Howl's Moving Castle (2004) Review

 

This is one of those films that is larger than its settings, than its set pieces and than its story. This is one of those films that resides in your heart. Both caressing you and frightening you. Holding your hand in the dark and then shoving you into it. This is a story about love and war and this is a story about how treacherous both can be.

In typical Ghibli style the animation is flawless. It is perfection at its finest. The colors are bright and vibrant. The characters oozing personality. Not just the main cast but all of them. The monsters breathed life just like the flowers and all were just as interesting to look at.

The writing was fantastic as well and the characters were deeper with more personality than you would have expected. They were three dimensional and complex. You never really knew how they would react to situations. Sophia, the shy girl with little to no self esteem often surprised me with her actions. Over the course of the film the characters changed. Each one becoming more than they were in the beginning.  

The story, too, was just as beautiful as its animation. The love between Howl and Sophia breathed life into it and into your heart. You didn’t really know what was going to happen next but you knew they would be a constant. Always together no matter what happened.

This is one of those films that really moved you and in many ways it may have changed you, too. It shows the horrors of war and selfishness, How what the human heart wants isn’t always what it needs. And it tells a story of love and what it takes to have courage. In short, this film is a masterpiece and one that everyone needs to see.

10 out of 10