Beautifully created movie which touched my heart

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2015)

Howl's Moving Castle, adapted from the famous book written by author Diana Jones, is perhaps the most creative,magical, and heartwarming Japanese animated movie to be produced by the legendary Ghibli studios. Director Hayao Miyazaki, who is famous for his other internationally popular works, such as My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away, enchants his viewers once again with Howl's Moving Castle, which was released in 2004. The movie has appeared on many critics' top lists and received high ratings and much praise.
Sophie, a quiet and plain looking girl who works in her family's hat shop, is cursed by an evil witch, called "The Witch of the Waste." The curse transforms her into an old woman. Sophie runs away and goes to work for the wizard Howl in his castle, hoping he can reverse the curse. She falls in love with Howl, who is mysterious and charming. She tries to free Howl of the dangerous deal he made with his fire demon, and he tries to break her curse. But they have a larger problem, there is a coming war.
Miyazaki's animations are highly imaginative and creative, and truly a treat to see. He creates beautiful yet magical worlds, and as a viewer, I found myself wanting to live in the amazing world of Miyazaki's unique imagination. His landscapes and settings are very beautiful and full of detail. His creations of the war-crafts, and especially of Howl's very unusual walking castle, are awe inspiring.The music used in the film is excellent and sets the mood for many of the scenes during the movie. The soundtrack is all comprised of wonderful and emotional orchestra pieces.
Miyazaki's character adaptations are exceptional. His characters are dramatic, comical, and flamboyant, while remaining relatable to the audience. He creates some very wild, theatrical characters, such as the evil witch of the waste and Calcifer, the Fire Demon, but balances them out with sensible, realistic characters such as Sophie and Howl's apprentice, Markl. However, what really makes the characters spectacular are the actors which play their voices. There are a number of very skilled actors, such as Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, and Billy Crystal, which bring the characters to life. The voice actors do an excellent job of interpreting the deep emotions and feeling of the character's into their voices, and conveying the emotions to the audience. You can feel the love, anger, bitterness, frustration, and joy that the characters are feeling throughout the movie.
The movie, Howl's Moving Castle contains several important themes which interest a wide variety of audiences. Some of the main themes include : family, love, destiny, appearances, deceptions, evil, and the supernatural. I found all these themes portrayed clearly in the story and, they gave the plot real significance and deeper meaning. You can learn some very important lessons from the movie, such as the importance of family and love, the consequence of deception and evil, and that your fate and destiny are always in your hands.
This a truly amazing film that I have watched many times and it touches my heart every time. I truly enjoyed every single aspect of this magical, creative, and beautifully done movie. I recommend this movie to everyone, because this movie has something for everyone to enjoy.