+khRAIN has decided to join us with a movie review Howl's Moving CastleGenre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family, Romance
Age Certification: PG Director: Hayao Miyazaki Writer: Based on Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Notable Actors: Chieko Basho, Takuya Kimura (Japanese voices); Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale (English voices) Release: 11/20/2004 (Japan) Plot Outline: Sophie, a self-conscious girl working as a hat-maker, unwittingly attracts the attention of the handsome wizard Howl, which also attracts the wrath of a jealous witch. After a curse transforms her into a 90 year-old woman, Sophie must go on an adventure to find a way to reverse the spell. Review Acting: 7/10. Although I had not previously known of Emily Mortimer, I enjoyed her charming interpretation of young Sophie. I also loved the voice for her counter-part, old Sophie, played by Jean Simmons. Simmons did an amazing job of incorporating the confusion and sass of young Sophie with the newly-gained wisdom of her older self. (I have not watched the Japanese dub, therefore I cannot review it.) Writing: 8/10 Miyazaki chose to change many aspects of Jones's novel in order to give Howl's Moving Castle a Ghibli-esque feel. However, any holes or confusion that resulted from a slightly complicated plot is quickly blown away by the spell-bounding overall story and the dynamic characters whom viewers will quickly fall in love with. Soundtrack: 10/10 It's Joe Hisaishi (a long-time partner of Miyazaki) at his finest. Featuring a beautiful soundtrack with songs such as "Merry-Go Round of Life" and "Cave of Mind", the music will leave you feeling eerie or elated at all the right moments. It wonderfully enhances the scenes. Visuals: 10/10 Exactly the top-notch animation quality that you would expect from Miyazaki and Ghibli. The animation is mostly hand-painted while using a touch of computer-animation to enhance it. Miyazaki can create truly breath-taking settings and graphics with this technique. "Feels": 9/10 I was completely engrossed in the story. The relationship between Howl (a handsome, but whiny, guy) and Sophie (a hard-working girl who is a tad insecure) is very believable and they're able to take great steps to change before the ending. Although I disliked Howl at first, I found myself rooting for both of them through thick and thin! Personal Experience: I was a great Ghibli and Miyazaki fan before watching Howl's Moving Castle (I have also watched titles such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke) and this movie definitely did not disappoint. Miyazaki's animation combined with Joe Hisaishi's music score created a beautiful story that made me want to watch it again after the first time. Overall Rating: 9/10 Would you recommend it? YES YES YES! |
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