are interesting, and the story is well-crafted.
Recommended. Also, it was amusing that Batman voiced Howl.
-JM
its an amazing film. Most of the Studio Ghibli films are beautiful, they are still all hand drawn. If Howls Moving Castle is the only one of theirs you have seen I would recommend My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away particularly.
I’ve been hearing good things about Spirited Away – I shall have to check it out!