Howl's Moving Castle
 

I saw this movie last Saturday. I think it is better than "Spirited Away". The animation was top notch but the Story Telling was what really made this movie good.

The Story is about Sophie a young woman who doesn't think much of herself. She is on her way to her mother's hat shop when she is accosted by two soldiers. A wizard (later known as Howl) saves her. Howl is pursued by a jealous rival known as the Witch of the Waste. She in turn puts a curse on Sophie so that she turns into an old woman and can not tell anybody about the curse. Sophie then journey's to Howls moving castle (powered by a fire demon) and get's a job as Howl's cleaning lady.


Okay so my short synapsis doesn't sound very appealing. But trust me the movie is very good. I believe that the moving castle is a metaphor for us as human beings. There are different forces within the castle and each character living within represents different sides of us. Sophie is wisdom and Howl -ambition. Kalsaphor is ingenuity.

http://criticall.gameplanet.cz/criti...g%20castle.jpg

http://ctribe.web.infoseek.co.jp/dat...castle_n05.jpg

I tried to take my son to this last week but couldn't manage it... we will have to wait until he gets back from camp and the cottage.

I'm really excited about this film. lurkette and I totally adore Spirited Away and think that Miyazaki-san is a total genius. It'll be a while before it opens here, but we're excited anyway!

It's still not out here yet, but I'm eagerly awaiting it.
I loved Spirited Away and Castle's In The Sky so I have high hope for this one

I was, unfortunately, very disappointed by Howl's Moving Castle. I loved Spirited Away, but this movie just didn't hang together very well for me. I thought the animation was incredible, but the story just didn't seem to go anywhere. I never felt like there was a strong central conflict that I could follow from start to finish, just a lot of truncated storylines that interfaced chaotically. That being said, it's probably worth it just for the visuals. ;)