HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

More Miyazaki magic

By BRIAN THOMAS     June 10, 2005

This latest animated feature from Hayao Miyazaki has enough common ingredients to fit in comfortably with PRINCESS MONONOKE, SPIRITED AWAY, and the rest of his canon. It's the story of a plucky heroine, an alluring stranger, fantastic flying machines, odd creatures, and powerful wizardry. And for those familiar with Miyazaki's work, it hardly requires mention that it features incredibly beautiful artwork and highly detailed animation. But it also has enough unique attributes to set it apart.

Much like STEAMBOY, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE is set in an alternate universe 1900s Europe in which gigantic flying warships coexist with early automobiles and the common use of sorcery. The disappearance of a prince sets off military conflict between two neighboring nations, and all wizards are called into service to help their armies.

Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer) is a hard-working young lady who only wants to honor her father's memory by keeping his hat shop running. On the way to visit her sister, Sophie meets up with a handsome but notorious wizard named Howl (Christian Bale), who is trying to avoid the draft. This chance acquaintance is misread as something more by the Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall), who is in the service of the king, and she takes time out to cast a spell on Sophie, turning the 18-year old into an old woman (Jean Simmons). At first Sophie tries to hide the change, but the plucky girl determines that the only way of reversing the spell is to seek out the Witch. Struggling to make her way through the Wastelands, Sophie chances upon the title edifice, an amazing conglomeration of conjoined architecture walking cross-country on mechanical legs. Befriending Howl's young assistant Markl (Josh Hutcherson) and the petulant fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal) who runs the castle, the young/old girl makes herself at home, cleaning up the place and turning the troubled group into a family.

The features lone flaw is in Howl himself, who plays Beast to Sophie's disguised Beauty during bouts when he uses his powers to painfully transform himself into a large bird creature to try to protect civilians from the battling armies. He also carries within him a secret curse that binds him to the castle and Calcifer, a combination that makes the usually gallant wizard moody and intractable. It's obviously that Sophie develops an instant crush on Howl, but it's difficult to see why, or to detect any chemistry between them. She interacts much more easily with all the other characters, each of whom takes the story in unexpected directions, while Miyazaki provides a steady flow of wonders. It's Sophie that keeps the tale glued together, just as she keeps Howl and his entourage together (even with some odd additions), and even with two actors providing her voice and her age changing from scene to scene, her personality is strong enough to carry us through any twist of the plot. A lot of attention has been paid to how Miyazaki can draw in viewers with wondrous creations and renditions of the mundane made wondrous through his expert draftsmanship but HOWL really makes apparent how much of his magic is performed by simply making his characters likable and believable. The genuineness of Sophie, just like that of Sen in SPIRITED AWAY, Pazu in CASTLE IN THE SKY, or any of his young heroes, makes her fantastic experiences real for us. It's the kind of magic trick we come to the movies hoping to see, and once again he delivers.

Copyright © 2005 Brian Thomas, author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS.
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