This -needs- an Oscar!

Rating: 10/10 (2 September 2005)

Wow. This is THE most amazing movie I have -ever- seen, I repeat, -EVER-, and not just in a range of Miyazaki and anime movies, though Howl's Moving Castle has given me whiplash when bypassing Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke by a mile long-shot. This is the story of a young hatter named Sophie (Zofi) who is the oldest of two (three in the book) daughters and believes the fairytale rule of the-first-is-always-the-worst. On her way to visiting her sister Lettie she bumps into two drunken soldiers who flirt shamelessly. She is saved by a handsome young man, who takes her on a "stroll through the sky" while escaping from "ravenous globs of black goo". When she returns home she meets an obese, ugly lady-later known to be the Witch of the Waste-who curses her into turning into a 90-year-old-woman. The next morning Sophie leaves her home, attempting to get as far from the town as possible. And she ends up in the house belonging to said handsome young man: Howl (Hauru). If I say any more, you would be spoiled. I have seen this movie 5 times in theatres and plan to buy the DVD, rumored to be coming out in November. If you don't see this movie and are yet an anime/manga/Miyazaki fan, it would be a loss that might cause the end of the world. At least in -my- opinion.