Howl’s Moving Castle

June 8, 2005

Rated: PG Runtime: 119 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Howl’s Moving Castle is a kids movie that’s not really for kids, at least not young ones, the story is just too deep for them. On the other hand, the theater I saw it in was packed with children of all ages and was one of the best behaved audiences I’ve seen recently. Maybe they were enthralled by the pretty colors, or maybe the little tykes are smarter than I give them credit for. I’m betting on the colors.

Howl's Moving Castle Sophie is a teenager who takes life entirely too seriously and apparently doesn’t allow herself to be happy very often. She’s the type who would rather stay at work to finish up something while everyone else goes out to shop or play. There’s something to be said for a good work ethic, but she is a teenager after all and should really lighten up. One day she bumps into a wizard who “devours the hearts of pretty girls” but he merely helps her out of a situation, so she of course assumes that it’s because she’s “not pretty”. We’ve all known girls like this, and the girl-who-thinks-she’s-ugly-but-is-really-pretty-and-eventually-figures-that-out story line is nothing new.

Later that evening when she makes it back to the shop, she’s visited by the Wicked Witch of the Waste who puts a curse on her, turning her into an old woman. This suits her attitude about life, and she does the practical thing and leaves home in search of someone who can help lift the curse. She ends up with Howl in his moving castle, and the rest of the story is about her coming to grips with her feelings, Howl coming to grips with his feelings, the Witch with her feelings, etc. etc.

While the movie takes itself seriously and makes statements about war, politics, relationships, desires… there are a lot of funny bits. The castle is powered by a fire demon (voiced by Billy Crystal) who steals every scene he’s in, there’s a silent but quite communicative scarecrow, and an old dog who has a wheeze instead of a bark. The cast of characters is excellent and the voice acting is top notch. Even so, the movie only gets 3 stars from me because it moves a bit too slow through it’s 2 hour length.

If you’ve got kids asking to go to this one, go ahead and take them. If my audience was any indicator they’ll have a good time and you’ll enjoy yourself as well. Otherwise, just add this one to your Netflix queue so you don’t forget about it, it is worth watching.

Posted by John | Filed Under 3 Stars, Billy Crystal, Christian Bale, Comedy, Drama, Emily Mortimer, Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, PG, SciFi, Theatrical