Howl's Moving Castle is almost better than Sen to Chihiro.

Rating: 10/10 (21 August 2005)

I had the good fortune to see HMC in a theater. HMC and Sen to Chihiro are almost exactly equal in my opinion, although I do think that the ending was a bit rushed. Nonetheless, I couldn't stop smiling until my brother came to pick us up. I especially like Christian Bale's voice as Howl, and his entrance was one of the best I've ever seen. The anime club at school agreed with my suggestion to watch it.
It was incredibly refreshing to find out that the American adaption of Howl's Moving Castle did NOT rely on a boatload of famous actors to draw in an audience; as voice-acting is completely different from on-screen acting, casting celebrities in a Miyazaki film (most notably with Mononoke-Hime) is a mistake that will eventually detract from the impact of the movie. However, in Howl, the lack of easily-recognizable voices is both obvious and rather relieving, as I was more able to enjoy the movie without having to dwell upon any lackluster voice-acting, as I did with Princess Mononoke.
EDIT: Since writing this comment, I have read Diana Wynne Jones' novel. There are quite a few differences, such as the scarecrow's relationship to Sophie, Howl's degree of self-centeredness, and an obvious mistake in translation for Markl/Michael's name.
But in spite of the differences, Howl's Moving Castle is an incredible movie with an acceptable to enjoyable cast, fantastic art that is expected of Miyazaki, and a film that both adults and children alike will be able to enjoy.