What Am I Missing in Howl’s Moving Castle?
Ghibli Month — Chapter 15: Howl’s Moving Castle
Director — Hayao Miyazaki
Year of Release — 2004
Language — English
How Many Times Watched? — 3 times
Rating — ★★★
This is a Watch Later. It’s pretty and a lot of fun, but it just doesn’t work for me.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really care for Howl’s Moving Castle. Maybe that’s sacrilegious and an all-around uncool thing to say, but I can’t deny my feelings. I’m willing to admit that maybe I’m just missing something, but at this point, I’m not sure that’s possible. I’ve watched it three times in the past year, each time hoping to get something new out of it, something I may have missed. But my feelings never change. I am still just meh about it.
Can someone please explain to me what I’m missing?
Back in 2003, Spirited Away was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. It was the first anime to ever be nominated for an Oscar and eventually win; a landmark occasion. But its creator did not come to accept the honor. He boycotted the event, saying he “didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq.”
If you didn’t know by now, Hayao Miyazaki is anti-war in every case. His films are littered with themes of peace over violence (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke, for example). In fact, the unjust war in Iraq is what directly inspired Howl’s Moving Castle.
While never taking the forefront, there is a brewing war throughout the film that is said to be pointless and fraught with superfluous death and destruction. Usually, Miyazaki is a little more indirect in his themes, but with Howl’s, he makes sure you know that war is bad, going so far as to have one of the characters that started the war randomly say, “It’s time to put an end to this idiotic war.” There is no context as to why she started it or why it ended so abruptly. It just ended. I guess hearts change like the turnip prince said moments before.
But that’s exactly my problem with Howl’s Moving Castle. There is little to no development of anything throughout, not even in the prolific and ever-important anti-war theme. I just wanted more. It almost feels like the film is only a vehicle for Miyazaki to say war is bad. I agree with him completely, but I can’t help but wish the movie was more than a loose theme.
On top of that, the plot itself feels rather contrived, abnormal for Miyazaki. There are changes of hearts that seemingly come from out of nowhere. I like the idea of learning to love yourself, but it never felt important to the story, becoming nothing more than a simple afterthought.
I don't believe the romance between Howl and Sophie for one second. They are never given the chance to develop. They are strangers then all of a sudden they are kissing on the balcony (a gorgeous scene by the way). It feels completely forced and out of character for both of them (even though I love it so much).
Despite the fact that I still can’t quite figure out what people love about this film, there’s a reason I’ve revisited it a few times. I absolutely love the characters. Calcifer is a scene-stealer. Markl is adorable. I love Turnip Head and his innate ability to get stuck upside down. Howl is something else, and I mean that entirely positively. I love his whole demeanor. He’s a very interesting character. While Sophie is not my favorite Miyazaki heroine, I do like her, especially her short grey hair at the end. The cast is phenomenal and entices me back into the world.
By now do I even have to mention how gorgeous the animation is? It’s Studio Ghibli. Of course, it’s great. But there’s something different with Howl’s. I don’t think it’s Miyazaki’s best-looking film (that would probably be Ponyo or The Wind Rises), but in 2004, nothing else looked this good. Holy cow. The level of detail in every little thing is phenomenal. The backgrounds and landscapes to the city streets and the characters’ faces. Don’t even get me started on Howl’s castle. A great mix of CG with the more traditional style. Miyazaki is just flexing his talent at this point.
Now all of this may sound overly critical, which I get. It might be. But let me clear, Hayao Miyazaki has never made a bad movie. Of his 11, they range from great to masterpieces. Not many directors have that kind of track record. I don’t love Howl’s Moving Castle for many reasons, but that doesn’t make it bad by any means. I still think it is a wonderful film that is worth your time. It’s just not one I plan on rewatching until I have kids.
For those of you out there that swear by Howl’s Moving Castle, what am I missing? What am I not seeing? Please explain what makes this film so special to you. Everyone has unique connections to films, and I would love to hear why you love Howl’s as much as you do.
But hey, 10 out of 11 ain’t bad.
