Howl's Moving Castle

[Linksquest]

I really enjoyed this anime by Miyazaki. The characters were all awesome as well as the story. I loved the music! I still want to read the book of the same name that this is based on by Diana Wynne Jones.

Anyone else watch this? What are your thoughts?

[Tarnish]

I liked it well enough, though I was a little disappointed. I liked the plot, but the ending...it really confused me. Not to mention Sophie's constant changes between young and old throughout the movie.

So it was good, but it could've been much better, IMO.

[Shinja]

great film

[ShiroiHikari]

...wasn't there a thread on this?

Anyway, I thought it was a pretty cool movie.

[Linksquest]

...wasn't there a thread on this?

Uh.. there shouldn't have been. I searched and didn't find one regarding this anime directly.

[Tancos]

The book is terrific, and I recommend it to anyone who likes Harry Potter. The movie was a tremendous disappointment. As an adaptation of the book, it's lousy; as a story in its own right, it's lousy. It's the only Hayao Miyazaki movie I don't recommend. The morbidly curious can read my review here.

[Kkun]

I just finished watching this about five minutes ago. I loved it. I watched it in English because my dad prefers dubs. Christian Bale was amazing as Howl. This was just an all around good film that leaves you feeling happy. I really enjoyed it.

[GrubbTheFragger]

Awesome movie. I bought it the week it came out on dvd and when i watched it i kinda had high hopes and well they were full filled. The american voice actors did an awesome job expecially Christian bale and billy cristal(spelled wrong i know). All i have to say other than that stuff is Nice doggy haha

[bigsleepj]

Here's a review I wrote about a month back. This is my view on the movie and it remains more or less unchanged.

Although I still have to see it again to make my mind up properly I have to say that the movie is a masterful work of art and, at the same time, painfully amateurish. It is definitely the work of a master storyteller and animator, but certain integral parts have not been developed properly. However it still has a lot of beautiful animation, humour and characters, so the movie isn't a total loss. However because Miyazaki is such a good director the fact that this movie is not up to the standard of his other work makes it somewhat tragic.

The movie's biggest flaw is that the war racking the country was not well developed. I don't mind that this aspect was put in the movie when it was not in the book, but I object to the fact that it was handled more like a sub-plot or afterthought while it became important later on. The war was started because a Prince of a neighbouring country disappeared and the kingdom the story is set in is blamed, however this is not built on very well (it is mentioned by a person on a street as Sophie passes which is about all I can remember of it being mentioned). When the war begins to get closer to the characters in the final act of the story it does not have the emotional weight it should have. Also the movie changes antagonists halfway through (not a bad thing actually - I liked this surprise) but the motivations are murky and downright cruel (also how exactly this ties in with Howl is also murky). Also the movie ends too neatly too soon, and so does the war that had been depicted as Hell encroaching on Earth, making it feel like a cop-out. The final images of the fractured castle walking along the mountain tops, I have to say, also manages to be both beautiful and obnoxiously melodramatic. The rest of the movie was fine, but really I just wish that Miyazaki developed these parts better. It makes the movie feel like a mess of afterthoughts thrown together at the last minute.

The Castle is breathtaking, though. It is easily one of cinema's greatest wonders! Its unbelievably well done and is truly the best thing in the whole movie.

I liked the fact that Miyazaki made the Witch of the Waste a more tragic character than she was in the novel. In the book she remains the main antagonist yet was controlled more or less by demon with which she made a deal. In the movie she is an even more grim reminder of what might happen with Howl if Sophie can't help them. In the end, this the movie is not a total waste and is certainly worth the look, but lets face it - this is not Miyazaki at his best as a storyteller, though it certainly is as an animator.

[FaerieChica]

I just watched this for the first time, and I was greatly pleased. I love Miyazaki's stuff so I knew I would like this one. It was just such a cute story! Although there were a few times when her age shifting was weird, the movie was excellent.

[Snow White]

Sophie's age changing thing was based on her emotions. I thought it was pretty cool. You could tell when she was feeling "old" or like her "old plain Jane" self.
The story was kind of shortened though. I wanted more- I dont know either of an explaination or ending. All we ever know in a Hayoa Miyazaki film is that they do live happly ever after.
It's a good story though about loving yourself and what love can do. Sorta- I'm a dieing breed aren't I?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Overrated sub-par movie.

Seriously, it wasn't that good. I don't see what was so majestic about it. I perferred Spirited Away, and even that wasn't like an A+ for me.

Sophie's age changing thing was based on her emotions. I thought it was pretty cool. You could tell when she was feeling "old" or like her "old plain Jane" self.

That part I found interesting

[Linksquest]

Overrated sub-par movie.

Seriously, it wasn't that good. I don't see what was so majestic about it. I perferred Spirited Away, and even that wasn't like an A+ for me.

That part I found interesting

Really? What Snow White said I was going to say: That Sophie's hair changed based on her emotions or the way she was viewing herself at the moment.

I really thought it was much better than Spirited Away. There seemed to be so much more going on in this story as compared to the other one. This one also seemed more like a grand adventure because

[SPOILER] It had Sophie even going back in time [/SPOILER]

At the end she also seemed to have overcome her problems moreso than Chihiro. Sophie, it seemed, had to work harder to get to her goal, but that's just my opinion.

[ChristianKitsune]

I agree with Linksquest! This movie was even better than Spirited Away.

I don't understand why some people think this movied stinks. It's not Subpar if you read the books it's not that much better. I read the book and there was somethings in there that werent' the same as the movie.. but they also didn't have what the movie had.
This annoyed me:
[spoiler] you don't even find out that Howl lioves Sophie until the last page!!!!!![/spoiler]

and She changed all the time because of her emotions towards howl. When she coudl truly see herself the way howl Did. Then she remained a young woman. But at the beginning of the movie she hated who she was..she thought she was ugly.

did anyone get why the Witch of the Waste called her Fanny? that's her Mother's name.......

[Linksquest]

did anyone get why the Witch of the Waste called her Fanny? that's her Mother's name.......

Whose mother?

EDIT: Oh... Sophie's mom?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Okay, I didn't like it because it was too quick paced. Not enough information about the war, we only know that Howl went and did some flying and stopped some bombs and whatnot. A random witch that makes her old suddenly turns old herself and is randomly nice and stuff...

A lot of it was just random, it went by too quick and didn't develop enough on other parts of the story. The Kakashi guy just randomly turns into a man as well...

That's why it was sub par. Miyazaki is way overrated. His work isn't that good.

[Linksquest]

Okay, I didn't like it because it was too quick paced. Not enough information about the war, we only know that Howl went and did some flying and stopped some bombs and whatnot. A random witch that makes her old suddenly turns old herself and is randomly nice and stuff...

A lot of it was just random, it went by too quick and didn't develop enough on other parts of the story. The Kakashi guy just randomly turns into a man as well...

That's why it was sub par. Miyazaki is way overrated. His work isn't that good.

I think this is due to the fact that you weren't paying attention. You compared this to Spirited Away, correct? Well the ending to Spirited away went by much faster than this and less was understandable at the end of that compared to this [SPOILER] Why was the sister so nice... oh wait... it's because Miyazaki had to cut 30 mins of plot e_e [/SPOILER] If you really feel too many things didn't make sense, re-watch the movie or read the book.

[Spoiler]The end when Kakashi turned into a man was a little unexpected, but it was when everything was wrapping up... when did you Want him to turn into a man, half way through the plot so people would get distracted from the main plot? [/SPOILER]

Ryan, I think you say words like "overrated" and "sub par" because you like to make some sort of strong stance on issues. Instead of just thinking that an anime is "ok" you would rather hate it or love it.

Your use of the word "overrated" is over-used.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I think this is due to the fact that you weren't paying attention. You compared this to Spirited Away, correct? Well the ending to Spirited away went by much faster than this and less was understandable at the end of that compared to this

No, I thought the plot in Spirited Away was better. It had a more "cozy" feeling when watching. I also liked the characters more.

The plot on Howls Moving Castle was kinda lame. I expected something awesome, but only got something mediocre.

The end when Kakashi turned into a man was a little unexpected, but it was when everything was wrapping up... when did you Want him to turn into a man, half way through the plot so people would get distracted from the main plot?

[spoiler]They should have just left that out. Keep the Kakashi as a Kakashi. But that depends how the book went. I dunno, maybe I won't like the book. I assume it's better than the animation though.[/spoiler]

Ryan, I think you say words like "overrated" and "sub par" because you like to make some sort of strong stance on issues. Instead of just thinking that an anime is "ok" you would rather hate it or love it.

Your use of the word "overrated" is over-used.

[spoiler]Incorrect. I did think it was okay. Hence it being "Mediocre". Which means It was Sub-Par, and not something I was expecting. The ending was lame as well. I didn't like the whole "time traveling" thing because time travel itself is a paradox and itself creates a logical contradiction.[/spoiler]

[Linksquest]

Oh... and use spoiler tags...

[SPOILER] Time travel does not always create paradoxes as their can be temporal equinoxes. Essentially there was no reason why Sophie couldn't have seen the past... by going to the past she called Howl to her. [/SPOILER]

You have a right to your opinion. But I still think you use the word "overrated" far too much and you like to feel that you are right on issues which are entirely subjective so that there is no right nor wrong, only opinion. You think that your opinion is always correct...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Oh... and use spoiler tags...

[SPOILER] Time travel does not always create paradoxes as their can be temporal equinoxes. Essentially there was no reason why Sophie couldn't have seen the past... by going to the past she called Howl to her. [/SPOILER]

You have a right to your opinion. But I still think you use the word "overrated" far too much and you like to feel that you are right on issues which are entirely subjective so that there is no right nor wrong, only opinion.

It is overrated. And that is the objective truth. Everyone always puts Miyazaki films on some high epic scale when it isn't. Everyone is all "OH MY GOSH MIYAZAKI! I LOVE MYAZAKI!". When I see his films, I ask "what's the big deal? It wasn't THAT good...". Same applies with series such as Cowboy Bebop, Inuyasha, Trigun, Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, and Fruit Baskets, etc etc etc. Those titles I like. But do I consider them Epic titles? No.

I'm not going to discuss the time travel, because then I would be discussing a matter of free will, choice, and all that stuff. Blah blah blah

[Linksquest]

It is overrated. And that is the objective truth.

But that's a subjective opinion... If it was objective then it would be apparently true to everyone... do you know the definition of objective?

I'll say this, and this will be the last thing I will say in this discussion:

The reason why many people like Miyazaki's works is because his works are all relatively well known in the anime community. People who are only familiar with a small amount of animes only have those as a point of reference in quality. People tend to become fans of things that they know and have liked (for whatever subjective reason). Different people like different things. That is why there are so many different types of restaurants, singers, musicians, artists, writers, etc. I'll say it again: different people like different things.

Just because something may not appeal to you doesn't mean that that thing is generally unappealing. If you can't understand why other people like something, that's ok. You don't have to understand why.

The music was fabulous in Howl's Moving Castle, but Ryan, you didn't even make a mention of it. You were so concerned with trying to say how sub par it was that you didn't even consider if it had any redeeming qualities. You always talk about how when people are closed minded it annoys you, but here you are being closed minded: you aren't considering any good qualities that the movie has. You refuse to see the issue from both sides.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'll say this, and this will be the last thing I will say in this discussion:

Just because something may not appeal to you doesn't mean that that thing is generally unappealing. If you can't understand why other people like something, that's ok. You don't have to understand why.

The meaning of overrated:

To overestimate the merits of]
Is Miyazaki rated too highly? Yes, for different reasons. Maybe because everyone was "Oh, an anime movie! Oh it's better than I thought". Or other reasons. Nonetheless, it is overrated. When thousands and thousands of people all over go "OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! MIYAZAKI IS THE BEST! HE IS DA KEWLEST! I WON'T WATCH ANY OTHER SHOWS RECOMMENDED THAT COULD BE BETTER BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY ARE NOT! AND I KNOW THAT FOR SURE BECAUSE MIYAZAKI IS THE BEST!". That my friend, is signs of something being overrated.

The music was fabulous in Howl's Moving Castle, but Ryan, you didn't even make a mention of it. You were so concerned with trying to say how sub par it was that you didn't even consider if it had any redeeming qualities. You always talk about how when people are closed minded it annoys you, but here you are being closed minded: you aren't considering any good qualities that the movie has. You refuse to see the issue from both sides.

I don't see the relevance of this. I wasn't discussing the musical soundtrack at ALL. For your information, I liked the soundtrack. But any mediocre movie can have a good soundtrack. This argument of yours proves no point, and it's meaningless.

[Linksquest]

I don't see the relevance of this. I wasn't discussing the musical soundtrack at ALL. For your information, I liked the soundtrack. Any mediocre movie can have a good soundtrack. This argument of yours proves no point, and it's meaningless.

I'm going against what I last said to say this: That's exactly my point... you were being closed minded because you didn't state what you liked about the film.

the very opinion of something being OVERRATED is subjective because you are rating someone else's rating of the film. How good or bad someone THINKS a movie is, is a subjective thing... and then you again subjectively RATE their RATING... and you say that somethign being overrated is objective.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'm going against what I last said to say this: That's exactly my point... you were being closed minded because you didn't state what you liked about hte film.

the very opinion of something being OVERRATED is subjective because you are rating someone else's rating of the film. How good or bad someone THINKS a movie is, is a subjective thing... and then you again subjectively RATE their RATING... and you say that somethign being overrated is objective.

I don't have to state what I liked about it. I was explaining why it was mediocre, not superb.

If you want some reasons why I thought it wasn't a total rotten egg, here's why:

I liked the soundtrack
I liked some of the animation
I liked calcifer
I liked the kid with the magic beard.
I liked Kakashi
I liked how calcifer ate the egg shells
I liked how sophie's age was weird depending on her emotion

There, happy?

[Radical Dreamer]

So wow, this thread went from being about Howl's Moving Castle to an argument about objectivity and subjectivity. Incredible!

*Yanks the thread back to the topic*

I've yet to see this movie, but I've got it on my "rent" list at Netflix, so I should be seeing it soon! I find Miyazaki's works to be enjoyable, so I'm hoping I'll find this one to be as good as his past works.

[ChristianKitsune]

Ok.. I read the book and saw the movie.. they weren't always the same..but they weren't always so different

[spoiler] In the book there wasn't even a war, Suliman wasn't a woman. And supposedly he was supposed to be dead. In the anime there is a war....I think that having a war makes it A LOT more exciting.[/spoiler]

Also....the reason why the sister was so nice.....

[spoiler] in the book these girls have been seperated...they had to go their own ways and become apprentices. There is another Sister too that they don't talk about in the movie.. Martha. But If I were lettie.. I would WANT to be nice to Sohpie because I didn't get to see her THAT often. Sisters don't have to be mean...geez...[/spoiler]


Also in the book Howl is SOOOOOOO Much more of whiney butt...

and about the witch of the waste:

[spoiler] She isn't some RANDOM witch...She and howl had a history. He thought she was so beautiful...and all that... but she isn't. So he dumped her. In the book she has her own Fire Demon. [/spoiler]

OH YAH! about Turnip Head:

[spoiler] Even in the book, There wasn't much say on him. So that wasn't so different from the movie. He loves Sophie, but Sophie doesn't love him back. he only turns back when she kisses him. I think it's cute...and He really wasn't a huge character to begin with But maybe if you wre paying attention you would see, that he was Prince Justin, the reason why there was a war in the first place... His father was worried that their enemies had taken him. So it's understood that when he goes back to his father, he ends the war.[/spoiler]

I actually really really love this movie. Not because it's overrated, Not because of all the hype and certainly, not because its Hayao Miyazaki.

I watched this movie and bought it with my own hard earnd cash because of the story. The story is a lovely story, and I find that really rare. Most stories today are filled with sex, UBER Violence or some guy trying to make it rich. ANd others.

It was a nice taste of refreshing cleaness...and it was for the most part clean. (with the exception of the rather comical howl running down the stares and throwing a tantrum)

All in all I really really loved this movie. Even if it weren't HM or Anime I would still love this movie...

[Ashley]

Wow, I didn't know there was a book behind the movie; I'll have to chase that down...

I actually really enjoyed this movie, probably more than any other Miyazaki film I've seen (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke)--at least this one I could follow the plot. And Christian Bale as Howl, well, that was just gravy! Really, really good gravy, but gravy nonetheless...

[ChristianKitsune]

Is Gravy a good thing? If so..I rather liked this kind of gravy..*drool* his voice is awesome.

and Crispin Freeman was Prince Justin..*le sigh* love his voice too...

[Sami_jane]

i watched this the other day and i have to say that i loved it. lol my fav. character was calcifer and his quote "heres another curse for you..may all your bacon burn" i have to say that this is one of my fav. films from myazaki

[Kkun]

Is Gravy a good thing? If so..I rather liked this kind of gravy..*drool* his voice is awesome.

and Crispin Freeman was Prince Justin..*le sigh* love his voice too...

Gravy is always a good thing. So...if Christian Bale = Batman, then does Batman = Howl?!

MSP and Linksquest, also, your little pseudo-intellectual argument is cute but come on. The best part of this movie was Markl with his magic beard. Whether you liked it or not, whether you loved it or hated it, that kid was the best part of the movie. Let's just drop all of the discussion of debate terms and talk about the magic beard.

He looked like a little gnome. It was fantastic. I wanted to reach in the screen and pull him out of the TV and put him in the garden in the front yard.

Oh, and also, Billy Crystal as Calcifer was fantastic.

I enjoyed this movie for what it was: two hours of pure fantasy escapism. The plot had a lot of holes, but it was pretty to look at, the mechanical designs were fascinating, and the characters were either interesting or endearing.