Requiem for a child's dream

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2006)

If we go back to Spirited away, and more backwards to Mononoke Hime, we discover that Miyazaki has done with Howl's moving castle like a testament of his artwork. It has all the elements that made him what he is right now. The young hero (Sophie in this case) fighting against events that are over it's understatement, the cursed prince, the war feeling, the evil witches, the bizarre monsters, the charming characters... Is like a crossover of all his movies, like a gallery of paintings where you walk and you see each frame of his devious imagination. With the aid of Joe Hisaishi mesmerizing score, Miyazaki takes us to another ocean of original ideas, without being completely original (well, not every animation movie has a moving castle, and such a twisted plot of spells, curses, war and conspiracy). In a year full of Tripods, remakes, polemic movies and some flaws in the box office, Howl's moving castle is a relief. As they said in a Spanish comic book: I think like go to heaven is like enter in a Miyazaki movie. With Howl's moving castle that's a reality.