Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Compared to Castle in the Sky (1986), Howl's Moving Castle feels like Hayao Miyazaki at his full power. What makes the film for me is the characters, in particular, Calcifer (the fire) and Turnip Head (the Scarecrow).

Good English voice casting, too, if you like listening to the English audio: Billy Crystal as Calcifer -- my favorite line: "She likes my spark!" (very Mike Wazowski-like in delivery) --, Christian Bale as Howl, Lauren Bacall as the Witch of the Waste, Jean Simmons as the old Sophie, etc.

Sophie is an interesting character. She's supposed to be a little Jane Eyre-like, plain and unlovable. But she's cursed by the Witch of the Waste even so. None of that matters. Howl is still her true love, and even though she kisses a Prince (under a spell) in the end, she still ends up with Howl. That's a little odd, as the Prince promises he will be back later because she is his true love, and he knows how love is capricious -- in other words, he's nice about it, but he doesn't seem to think Sophie and Howl will last.

One thing about Sophie to notice: Even though she's cursed with the appearance of old age, sometimes she appears young or younger. At the end, she still has the gray hair, but her face has gone back to its more youthful look. Why her appearance shifts throughout the movie is not something I figured out. Maybe it's how she feels, or how others perceive her at certain moments...

Also, I wonder about Sophie's relationship with her mom. Was it a good relationship? Bad? Was her mom forced to do things she didn't want to do? Or did she do them out of selfish motives?

As I said, this seems to be a step above a film like Castle in the Sky, but I still don't know if I would include it in my all-time Miyazaki Top-Tier: Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, and Prince Mononoke. I do like the characters, and I do like the Castle; it's a very good movie overall.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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