If you haven't seen Totoro, Princess Mononoke, or Spirited Away, you should stop reading this review and hightail it to the video store nearest you. If you have, then chances are you've probably already seen Howl's Moving Castle, the geezer of Oz (and I mean that in the most endearing way possible)'s latest triumph.
Studio Ghibli and its leader Miyazaki Hayao have already achieved near-legendary status among animators. With a distinct visual style and a penchant for involved storylines and well-rounded characters, Ghibli creations are nearly always mega-hits back home in Japan, but have also found widespread acclaim here in the United States as well -- culminating in an Oscar win for Miyazaki's last film, Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi). Ghibli and Miyazaki's most recent release, Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no Ukoku Shiro), may not reach the same level of breathtaking luminance of some of his previous works, but it is still a worthy entry in the Studio Ghibli tradition.
Howl's Moving Castle is the story of a young milliner named Sophie Hatter. Although she considers herself perfectly ordinary, she unwittingly draws the attention of both the young wizard Howl and the nefarious Witch of the Waste. The jealous witch curses Sophie and changes her from a young woman into an old crone. Initially horrified by her transformation, Sophie flees her home and goes into the wastelands outside her town. With the help of a lovestruck scarecrow Sophie finds her way into Howl's strange moving castle and bullies her way into a job as housekeeper for the untidy Howl and his apprentice, Markl. She also enters into a bargain with Calcifer, the fire demon that powers the castle because of a curse linking him to Howl. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Sophie's homeland is at war with a neighboring kingdom, and the wizard and witches of the land are being drawn into the fight at the peril of their very souls.
Sophie finds herself changing considerably -- and not just physically -- as a result of her spell. Initially passive and painfully aware of her lack of beauty, she finds great inner strength. Since Howl is rumored to eat only the hearts of young beautiful maidens, and she is of cantankerous old age, Sophie not only feels safe around him, but shamelessly bosses Howl and his household. Competently voiced both as a young woman (Emily Mortimer) and old (Jean Simmons), Sophie continues Miyazaki's tradition of strong, competent heroines. On the other hand, Howl is a bizarre mix; part magical rock-star, he is self-centered and obsessed with both his appearance and that of the women he casually dates, but he is also a dark, terrifying creature of immense power.
Unfortunately, Howl's dubbing is done by an incredibly flat Christian Bale, who renders him with an appalling lack of charisma. Sophie's nemesis, the Witch of the Waste (the magnificently growling Lauren Bacall) is better at casting curses than reversing them, but like most Miyazaki characters, is more complex and sympathetic than she seems at first blush. Howl's assistant Markl (Josh Hutcherson) is cute but doesn't make much of an impression, though Billy Crystal's fire demon Calcifer is entertaining. As compelling and important as any of the voiced characters is the castle itself, an amazing and organic contraption cobbled together and stalking the wastes on mechanical chicken legs. Faces peer out from an exterior that seems to seethe with life, while the interior shifts and changes with quaint rooms, glittering, cavernous passages, and magical doors that inexplicably know where they need to open to regardless of the real physical location of the castle.
There are some flaws within the construction of the film, which is less cohesive than Miyazaki's best works. The first half is almost meditative in its exploration of characters and locations, but the second half is rushed and jumbled. Having spent so much time creating his fantastic world, Miyazaki had to compress large amounts of source material into a short span of time, leaving the audience wondering exactly what is happening and why. Based on a book by British authoress Diana Wynne Jones, the film fits perfectly into Miyazaki's favorite quasi-European landscapes, but he's never at his best with other people's material, and can't quite reconcile so much action and plot with his own reflective approach and slower pacing. Still, Miyazaki at his less-than-best is still better than most animators at the top of their game, and his auteur's touch has fleshed out a beautiful, organic world filled with mysterious and miraculous characters.
Miyazaki wins Oscar