Wow

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2005)

Note: Possible Spoilers
I gave this movie a 10 out of 10, so I should warn you ahead of time that I loved this movie completely. My husband and I saw this movie last night on our "date night" and just were blown away. I've read reviews where folks think that this movie is not as good as the other Studio Ghibli movies (we have almost all of them) and so we were wary. Frankly, this turned out to be such a great date movie! It was truly a love story, and I believe that this was the first of Studio Ghibli's true love stories. At least it seems to be the only one of it's kind in English.
The best part of this movie happens when Howl introduces Sophie to a wildflower swept field, which is Howl's own personal space, and is a memory from his childhood. At that point, my husband and I were completely immersed in the world that Ghibli once again wonderfully and almost magically created. Believe me, when you reach that point in the movie, you will be "spirited away." Pun intended.
We will purchase this movie when it is released on DVD, and cannot wait to watch this movie again and again. Our children love Miyazaki's movies, and as well they should...he never has disappointed us.