An Absolutely Beautiful, Beautiful Film

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2011)

I had heard great things about this movie and I'm a big fan of the other Hayao Miyazaki's films I've seen (Princess Monoke & Spirited Away) so I was sure I would enjoy this movie. Alas Howl's turned out to be my favorite Miyazaki film and is one of my favorite movies of all time.
As in his other films the animation in Howl's Moving Castle was stunning. The behemoth walking castle, the vibrant colors of the various landscape, the ever-changing skies overhead, all contribute to the visual beauty of the movie. The plot of the film was fantastically woven with many surprises, delights, and triumphs which are a testament to both Hayao Miyazaki for the screenplay and Diana Wynne Jones for the novel on which the movie is based. A surprise for many viewers may be the depth of the characters in this animated film. All of the main characters are developed fully which allows the viewer to relate to characters that aren't even necessarily human, in addition to adding realism to each character.
The steampunk technology and the mix of magic and science create a novel type of world for the film to be set in. Its intricate set-up allows the viewer to connect to something entirely different from the world he or she lives in by mixing realistic & fantastical elements. In fact I think one of the things that makes this film particularly astounding is the way it can turn the mundane into the magical. Things that all people can relate to (cleaning, aging, family, war, love) are taken from our world and put into the otherworldly realm of Miyazaki's imagination, where they take on a completely new light.
I absolutely adore the film and it was an immediate 10/10 in my mind. The only thing I disliked was the feeling near the end when one knows the masterpiece is coming to a close which is, of course, unavoidable. Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle is an absolutely beautiful, beautiful film and I recommend it to everyone!