Dear Studio Ghibli,
This is Werebeagle. I am a new consumer in anime, having seen very little of it before seeing a major film of yours, specifically Howls Moving Castle.
I told you we shouldn't have let the scrapyard rednecks build a castle!
I have never read the book it is based on, but from what little I know of it, it's loosely based on the story, and explores different themes then the films. Not that there's anything bad with that, a film adaption of a book can go a different direction then the source material and still be good in it's own right.
The early 20th century technology yet still fantastical set pieces mixes familiar and new things to make a blend that is in my opinion, extremely refreshing and a wonderful setting for a fantasy story.
The basic premise of the story is that a young girl, Sophie, is cursed by the Witch of the Wastes into being an old woman. So she sets off on a quest to find a wizard to remove the curse, and comes upon the titular Howls Moving Castle. This story is set against the backdrop of two nations going to war over the disappearance of a prince. This sets up anti-war themes for the film.
While I respect the anti-war themes and know you made the the film as a response to the USA invasion of the Iraq, and some of the metaphors I respect and understand (Like the wizards who turn themselves into inhuman creatures to fight in the war, and won't remember they were human after the war) but some seem to be a little confused. Like Howl, who doesn't want to fight in the war in either side, ends up fighting both sides? And this slowly turns him into a monster? I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here.
The plot and story, while slow to start, is pretty damn good...up until the second half of the two hour film. then I start to get confused, and it seems like some scenes or pieces of dialogue were missing, which left it feeling rushed and me feeling confused.
It goes without saying the animation is beautiful. Even for a film that is more then 15 years old, it is a joy to watch for animation alone. It is gorgeous, and I could've watched it just to see things move, with no dialogue.
The English voice acting, is very good, with some big names for the time doing voices. All but one of the voice actor (I won't name names, Blythe Danner, but I'm looking at you.) did a good job. As I did not see the Japanese version, nor do I speak it, I cannot say how good it is in the original Japanese.
The music, while I hear got some awards for it alone, was mostly forgettable or unnoticed by me, sadly. While pretty, it was at best unobtrusive.
While I give your film a solid four out of five stars, it did not make me want to watch Howls Moving Castle again, nor watch more of your films. While I'm willing to try again some time, possibly with Spirited Away, I'm afraid for now I'm not a fan.
Your missed-chance-fan,
Werebeagle.
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