Howl no Ugoku Shiro:
Story & Writing:
Nowhere is Hayao Miyazaki's surreal magic more perceptible than in Howl's Moving Castle. He has the ability to turn adults back into little kids at the wave of his finger; at the drop of a pen. He sucks you into his world of imagination, holds you and does not let you go.
Howl's Moving Castle had me completely absorbed within the first minute of its runtime. I was so completely engrossed in its world, so vibrant and full of detail, that before I knew it, an hour, then two, had zipped by. The story, the characters, and the setting are all charming and captivating. Also, Miyazaki's trademark mind-boggling attention to detail goes an extremely long way to make it all the more believable and engrossing.
To understand why the writing of Howl is so good, one must understand the universal and unspoken rule of effective writing: "Show, not tell." Never does Howl underestimate the intelligence of its audience. It always shows us the pieces, and makes us fit them together on our own. It forsakes verbal exposition in favor of pacing and storytelling, and everything works out to a tee. It is as clever and witty as it is playful and humorous, but the truly amazing thing is how subtly the movie presents these elements to its viewers. For instance, punchlines are understated and low-key; foreshadowing is scattered all throughout and characterization is deep but subtle.
In other words, think of the show's writing as something that kids would understand 60% of and would greatly enjoy, but thinking adults would understand 90-100% of and enjoy even more.
There are a few gripes that I have with this movie, and one of them is that the character development happens too quickly. At times, characters seemingly fall in love with one another out of nowhere at times, their attitudes change so drastically from one scene to the next that it's disorienting if you haven't already picked up on the cues as to why that character has changed that the show must have dropped somewhere before.
Also, the movie became too cryptic towards the end. Context is seemingly lost and all conflicts got resolved too quickly and too instantaneously. But I guess at the end of the day, that's not the point of Howl. You don't need to understand all the fine details of the plot to enjoy Howl. You just sit back and let yourself get swept up by Miyazaki's magic.
Art:
Amazing. Not only is the scenery constantly vibrant and breathtaking, the characters' animations are something else. The way they move is so nuanced and packed with detail that these motions alone tell a story of their own. Also, the fact that every single animation frame is hand-drawn and every single background is hand-painted is mind-blowing. I don't think I've seen a lick of CG throughout the 2 hours of runtime.
Sound:
The fully orchestrated soundtrack is captivating and greatly heightens the effect of every scene.
Enjoyment:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Story & Writing:
Nowhere is Hayao Miyazaki's surreal magic more perceptible than in Howl's Moving Castle. He has the ability to turn adults back into little kids at the wave of his finger; at the drop of a pen. He sucks you into his world of imagination, holds you and does not let you go.
Howl's Moving Castle had me completely absorbed within the first minute of its runtime. I was so completely engrossed in its world, so vibrant and full of detail, that before I knew it, an hour, then two, had zipped by. The story, the characters, and the setting are all charming and captivating. Also, Miyazaki's trademark mind-boggling attention to detail goes an extremely long way to make it all the more believable and engrossing.
To understand why the writing of Howl is so good, one must understand the universal and unspoken rule of effective writing: "Show, not tell." Never does Howl underestimate the intelligence of its audience. It always shows us the pieces, and makes us fit them together on our own. It forsakes verbal exposition in favor of pacing and storytelling, and everything works out to a tee. It is as clever and witty as it is playful and humorous, but the truly amazing thing is how subtly the movie presents these elements to its viewers. For instance, punchlines are understated and low-key; foreshadowing is scattered all throughout and characterization is deep but subtle.
In other words, think of the show's writing as something that kids would understand 60% of and would greatly enjoy, but thinking adults would understand 90-100% of and enjoy even more.
There are a few gripes that I have with this movie, and one of them is that the character development happens too quickly. At times, characters seemingly fall in love with one another out of nowhere at times, their attitudes change so drastically from one scene to the next that it's disorienting if you haven't already picked up on the cues as to why that character has changed that the show must have dropped somewhere before.
Also, the movie became too cryptic towards the end. Context is seemingly lost and all conflicts got resolved too quickly and too instantaneously. But I guess at the end of the day, that's not the point of Howl. You don't need to understand all the fine details of the plot to enjoy Howl. You just sit back and let yourself get swept up by Miyazaki's magic.
Art:
Amazing. Not only is the scenery constantly vibrant and breathtaking, the characters' animations are something else. The way they move is so nuanced and packed with detail that these motions alone tell a story of their own. Also, the fact that every single animation frame is hand-drawn and every single background is hand-painted is mind-blowing. I don't think I've seen a lick of CG throughout the 2 hours of runtime.
Sound:
The fully orchestrated soundtrack is captivating and greatly heightens the effect of every scene.
Enjoyment:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
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