Miyazaki Madness, Part 10: "Howl's Moving Castle" is beautiful and beguiling
A movie whose layers never stop unfolding
On Thursdays, I’m publishing reviews of classic movies, including pieces that have never appeared online before taken from my book 200 Reviews, available now in Paperback or on Kindle (which you should really consider buying, because it’s an awesome collection!). In this series, we are examining the filmography of my all-time favorite movie director - and newly minted two-time Oscar winner with his win for The Boy and the Heron - Hayao Miyazaki! We will be looking at all of his theatrical feature films along with the movies he wrote but did not direct, for a total of 15 weeks of Miyazaki Madness! The series continues today with one of the director’s most fascinating works, 2004’s Howl’s Moving Castle. Enjoy…
Howl’s Moving Castle
2004, Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Originally published in 200 Reviews, based on an unpublished excerpt from 2013 and a review for The Denver Post’s Colorado Kids from June 10th, 2005.
One of Hayao Miyazaki’s most mysterious, enchanting, and complex films, Howl’s Moving Castle also bears distinction as one of the most important filmgoing moments in my entire life: The moment I fell in love with the world of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
While the first Miyazaki film I ever watched was Kiki’s Delivery Service on Disney’s VHS release as a young child, I wasn’t yet aware of concepts like ‘directors,’ let alone ‘anime’ – it was just another tape I enjoyed. I saw Spirited Away in 2002 during its original theatrical run in the United States, at age 10, but I bounced off it pretty hard that first time; even accounting for Kiki’s Delivery Service, I had simply never seen anything like it, and the film scared and confused me more than anything. By the time Howl’s Moving Castle came to America in the summer of 2005, I had been regularly reviewing movies for the Colorado Kids for a full year, had started reading some manga and watching some anime, and was beginning to get a little more adventurous with what I would watch; so despite my misgivings from a continued negative perception of Spirited Away, I agreed to go to the press screening and write a review.
To say the film bowled me over would be an understatement. It has been nearly twenty years since then, and I remember that night like it was yesterday. The screening, a week before the film came out in limited release, was at the Landmark Esquire Theater, one of two old ‘movie palaces’ (along with the Mayan) converted into 2- and 3-screen venues for arthouse fare in downtown Denver. This was my first time in a place where many of my favorite movie memories would eventually be forged (in fact, the second time I saw Spirited Away theatrically, at a midnight revival screening after I had come to love it following many rewatches on DVD, was in the Esquire’s small upstairs theater). My Dad took me to the screening and watched the film with me, and I vividly remember how enraptured we were in every second of the film. The evening kick-started one of our favorite shared interests, as we both fell in love with Miyazaki’s storytelling and artistry, and began watching through his filmography at home together in the months and years that followed. I’ll never forget the moment, about halfway through Howl’s Moving Castle, when my Dad leaned over and told me he was loving the movie so much that he’d even want to buy the DVD when it came out; if you knew my Dad, who could be a real cheapskate about these things, you would know that was high praise indeed.
For my part, seeing Howl’s Moving Castle at the Esquire was one of those rare experiences where I could feel my horizons expanding in real-time, at 24 frames-per-second; as the images flashed by on screen, I did not so much ‘watch’ the movie as I was absorbed within it, transported and changed by everything I saw. I did not walk out of that theater the same person I was walking in; considering my love for anime today, and how much of my professional work has come to revolve around all the films of Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, and Japanese animation writ large, I do not think it would be an overstatement to say that night watching Howl’s Moving Castle changed my life forever.
Here is the review I wrote after that screening, for the Colorado Kids, at age twelve – likely the first words I ever wrote about Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, or anime in general:
Two years ago, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. I didn’t actually like the movie that much. The only other Miyazaki film I had seen was Kiki’s Delivery Service, which was a good film. So, when I saw Howl’s Moving Castle, I didn’t know what to expect.
Let’s just say I’m planning on renting and seeing Spirited Away again, and any other Miyazaki films currently out in English.
The story starts out with an eighteen-year-old girl, named Sophie, getting transformed into a 90-year-old woman by the Wicked Witch of the Waste. Sophie runs away, finally finding shelter on a mysterious moving castle. There, she meets a strange yet funny fire demon named Calcifer, a young boy named Markl, and Howl, a mysterious sorcerer fighting a war he does not agree with. Together, Howl and Sophie discover the truth about the kingdom that they serve, and Sophie discovers the true form of Howl.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. When I first got the notice to review this, I wasn’t very keen on going. I knew Hayao Miyazaki was best known for Spirited Away, and I just hadn’t liked it. But this movie was a nice surprise, hooking you in from the first scene. As I said in the beginning of the review, I’d like to see more of his movies, and watch Spirited Away again. Lately, I have been watching more Anime’ and have really gotten into Manga (Japanese comics). I’m sure I would like it more the second time.
Like other Miyazaki films, Howl’s Moving Castle broke box office records in Japan, making over 200 million dollars worldwide, even before it arrived here in America. I can see why.
The animation quality on this film can be described in one word: Phenomenal. The attention to detail, the elaborate designs of Howl’s Castle, and the scenery make it visually stunning.
I would recommend this film for ages 8 and up. There were some frightening images, and the plot was a bit complex at times.
Howl’s Moving Castle is currently playing at the Landmark Mayan theatre, and AMC Highlands Ranch and AMC Westminster Promenade. So if you can make it to one of those theaters, go, and experience the magic of Howl’s Moving Castle.
Suffice it to say, I love this movie, and will always have a strong connection to it. The film remains one of my favorites in the Studio Ghibli canon, even as I will readily admit it is a bit less coherent and cumulative than many of Miyazaki’s other films. There is a relative shagginess to Howl’s Moving Castle that bothers some viewers more than others, but that’s always been something I love about it – there is something about this film that feels like Miyazaki firing from the hip, running on instinct and inventing as he goes along, and if that makes for a film that is less precisely paced or narratively exacting as some of his other works, it also opens up its own extremely compelling areas of interest.
This is a fascinating film, one that uses the bare essentials of Diana Wynne Jones’ children’s novel of the same name as a springboard into an intricate and entrancing discussion of love, war, pacifism, and family. Miyazaki’s creativity is off the charts throughout the film as he offers us countless great characters, places, plot points, and vast thematic ideas. One could argue the film is overstuffed and unfocused, but the more I watch Howl’s Moving Castle, the more I see a challenging, expertly constructed parable for the way we interact with a world out of balance. The film comes more and more into focus for me with each successive viewing, and my adoration for Miyazaki’s efforts here are constantly rising.
The film is often oblique in its presentation of big ideas, but do no mistake that for muddled. I think Miyazaki knew exactly what he wanted to say when he made Howl’s Moving Castle, and though the ultimate thematic tapestry is vast and complex, it always rewards further introspection and discussion. This is, to my mind, unquestionably one of the director’s smartest and most provocative films, one that absolutely had its finger on the pulse when originally released in Japan in 2004, as the Iraq War was in full swing, and one that only becomes increasingly relevant as time goes by and war – of all shapes and sizes, but particularly those founded on lies – refuses to go away.
But Howl’s Moving Castle is also a great character piece, and a beautiful romance story, and works rather wonderfully as pure fantasy adventure in its most thrilling moments. Even if Miyazaki has made ‘better’ films, Howl’s Moving Castle is as deeply felt and passionately executed as any of them, and I do not find it surprising that for every detractor, there is another fan who considers this their favorite Miyazaki movie, nor that the film has served as an entryway for many Ghibli newcomers, as it did for me back in 2005. The film has a little bit of everything, and appeals to all sorts of people in many different ways. It is already a well-established classic of Japanese animation, and deservedly so. And it is, again, one of those few films that I can honestly say changed my life – I might even say I love it less as a movie than I do as a friend, one that has been with me for a very long time.
NEXT WEEK: Miyazaki journeys under the sea with the delightful Ponyo…
All Miyazaki Madness Pieces:
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