I hate gunfire. No manners

Rating: 10/10 (9 October 2010)

I haven't read the novel by Dianne Wynne Jones that this is loosely based on(but I understand that while this is not that direct of an adaptation, she is very happy with how it turned out). The young Sofie, a girl who doesn't feel attractive, becomes the victim of a spell that ages her. She then becomes the cleaning lady at the titular legged, moving castle of a powerful, selfish yet insecure young sorcerer Hauru, who she is infatuated with. We go with her on the ride to this amazing world of magic(in the universe this takes place in, it's almost commonplace) and quirky, strange and imaginative creatures, including a helpful living scarecrow, a charming, small and very old dog and the fire demon Calcifer(that eats egg shells and such to sustain himself). The focus is not on a ton of different creatures, settings or curses; the ones there are, are hypnotic, unforgettable and effective. This builds atmosphere and really gets to you, taking the time to draw you in, instead of the often scared-to-stand-still American norm(just because animation *can* move fast doesn't mean it always should). There is real personality to the locations, the beings and of course the characters. The sheer level of creativity and detail here is spellbinding. This has a great plot, if it is perhaps a tad vague at times and leaves you with unnecessary questions. I watched this with the original Japanese voices and subtitles, and I would definitely say that is the best way to go. The acting is spot-on. This has a marvelous score. While some of the humor is pretty silly, this is also genuinely funny at times. It can also be rather cute and sweet. This is 110 minutes sans credits. The art and designs are breathtaking, with little CGI. There is disturbing content in this. The DVD comes with a 19 and a half minute featurette about how they animated the walking structure, a 7 and a half minute interview with the author of the book and a couple of TV spots and trailers. I recommend this to any fan of Animé. 10/10