Rob+Cartoons=Happiness
Word of the day: fanatic (fa-na tik) n.
Dictionary.com definition: A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.
Rob’s definition: A curious combination of the words “fan” and “addict,” entirely appropriate for my passionate affair with…you guessed it…anime!!
I just thought I should get that out of the way before launching into a gushing review session about "Howl’s Moving Castle" (Hauru no ugoku shiro), the latest masterpiece from acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki under the Studio Ghibli production house. I had the pleasure of watching this film on the big screen last night, and let me tell you, I have a new favorite Ghibli film.
I thought about trying to explain the attraction of anime to those of you who as yet might not have had the pleasure of enjoying a film from this genre, as I believe anime fans are often misrepresented as nerds, geeks, and basement-dwelling computer-monkeys with little to no sense of personal hygiene. However, I decided to save that bit for a later post, and stick to the important stuff for now: namely this beautiful, intelligent and heartwarming story as lovingly told by Miyazaki. Never heard the name before? You should; his feature film "Princess Mononoke" was the best selling film in Japan up until the release of Titantic. Miyazaki’s 2003 offering "Spirited Away" won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002 and the Oscar for best animated feature film in 2003. In Japan, it recorded box-office sales of 30.4 billion yen, about $280 million US. "Howl’s Moving Castle" chalked up 1.48 billion yen ($13.6 million US) in box-office revenue and attracted an audience of 1.1 million people in its FIRST TWO DAYS of release in Japan. Not too bad for an animated film, huh?
Now let’s get down to business: the details of the film. "Howl’s Moving Castle" is based on a book a British author named Diana Wynne Jones (one of my favorites when I was a little younger…ok…still one of my favorites…) The movie loosely follows the original book, but any changes that were made did not detract from the story—rather, the plot was well-thought out, with a few small exceptions that I will mention later. The music was exceptional—as in all Miyazaki stories—and truly emphasized the magical nature of this film. This was further underscored by the stunning animation and beautiful cinematography. Stunning and vivid mountains, meadows and fields enriched the film in a trademark Miyazaki way. Even the English dubbing added to the film experiences; voices were carefully chosen, and included such stars as Christian Bale and Billy Crystal.
Only a few small features kept this film from getting a perfect rating. First, the character of Madame Suliman leaves us a little confused—is she good, bad, or just misdirected? And the appearance of certain characters at the end seem to be thrown in for convenience…I won’t elaborate any further and spoil the movie, but rest assured, these small details do not detract from this incredible movie.
So there you have it: Lush, vivid, intelligent and heartwarming, "Howl’s Moving Castle" is my new favorite Studio Ghibli film. I would see this one in theatres if you can folks; the big screen only adds to the magical experience. Rest assured, the minute this one hits DVD, I’ll have to pick up a copy and add it to the permanent collection. A wholehearted 4.5/5 for this beautiful film!!
Dictionary.com definition: A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.
Rob’s definition: A curious combination of the words “fan” and “addict,” entirely appropriate for my passionate affair with…you guessed it…anime!!
I just thought I should get that out of the way before launching into a gushing review session about "Howl’s Moving Castle" (Hauru no ugoku shiro), the latest masterpiece from acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki under the Studio Ghibli production house. I had the pleasure of watching this film on the big screen last night, and let me tell you, I have a new favorite Ghibli film.
I thought about trying to explain the attraction of anime to those of you who as yet might not have had the pleasure of enjoying a film from this genre, as I believe anime fans are often misrepresented as nerds, geeks, and basement-dwelling computer-monkeys with little to no sense of personal hygiene. However, I decided to save that bit for a later post, and stick to the important stuff for now: namely this beautiful, intelligent and heartwarming story as lovingly told by Miyazaki. Never heard the name before? You should; his feature film "Princess Mononoke" was the best selling film in Japan up until the release of Titantic. Miyazaki’s 2003 offering "Spirited Away" won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002 and the Oscar for best animated feature film in 2003. In Japan, it recorded box-office sales of 30.4 billion yen, about $280 million US. "Howl’s Moving Castle" chalked up 1.48 billion yen ($13.6 million US) in box-office revenue and attracted an audience of 1.1 million people in its FIRST TWO DAYS of release in Japan. Not too bad for an animated film, huh?
Now let’s get down to business: the details of the film. "Howl’s Moving Castle" is based on a book a British author named Diana Wynne Jones (one of my favorites when I was a little younger…ok…still one of my favorites…) The movie loosely follows the original book, but any changes that were made did not detract from the story—rather, the plot was well-thought out, with a few small exceptions that I will mention later. The music was exceptional—as in all Miyazaki stories—and truly emphasized the magical nature of this film. This was further underscored by the stunning animation and beautiful cinematography. Stunning and vivid mountains, meadows and fields enriched the film in a trademark Miyazaki way. Even the English dubbing added to the film experiences; voices were carefully chosen, and included such stars as Christian Bale and Billy Crystal.
Only a few small features kept this film from getting a perfect rating. First, the character of Madame Suliman leaves us a little confused—is she good, bad, or just misdirected? And the appearance of certain characters at the end seem to be thrown in for convenience…I won’t elaborate any further and spoil the movie, but rest assured, these small details do not detract from this incredible movie.
So there you have it: Lush, vivid, intelligent and heartwarming, "Howl’s Moving Castle" is my new favorite Studio Ghibli film. I would see this one in theatres if you can folks; the big screen only adds to the magical experience. Rest assured, the minute this one hits DVD, I’ll have to pick up a copy and add it to the permanent collection. A wholehearted 4.5/5 for this beautiful film!!
posted by Rob at 3:43 PM
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