Keep this in mind...

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2005)

I loved just about every second of Howl's Moving Castle, but I can understand why some folks had problems with it.
1. Several visual ideas reappear from Miyazaki's other films - blob men, flying machines, laser-pointer crystals, and so forth. Still, nothing feels recycled or rehashed. The referential nods just encourage the notion of a cohesive Miyazaki universe - that all his stories chronicle different periods of a single imaginary world where just about anything is possible. I especially appreciated the Ghibli references since Howl's is rumored to be Miyazaki's final film - this made the experience all the most sentimental and bittersweet, especially when combined with the "what it means to grow old" subplot.
If Sophie feels all too familiar to you - consider this: there is an inside joke at Studio Ghibli that a single imaginary anime actress plays all of Miyazaki's different heroines.
While Howl's Moving Castle is certainly not the first Charles-Dickens-high-on-absinthe-and-anachronism anime I've ever seen - its the only one that spiritually takes that Old World European "turn of the century" feeling to Sgt.-Pepper's heights.
2. Howl's Moving Castle lacks a traditional narrative plot in favor of presenting a surreal, dream-like experience. The story itself does not suffer from this treatment. It's still a very interesting tale - it just might take some folks a couple of screenings to really get it. The final resolve comes about thanks to a sort-of deux ex machina, followed by some Scooby-Doo worthy revelations. Its a ruthlessly, beautifully, absurdly happy ending that knows very well just how ridiculous it is, and pushes it as far as it can go - but this perfectly follows the film's dream-logic. To claim that Howl's Moving Castle doesn't make a whole lot of sense it to miss the point entirely.
I can't vouch for the book - but unless it was written with Miyazaki in mind - many changes must have been made.
A handful of traditions from other fantasy classics are represented - yet all the while, the film feels totally original.
Its a surreal, dream-like experience - you just have to let yourself go with it. I felt like I was 10 years old again, you get that same overwhelming sense of wonder. In a single word, the film is supremely MAGICAL. Although I'm still in my 20's, the subplot concerning what you lose, and what you gain with old age really got to me. Of course, the visuals are jaw-dropping, esp. the kinetic sense of motion - the way Howl's Castle moves, the way characters' faces morph - its all beyond words. Plus, its hilarious, with a kind of grandparent sense of humor. So many classic moments. And it can be very unsettling at times, esp. during the passages where everything seems too good to be true, we keep waiting for the earth to drop out from underneath. I love the way Miyazaki's heroes accept their doom, and just move on. Its like, "Hey - what do you know?...I aged 70 years when I woke up this morning, oh well, that sucks, guess I better head off for the mountains." I feel I should warn you - Sophie's mom comes across like Scarlet O'Hara on bad acid!
I entered the theater expecting to be a little bit disappointed - how could it top Spirited Away? - maybe that's why I was so pleasantly surprised.
Howl's Moving Castle is a perfect Miyazaki movie.
PS - I did eat one brownie, but by Act II, it felt like I head eaten four.