Howl’s Moving Castle
There are moments of sublime poetry and beauty in “Howl’s Moving Castle,” the latest Japanesee Anime from acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, who won an Oscar in 2002 for his astonishing and moving “Spirited Away,” but had previously found an American audience with the releases of “Princess Mononoke” (my first experience with Miyazaki) and “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” Of course, that goes with the turf of watching a Miyazaki film- he’s a master at creating sights that inspire the imagination and make their way into your very soul (my favorite of these images is in “Spirited Away,” as Chihiro and her new friends ride a train that seems to glide on the water to a witch’s house; there’s a serenity and feeling of transcendence to this passage that’s unique and unforgettable).
But while I continue to be in awe of Miyazaki’s ability to create humane fantasy that lacks predictable sentiment, his moving portrayal of young women at a crucial stage of their lives (“Spirited Away’s” Chihiro and “Kiki’s Delivery Service’s” Kiki are two of my favorite characters in all of animation), and his delightful visual imagination (he’s still showing me things I’ve never seen before), “Howl’s Moving Castle” is- for me- a step below his earlier masterpieces. Bear in mind, it’s still better than the vast majority of American-produced animated films of the past several years (though this year, Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Steamboy” and the Korean-produced “Sky Blue” stand above it in feature-length animation), if only because Miyazaki’s artistry (instantly recognizable as his) is still unparalleled in both America and Japan, even if his use of computers to enhance the look of his film- still largely hand-drawn- is evident in some of the more epic sequences.
So how did Miyazaki not astonish me with another masterwork? How other filmmakers have done it- through story. Miyazaki has one well worth telling in this story of a young woman named Sophie (voiced by Jean Simmons), who works in a hat shop until an evil witch (voiced by Lauren Bacall) puts a curse on her, turning her into an old woman. Ashamed, she travels into the place where wizards and witches- which are a normal part of the real world society- live, and comes upon the moving castle of Howl (voiced by new Batman Christian Bale), a powerful and legendary wizard who helped her out one time when she was being harassed. In the castle- which is always on the move and has a doorway that leads to different places depending on where it is- Sophie finds a place as a maid as she helps out Howl (whom she hopes can turn her back into a young woman), his apprentice, and the living fire called Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal, acting with sly nuance and heart) that moves the castle and is cursed as well.
Again, it’s a story worth telling, and it’s ultimate message in telling Sophie’s story- about learning to be comfortable in your own skin and finding your place in the world- is a familiar one for Miyazaki fans (“Spirited Away” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” shared elements of the same story), but told in a unique and engaging way. So what’s the problem? It’s three-fold. For one thing, the story feels repetitive and stretched out in comparison to the earlier gems (a lot of padding in this two-hour movie). Secondly, because of the repetition and padding, we have the inevitable “middle act drag” wherein the story doesn’t just slow, it stops as we see things happen that either are unnecessary for the central story, or are not handled properly for this story- they just feel wrong. Finally, while the idea of witches and wizards existing in a believable reality is a rich idea (hey, “Buffy” and “Harry Potter” have pulled it off in interesting ways, ditto “Kiki’s”), it didn’t really gel as well here. It felt as though the supernatural angle was shoehorned into the real world Miyazaki set out to create in this fantasy when it should have been the starting point for the story, with the real world built around it. To quote a fellow Yahoo from our “A.I.” commentary, it didn’t feel “organic.” Of course, Miyazaki was working from an outside source (a novel for young adults by Diana Wynne Jones), and not from his fervent imagination (as he was with “Mononoke” and “Spirited Away”), so one can’t blame Miyazaki for the story’s flaws.
Nonetheless, for fans of film, fans of animation, and fans of the filmmaker, “Howl’s Moving Castle” remains an unmissable event, and it still has much going for it to recommend it. The direction and performances of the voiceover actors by “Monsters Inc.” director Pete Docter and the cast for the English dub (the DVD will also have the original Japanese for purists) is as warm and engaging as it was on “Spirited Away,” which had the voice talent directed by Pixar top man John Lasseter (who is the closest thing to a modern day Miyazaki America has). The sights of the fantastic- Howl’s castle, his transformation into a winged warrior in battle, the fire demon Calcifer, the living stick body of a scarecrow who befriends Sophie on her journey, the serene peace of nature Howl shows her (which was where he spent his childhood)- are as awe-inspiring and deeply felt as ever. And of course, the subtle humor and thoughtful heart that permeates through every frame of the film, which stands as both a standard for American animation- which (save for Pixar’s masterworks) is in a steady downward spiral of dull stories and lame humor- and a mark of a master filmmaker who- even when he doesn’t achieve artistic transcendence- still manages to show a viewer something he’s never seen before, in a way he’s never experienced before that’s both rewarding and memorable.
