Not as good as Spirited Away, but alright

Rating: 4/10 (14 June 2005)

Just came out of my local art house movie theater for the matinée showing of "Howl's Moving Castle". I had previously seen Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", and was expecting a beautiful story with engaging visuals and an interesting eye on things. Unfortunately, for me, this movie only had 2/3 of those features. I found the story and characters not as likable or relatable as in "Spirited", and the convoluted plot involving a war taking place in the background didn't really pull me in as much. The animation is still great, especially of the moving castle, and in general it's on the level of "Spirited", but storywise, this one didn't really do it for me as much.
Recommended for a rental, I guess.