#247 – Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Hauru no ugoku shiro as it’s known in its original name is an animated production from the famous Japanese Studio Ghibli. It’s a grand tale full of magic, love and vanity.
The story centers around issues of low self-esteem and vanity. It follows a young girl who is cursed by a witch to appear old. She runs away from home and employs herself forcefully at Howl’s moving castle where she befriends the cute Markl (apprentice to Howl) and Calcifer (the fire demon who is mysteriously connected with Howl). Their world is filled with wondrous things and it’s very well flushed out. I thouroughly enjoyed the world Studio Ghibli created but felt somewhat let down by the soft ending. It was too well packaged at the end and I hated being fed such a Disney-feel-good-vomit-fest. Maybe I’m being too harsh but I’ll let you be the judge.
Despite the ending I really did love this movie and will watch it again for certain. I gave it a 7/10.