Not the best Ghibli offering, but certainly worth watching.

Rating: 7/10 (16 October 2005)

About a bazillion other people have already given a detailed summary of the film so I don't need to go there.
The good: The animation! I thought it was simply brilliant. There were some background scenes (inside the castle) that were painted photo realistically, yet as a viewer, I did not find them jarring with the foreground characters at all. Also, the CGI elements blended in perfectly.
The bad: Plot? What plot? The plot didn't make much sense.
On the whole, the lack of plot didn't effect me much at all because I was too busy putting myself in Sophie's shoes or else ogling at the amazing animation. This movie had me on a very emotional level.
Other interesting little tidbits: There were many similarities between this and my other favourite Miyazaki film- Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Some of the scenes seemed to be updated shots from Laputa. In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion that the two films were set in the same alternative universe. And I wasn't in the least bit surprised when Pazu (from Laputa) made a very brief appearance about 20 minutes into the film. Catch him if you can.
Conclusion: Don't expect a coherent plot line. Just keep your eyes open and enjoy.