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Hauru no ugoku shiro (a.k.a. Howl's Moving Castle) - the latest animated enchantment from esteemed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki - is based on a novel by English writer Diana Wynne-Jones. This portion of anime is set in an indeterminate period (a cross between Harry Potter, Jules Verne and Alice in Wonderland) where late 19th century costumes mingle with flying battleships, witches and wizards.
The masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki (and his legendary Studio Ghibli) are indisputably the most exquisite animated pictures originating from Japan. The breathtaking artistry of each of Miyazaki's films is undeniable; employing traditional, time-consuming hand drawn animation to astonishing effect. Miyazaki's 2001 release, Spirited Away, earned him an Oscar for "Best Animated Feature". Miyazaki himself wasn't in attendance on the night to receive the gold statuette - so to speak; he was the underdog whose chances weren't substantial.
Akin to all of Miyazaki's pictures, it's revitalising to behold anime with appeal extending to adults as well as children. Howl's Moving Castle is an extraordinary movie; visually affluent, enjoyable, eye-catching and amazing. It adheres to a lot of Miyazaki's trademarks - notably a struggling, determined, often unprepared young heroine thrust into an exhilarating adventure. There are also a lot of flying objects, cute magical sprites in addition to ugly, bulbous monsters. However the plotting is opaque and the simplistic message is flattened out into an all-too-lengthy two-hour runtime. It's also hobbled by a general lack of direction and an anti-war message that is handled poorly.
The central heroine of Howl's Moving Castle is a young teenager named Sophie (voiced by Chieko Baisho in the original Japanese dub, and Emily Mortimer (young) and Jean Simmons (old) in the English dub). She's an average girl lacking both confidence and vivacity, and she works at her deceased father's hat shop. While walking through the narrow streets, she is accosted by two soldiers. Sophie is rescued by roguish, self-indulgent magician Howl (Takuya Kimura in the Japanese dub, Christian Bale in the English dub) who takes her for a brief fly around the city - the two of them stroll high above the city walking on air, in the kind of surrealistic dreamlike world only Miyazaki can deliver. It's virtually love at first flight, much to the chagrin of the Wicked Witch of the Waste (Akihiro Miwa in the Japanese dub, Lauren Bacall in the English dub) who's still in love with Howl. Sophie is soon transformed into an aging crone by the jealous, spiteful Wicked Witch. Unable to tell anyone of her plight, Sophie leaves home and embarks on a journey to regain her youth and break the curse. She finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle where she soon becomes a valued member of the household. As Sophie strives to help Howl bring peace to a war-torn nation, their relationship deepens and she finds herself fighting to protect them both from a dangerous war of sorcery that threatens their world.
Hayao Miyazaki has infused Howl's Moving Castle with his own myths, themes and preoccupations. The setting is a pungent amalgamation of influences; a 19th-century pastiche of mythological, historical, natural and magical worlds. This is the kind of alternate universe that Miyazaki is accustomed to creating - he conceives the look and feel of a futuristic, retro-fabulous, industrial revolution-era England. The film depicts a valiant new technological period of inventions. The streets abound with trolley cars, carriages, and car prototypes. Up above, strange aircrafts skim through the sky. Beyond the town there's an expressive pastoral landscape. In the vicinity of said landscape there's Howl's Moving Castle; a wheezing, old-fashioned eyesore of the Terry Gilliam school. The vast castle contains a doorway with a magical portal into several different worlds. It waddles on four metallic chicken legs, and steam blows from an assortment of funnels and pipes. It is the property of shape-shifting wizard Howl, who is said to devour the hearts of beautiful young women and is spoken of by the townspeople with a frisson of exhilaration and apprehension. The setting evokes classic fairytales such as Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast, with the story situated against a contemporised backdrop of war.
Howl's Moving Castle is an invigorating visual assault. As Studio Ghibli fans have come to anticipate, the film is beautifully rendered and the animation is striking. Traditionalists who yearn for hand drawn animation won't be disappointed. What's most extraordinary and impressive is how smooth and fluid the result is. The backgrounds look absolutely wonderful. Also, the characters themselves are capable of expressing emotions with little obvious alteration to their appearance. The animation is richly detailed and astounding. It is also widely divergent from the Pixar style of computer-generated animation, though CGI has been employed extensively throughout the film (mainly for the backgrounds). Miyazaki has an appeal that crosses generational barriers. Adult audiences will be mesmerised by the depth and variety of the vision while enjoying the clever scenarios and occasionally witty lines (Calcifer is particularly hilarious). Kids will also be drawn to the visuals.
Miyazaki is renowned for creating imaginative, exhilarating, prosperous and outlandish movies that are enchanting and full of grace as well as gravity. Howl's Moving Castle is also infused with Miyazaki's gentle humour and is utterly absorbing for the first half - especially with the wonder of experiencing a new, incredibly vivid fantasy world. Where the movie has a tendency to disappoint (perhaps that's too strong a word) is in its story. Aside from the story being far too excessively padded out and slender, it contains a few constituents bordering on cliché. Most notable is the anti-war theme, which seems deeply ingrained in Japanese culture and is overused in anime. There are occasions when the film feels like the eponymous castle - a cumbersome, sizeable object constantly in danger of toppling over. A majority of the movie is an extended rant against the evils of war. Howl keeps making speeches about the destructiveness of aerial bombings. While I might be in agreement with the intense 'war is bad' connotation, I don't necessarily want it hammered into my cranium in random preachy moments scattered throughout the feature. For instance, at one stage Sophie asks Howl "Are those the enemy's planes or ours?" to which he replies "Is there really a difference?". These specific interactions are laughable at best, cringe-worthy at worst. It's almost redeemed by its ending; an uplifting marriage of music vocals and redemptive imagery.
Howl's Moving Castle is dissimilar to standard Hollywood animation, as Miyazaki eschews movie references and niche elements incorporated for diverse age groups. Miyazaki's sense of "good" and "bad" characters is deliberately ambiguous: there are continuous challenges and surprises in store when it comes to the depiction of villains.
The journey undertaken by the characters in search of truth and self-discovery is an entertaining and peculiar one. The heroine Sophie exhibits a combination of spunkiness and sombreness. Though cursed into the body of an elderly woman, Sophie learns more about herself as a crone than she ever did as a teenager.
As usual, an English-language version was eventually produced. Purists may holler, but the product is pure pleasure. Christian Bale is intensely likable as Howl the magician (whose appearance resembles a rock-star). However, Bale is periodically dull. Lauren Bacall lends her throaty voice to the plump Wicked Witch of the Waste. Jean Simmons voices Sophie when the witch turns her into an old hag, while Emily Mortimer provides the voice of the youthful Sophie. Both actresses offer charm. Billy Crystal is comic energy unleashed as Calcifer; the fire demon who keeps the castle moving. Crystal as Calcifer is a hilariously welcome presence.
True to expectations from Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, Howl's Moving Castle is a triumph of technical excellence in animation. The synthesis of conventional hand-drawn animation augmented by subtle computer effects is rich, meticulous and vibrant. This degree of visual elegance is paramount, and sustains an audience when the plot gets a tad murky. Nevertheless, Miyazaki delivers a simplistic message; attempting to compensate for the thin story with gangbusters visuals. All age groups, in addition to Miyazaki fans, will coo at the film's optical depth and rich surreality. But opaque plotting lets the momentum of the first act vanish into thin air. This isn't of the sheer brilliance of Spirited Away or Grave of the Fireflies, but Howl's Moving Castle is a self-assured addition to the Studio Ghibli pantheon.
7.8/10
