One of Ghibli's best!

Rating: 9/10 (23 June 2007)

Went to see this with my husband, and absolutely loved it. I like it much more than Sprited Away, and that says a lot right there, because I loved Spirited Away quite a bit. We bought it as soon as it came out on DVD.
The voices in this were lovely, and Billy was especially wonderful. I'd forgotten that Christian Bale did Howl's voice until the credits, though.
The plot's not perfect, but what's there is excellent. I was a little worried about this, because one of the bad reviews I saw on Rotten Tomatoes (and there weren't many...) said that the writing sucked. Though there are plot holes, the story moves along fast enough that you don't really notice them until you think back on the movie. And there's so much else to focus on that the holes aren't really a major issue. The movie is humorous and solemn in turns, and there's so much to see that the plot holes just don't matter.
As far as characters, I fell immediately in love with Howl, who's very devil-may-care, but with a good heart. There's a great mix of other characters, from the main character, Sophie, who is cursed by a powerful witch because she's caught Howl's attention; to Calcipher, voiced by Billy Crystal, who is the main source of Howl's power. The characters feel like they have back-stories, even though we never learn most of them, and that's fine, given the limitations of a movie of this type. In fact, it makes me more inclined to like the film, as it makes the characters feel more like real people. Yes, I want to know more about them, but it's not necessary to know, and just knowing that there is a history there is enough.
The world is wonderfully rich--kind of a mix of natural magic and the Great War period, with flying ships of all descriptions, odd tanks and battleships, and fascinating mythology, which, while not given much detail, still feels a part of the world, rather than something overlaying it. The Castle itself is not so much a castle as an amazing moving house, which has its own inherent magics, thanks to a fire demon. There were a lot of things that went unexplained, but given the time they had to explain, they did exceptionally well.
That's really all I have to say, aside from the fact that anyone who enjoys Ghibli films should not miss this one.