Howl's Moving Castle

Miyazaki's films grab you by the hand and take you on a magical walk through an incredible landscape. He is simply a sure thing. Once again I couldn't stop gawking at the sheer amount of boundless imagination and beautiful music. The story here was perhaps even more engaging than in Spirited Away, yet as a whole it falls a little short of it. I could still use another half a teaspoon of cuteness here. Even so, it's extremely real... almost 5 stars. (09/05/2011)

Miyazaki first got me with Spirited Away and here he confirmed his status as one of the best animators ever. In many ways, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away are similar (the look of the characters, the love motif between the girl and the supernatural being), but this is not a bad thing at all, because the director knows how to present it with elegance. If I were to compare these two Miyazaki's works, Spirited Away would win by a hair. The Witch of the Wastelands was a really interesting character and the castle itself was unique. The music and animation were a feast for the ears and eyes. This director just knows how to engage the viewer. (02/13/2010)

The most romantic creation from the Master of fantasy. Throw away the quality standards because here we fly over mountains, doors open into four different spaces, all the main characters change their appearance, and magic is not far away. And the world of animated film is once again richer by one little treasure, much to my immeasurable joy. (12/07/2008)

Very beautiful animation, we will all agree on that, but that story… At the beginning I was satisfied and surprised; I’ve never been a fan of Japanese anime, so I was caught off-guard with how much I was enjoying Howl's Moving Castle – a nice fairytale with magic, charm and likeable characters. But somewhere around the middle, things change completely and I didn’t understand anything; I have no idea what started to happen and why. The character that up to that point was supposed to be the main villain suddenly becomes the best friend. Really, what the fuck? I don’t quite get all that praise for Miyazaki’s films. Maybe it’s because my mentality is too anchored in the west, I don’t know. 60 % (12/24/2010)

Miyazaki's films usually present an original world and an original story, it is not the usual squeezing of classic fairy tale motifs that everyone knows by heart. Howl's Moving Castle is a geyser of visual fantasy, a peculiar kind of fairy tale fantasy with a distinctly anti-war message. Excellent drawings, obviously inspired by classical Japanese manga, careful animation, and above all a colorful plot where the world of magic, demons, and wizards comes to life. The first half is reliably worth five stars, but in the last third, the script becomes unnecessarily overcomplicated, and the adventurous story turns into a romance that dangerously plays with kitsch at the end with the arrival of the rescued prince, happy smiles, and kisses. The wizard's castle, as a strange combination of a hut on chicken legs and an industrial complex, which seems to have come out of Terry Gilliam's creative workshop, remains most vividly in my memory. Overall impression: 80%. (05/01/2009)