Beautiful, but the story is lacking.

Rating: 6/10 (22 March 2010)

Watching a new Studio Ghibili movie is an event that has few equals in film. Each time, the viewer knows that by the time the movie is over, there's a huge chance that they will have another title to add to their list of favorites. That's a wonderful thing...but with expectations like those, sadly there is bound to eventually be disappointment. I suppose that time has finally come for me.
I certainly didn't hate Howl's Moving Castle. Some parts of it were as wonderful as I could have ever expected. First of all, it's beautiful. I could not have asked for more in that regard. The backgrounds, settings, and characters are so gorgeously drawn and animated, that each frame is its own individual work of art. A number of the characters were very appealing to me, as well. Who didn't instantly love Sophie and Turnip-head? I even liked the character of Calcifer (and Billy Crystal's voice-acting). On the other hand, I never warmed to Christian Bale's Howl or The Witch of the Wastes, but that makes complete sense within the context of the story. Those two creations were not really written to be liked.
(A special commendation has to be given to the animators and voice actors who kept Sophie as a clearly recognizable character, even as her appearance underwent several changes. That couldn't have been easy to do, but it really helps the viewer form a bond with her.)
So, where did my disappointment come from? The story. I realize that this isn't an original Miyazaki creation (instead, it's an adaptation of a popular British book from the 80's), so perhaps they had difficulties in working within another person's vision? So much that I wanted to know about the characters and their world, is left unexplained. Huge plot points come and go in a brief span of time, with very little comment. Howl's story was fortunately fully-resolved, and it could be argued that everything else is unnecessary, but it feels to me like there were a lot of missed opportunities. Even the main plot was a bit boring and frustratingly vague. Howl's Moving Castle could have been a fantastic movie, but these niggling issues make it no better than average.
There's a wide-range of discussion and contention about which Miyazaki movie is the best, but general consensus is that none of them are less than decent . Some people will absolutely love this, it just didn't appeal to my tastes as much as some other Ghibli films have. At the very least, Howl's Moving Castle is worth watching for the extraordinary visuals.