Hey, i was so happy to see Howls Moving Castle got a cinema release across england. Did anyone else see this beast of a brilliant film? If so what did you think of it.
I agree with the above. It's possibly Miyazaki's most beautiful-looking movie, but he's made much more entertaining and better-written stuff: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky.
I didn't feel that the characters were very interesting in this one.
Some Miyazaki movies also suffer from the story dragging toward the end, as I feel this one did.
I saw it a few months ago... i believe i posted somewhere.... I really liked it. I did enjoy my neighbor totoro and Kiki's delivery service more than this one.. and spirited away... other than that I liked it more than a few other movies that i have seen recently.
Well, I eigth or ninth the above... Howl was great, but a step down from Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. And that ending still doesn't completely make sense to me.
But yes, very visually stunning and a lot of fun to watch.
I went to see it in the cinema the other night and it was the first anime film that I ever have seen. I thought it was simply beautiful. The backgrounds, the colour schemes and the way that the castle moved all blew me away. It left me wondering if any 3D software was used for the castle?
I haven't read the book so I don't know how it compares but I thought the film story was bonkers, but I still enjoyed it. It was a very different sort of storytelling and everyone in the cinema probably filled in the gaps in their own way, which isn't a bad thing. It certainly got the group who I went to see it with, talking and debating their theories. I thought the characterization of Sophie was very successful and I felt empathy for her and cared about her fate.
The following night I watched "Spirited Away" and I am glad that I saw "Howl's..." first. I did like "Spirited..." but it was more like what I assumed an anime film would be. So all in all I guess "Howl's..." challenged my perception of anime and won me over enough to make me want to see more of Myazaki's work.
Actually i thought Howl was alot more insteresting then Spirited Away, although Spirited Away is a 10/10 film. I just found that Howl was just as beautiful but with a better story, although i havent read the book. But nothing can beat the unbeatable Princess Mononoke.
The problem the book has to my mind is that its ending is slightly rushed, and that a lot of things are revealed during its final two chapters which, with the benefit of hindsight, make sense, but are lacking the feeling of a storyline that develops toward them.
Myazaki's plot is very different -war, for example, is not an important topic at all in the book-, with the result that several characters which found their way from the novel into the movie had to have their roles altered. There is no Madam Suliman in the book. Suliman of the novel is the king's lost court wizard and doesn't really play much of a role save for those last chapters. He's not villainous or a mentor, either. The Witch Of The Waste in the book is really the key bad character (although not the über-villain as such) and doesn't get redeemed the way she does in the movie. Myazaki tends to be a bit unspecific about antagonists in my opinion, and even though Howl's-The Movie has some lengths, he wraps everything up for a Happy End rather quickly.
A minor detail I don't quite understand is why they called Howl's apprentice in the movie Markl, which is the romanised version of his Japanese name. His Japanese name, in turn, is what the novel's character's name, Michael, sounds like in Japanese. Why not simply stick with Michael in the dubbing? I think the whole movie's setting is European enough for that.
I just saw it tonight, There were a few things I really liked about it and a few things that bothered me.
The ending felt like they just ran out of time, pretty weak.
The style of the boats and airplanes seems strange, they have these really great cartoony warships and planes and then for some reason they stick in a bunch that look like they were traced from photographs.
I would suggest seeing it in the theater for the artwork though.
I've seen it twice and I luv it. My fave characters are Howl, Markl, Sophie and Calcifer. I'm also buying the book and the soundtrack as well as the film when it comes out on dvd.
Howl's Moving Castle was what I mostly expected. A beautiful setting, lovely music, a strange storyline and excellent animation. Even though there were some flaws to the movie, it was still a masterpeice.
It's a very nice film, although not Myazaki's best imo. Especially the second half is vastly, VASTLY different from the book.
I agree with the above. It's possibly Miyazaki's most beautiful-looking movie, but he's made much more entertaining and better-written stuff: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky.
I didn't feel that the characters were very interesting in this one.
Some Miyazaki movies also suffer from the story dragging toward the end, as I feel this one did.
I saw it too and I agree with the above.
I saw it a few months ago... i believe i posted somewhere.... I really liked it. I did enjoy my neighbor totoro and Kiki's delivery service more than this one.. and spirited away... other than that I liked it more than a few other movies that i have seen recently.
Don't do nothing because you can't do everything.
Well, I eigth or ninth the above... Howl was great, but a step down from Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. And that ending still doesn't completely make sense to me.
But yes, very visually stunning and a lot of fun to watch.
I went to see it in the cinema the other night and it was the first anime film that I ever have seen. I thought it was simply beautiful. The backgrounds, the colour schemes and the way that the castle moved all blew me away. It left me wondering if any 3D software was used for the castle?
I haven't read the book so I don't know how it compares but I thought the film story was bonkers, but I still enjoyed it. It was a very different sort of storytelling and everyone in the cinema probably filled in the gaps in their own way, which isn't a bad thing. It certainly got the group who I went to see it with, talking and debating their theories. I thought the characterization of Sophie was very successful and I felt empathy for her and cared about her fate.
The following night I watched "Spirited Away" and I am glad that I saw "Howl's..." first. I did like "Spirited..." but it was more like what I assumed an anime film would be. So all in all I guess "Howl's..." challenged my perception of anime and won me over enough to make me want to see more of Myazaki's work.
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Actually i thought Howl was alot more insteresting then Spirited Away, although Spirited Away is a 10/10 film. I just found that Howl was just as beautiful but with a better story, although i havent read the book. But nothing can beat the unbeatable Princess Mononoke.
The problem the book has to my mind is that its ending is slightly rushed, and that a lot of things are revealed during its final two chapters which, with the benefit of hindsight, make sense, but are lacking the feeling of a storyline that develops toward them.
Myazaki's plot is very different -war, for example, is not an important topic at all in the book-, with the result that several characters which found their way from the novel into the movie had to have their roles altered. There is no Madam Suliman in the book. Suliman of the novel is the king's lost court wizard and doesn't really play much of a role save for those last chapters. He's not villainous or a mentor, either. The Witch Of The Waste in the book is really the key bad character (although not the über-villain as such) and doesn't get redeemed the way she does in the movie. Myazaki tends to be a bit unspecific about antagonists in my opinion, and even though Howl's-The Movie has some lengths, he wraps everything up for a Happy End rather quickly.
A minor detail I don't quite understand is why they called Howl's apprentice in the movie Markl, which is the romanised version of his Japanese name. His Japanese name, in turn, is what the novel's character's name, Michael, sounds like in Japanese. Why not simply stick with Michael in the dubbing? I think the whole movie's setting is European enough for that.
I just saw it tonight, There were a few things I really liked about it and a few things that bothered me.
The ending felt like they just ran out of time, pretty weak.
The style of the boats and airplanes seems strange, they have these really great cartoony warships and planes and then for some reason they stick in a bunch that look like they were traced from photographs.
I would suggest seeing it in the theater for the artwork though.
I've seen it twice and I luv it. My fave characters are Howl, Markl, Sophie and Calcifer. I'm also buying the book and the soundtrack as well as the film when it comes out on dvd.
Howl's Moving Castle was what I mostly expected. A beautiful setting, lovely music, a strange storyline and excellent animation. Even though there were some flaws to the movie, it was still a masterpeice.