Howl's Moving Castle (2004) Dir: Hayao Miyazaki
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Hayao Miyazaki's classic adaptation of the novel by Diana Wynne Jones is one of Studio Ghibli's most beloved films to date, and has a richly deserved place among the best animated films of the twenty first century. It's one I've seen many times and, as you will already be able to tell, is a film I have a lot of love for.
The film has some brilliant anti-war messaging - a consistent them of Miyazaki's stories. It also features some marvellous themes, including humanity, selfhood, compassion, and belonging - all of which are addressed in a delightfully wholesome manner.
The animation was comprised of some truly beautiful artwork, as one can always expect from Studio Ghibli. There are some of the most wonderful shots in all of Ghibli, using a range of magnificent colours to compose the character designs and scenery, which were all wonderful.
The narrative was both fascinating and wholesome, while still including some pretty dark scenes, which is very much in the Miyazaki playbook. The romance of the story was incredibly heartwarming, with love, not just romantic love, being a huge theme. Miyazaki often makes his films feel like fairytales, and that was very much the case here.
Having watched the english audio dubbed version of the film, my actor performance reviews will concern the English voice cast, rather than the original Japanese cast.
Jean Simmons and Emily Mortimer provided the voice work for the film's protagonist, and I found both of their performances utterly endearing and sweet, each in their own way. I loved how the two actors managed to be unique, without feeling too different from one another.
Christian Bale provides one of my all-time favourite voice acting performances in a Ghibli film, with a sincere, charismatic and intriguing portrayal of the film's mysterious and allusive wizard. He was so enjoyable in every aspect of his voice acting, and really brought his character to life with vivid personality.
Billy Crystal showed some of his hilarious comedic chops here, and was able to play up to his character's often eccentric and silly animation. Josh Hutcherson, Lauren Bacall and Blythe Danner also provided enjoyable supporting voice performances, particularly Bacall, who found the line between nasty and humorous very well.
Overall, it was such a joyfully experience revisiting this stunning film. It's so full of heart and beautiful storylines, that come together to make one of Myazaki's most memorable films, which is certainly saying something. I adore this one, and I will continue to return to it for years to come.
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