Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
ArturiaP3ndrag0n
All spectacle and whimsy, with no plot or notion of development. There is no proper build up for anything, and consequently no proper pay off for anything. Everything is incredibly contrived. It is the perfect kid's movie because you just turn off you brain and enjoy the flashy colors and fun things unfolding.
Rubric 1: Entertainment and Artistic Value = 2/2
This is the only saving grace of this movie, its a masterpiece of animation that is truly the pinnacle of artistic achievement in the medium of film. Even 20 years later the art and soundtrack is better than most works. Eye candy and eye catching. The first half was kinda enjoyable, seeing Sophie wrestle with the dynamic of being an old lady, her antics and funny jokes as well as bantering and calm approach to everything. The first h…
Read at the sourceMob_Psykos
Its Overrated
Story: 2/10 D-
Animation/Art: 8/10 B
Sound: 8/10 B+
Characters: 4/10 D
Acting(subbed): 5/10 C-
Overall: 4/10 D
TLDR:
This is a beautiful looking and sounding movie that is completely let down by an absolute mess of a story and a cast of confusing characters that aren’t really all that enjoyable. Positives first though, the animation is beautiful, smooth, just great. I really like it. The sound and music omg it good. I mean you know the theme it’s legendary for a reason. But now for bad stuff. The story is a mess. It starts off slow paced, and then the movie keeps changing goals. It’s just hippity hoppity from one plot line to another. Then there’s this war going on that palys LITERALLY ZERO role in this movie. IT DOES NOTHING! YOU COULD EASILY REMOVE IT AND THE MOVIE WOULD S…
Read at the sourcesugarisdown
Just like many Miyazaki works, Howl's Moving Castle is a beautiful and ambient movie. And that's as far as it goes. The 4 points I gave to it are purely for that reason - good visuals, good music. The rest, especially the story... Absolute. Mess.
I know it's not a good thing to compare the original work and its movie adaptation, but this particular case is an exception for me. If while watching you feel even for a moment that the characters/plot are confusing, the pace is hard to follow or any other story-related nuances are just somehow off - and you will definitely feel that - the sole reason is that the adaptation is horrible and this work was never meant to be made by Miyazaki.
The original book brought out the characters' imperfections and the story was heavily based on exploring the…
Read at the sourceResting_Bonfire
Howl's Moving Castle
I watched this movie only once in my childhood and had hardly any memory left, so I just had to watch it again. Nostalgia feeling is not present in me, therefore I could watch the film practically for the first time without being prejudiced. Unfortunately, I have to say that all the hype about this film could hardly be more wrong.
Moving Castle is a tale of how an ordinary hatmaker gets cursed, involved in a little adventure story and a war. The majority of the film turns to present various spells and concepts of her magical world, and the second half revolves around the war and the relationship between the two protagonists.
I must admit that the animations are beautiful, as are the visuals of many scenes. Unfortunately, there is little else for me to say about th…
Read at the sourceAnimeBW
It’s never a good sign when I finish a film and the first thought that pops into my head is, “What the hell was that?” Unfortunately, that’s the situation I found myself in upon completing Howl’s Moving Castle, a film which started out promising enough before proceeding to baffle and confuse me at pretty much every turn. I’m almost convinced there was some critical plot element or thematic undercurrent that I somehow missed, to the point where I wonder if I should really be writing this review without first having a second watch to make sure that my aggravated confusion is genuinely on the film’s shoulders and not my own lack of observational skills. Because as is, it feels alien to me that Miyazaki, the master of bringing subtle reality to the limits of imagination, could direct a movie t…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
Overview:
I'm currently on a quest to watch every Miyazaki movie and I'm almost done. Miyazaki has the highest batting average of any writer/director in anime as far as I'm concerned. I guess it was inevitable that eventually even he would swing and miss. This is the beautifully animated mess called Howl's Moving Castle.
Background:
Firstly, Miyazaki is at his very best when he writes his own material and creates his own original stories. He has shown he CAN do brilliant adaptations like Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle of Cagliostro, but the source material needs to mesh well with his own writing style, preferred themes, and tone. With Howl, Miyazaki decided to adapt a very mediocre children's book and force his own unique quirks and traits into it. It just felt like a square peg bei…
Read at the sourceItIsIDio
Previously, I've reviewed another Ghibli movie where I did explain that although it was a 5/10 and that it was mostly gonna overview the fact that I didn't like it because I was the wrong audience and give some information for some likeminded individuals. It is absolutely not the same situation here because there's plenty of things wrong and to criticize.
But before that, I'll have to get this out of the way. The world looks amazing and the atmosphere set is great. As far as visuals go Ghibli delivers again a set of stunning visuals in a world where magic exists, making everything look absolutely incredible. There was never a dull moment visually and it was truly a sight to behold. Paired up with good sound direction that was pretty fitting and these factor into making this at least worth…
Read at the sourcered-eyed-slayer
Howl's moving castle, the creator seems to enjoy making his movie have many slice of life elements such as a family atmosphere. While that is nice when it gets too prolonged, it starts to become unnecessary filler and ruins pacing, which I believe you need a good in a film. There was no exciting moments, especially with a film like this we could see more glimpses of the world, rather than focusing too much on the characters.
The movie's storyline didn't seem to have been resolved properly as it conclusion was too rushed and there seems to be deus ex machina. Characters were weak and their motives and actions didn't felt well written. Overall a lackluster movie that I felt wasn't all that great.
Read at the sourceS_P_Q_R
Howls castle is just... there. The protagonists spent almost all the film just existing, then in the last 5 minutes deus ex machina resolves the conflict you were barely aware existed.
You'd have a more satisfying story if you put a blob of paint on the top of a wall and filmed it's decent, at least then you'd have payoff, and if you're lucky a bird might take a shit nearby.
The best character is turnip head as he doesn't speak, but suffice it to say Howls moving tumor fucks that up before the end.
Still, I am willing to give praise where it is due, howls moving castle has one purpose it serves admirably, if you live under a oppressive goverment regime you could hide the DvD inside a Hentai cover, so when corrupt military officers are looting the remains of your home after you got burne…
Read at the sourcemurakafkami
This has to be the most disappointing anime movie I've ever seen. Considering people say this is much better than the book, I can only shudder to think how mind numbingly boring the book must have been. Studio Ghibli's and Miyazaki's prodigious talents are exhausted and wasted in trying to make this movie pseudo-bearable.
To summarize, it's the classic witch curses girl fantasy, but with some meaningless filler war and random side characters and just... ugh. It's a mess. And by no stretch of imagination a beautiful one, save for the visual appeal.
The brilliant art and the passable music do nothing to alleviate the intense boredom and the unease generated by the confusing, haphazard story and the annoying voice acting. Not to mention it's excessively LONG, in spite of which the characte…
Read at the sourceanime-cat
Howl's Moving Castle is a movie which is greatly acclaimed and loved. I wanted to see what I was missing out on so I watched it.
This movie is about a woman named Sophie who owns a hat shop. On the way to meet her sister, Sophie is saved from shifty men by a handsome, wizard named Howl. The witch of the waste then decides to intervene and casts a spell on Sophie out of jealousy. On a journey to recover her old self, she ends up on the moving castle as a cleaner. Then there's lots of magic, secrets, an adoptive family and a war?
Story 6/10 - Many will say that I am scoring the story with too much of mercy, I agree that I am. The plot of this movie was all over the place. When a storyline started to pick up, it would get drowned out with something else. There was nothing that was thorough…
Read at the sourcejal90
I love the Studio Ghibli films. So far I think it is safe to say that Miyazaki is my favourite anime author, and I doubt anyone will ever take his place because I have grown so attached to the work of this man and his ideals reflected on the way he conceives animation, that I can't think of a deeper connection with one's style in any way.
That is the reason why "Howl's moving castle" was, at my first viewing, a serious disappointment. It was the first time a movie by Miyazaki didn't transport me to the world and imagery it showed. Almost two years later, however, and trying to bring another perspective about this film, I have watched it again, and while this has worked with some other works, it seems "Howl" is still my thorn in Miyazaki's filmography and will always be.
Of course the wor…
Read at the sourceLucille_Delilah
I got the book this move was based off of randomly at the library one day, and really enjoyed it. When I heard this move existed I was quite happy, that is until I actually watched it. It seemed to me that a lot of the plot was cut out, and that the characters just weren't the characters I had come to love.
I even found myself confused by the end. I don't think things were explained enough. A lot of the humor was gone as well. I have never been a fan of Studio Ghibli, but I was willing to give them a chance with this. I have to say that I have never been so let down with a book to move adaption since The Series of Unfortunate Events. I suppose I am in the minority when I say that this move isn't as good as people make it out too be.
Read at the sourceVenneh
TITLE: How's Moving Castle
NOVEL, ANIME: Howl's Moving Castle was originally a young-adult fantasy novel written by Diana Wynne Jones in 1986. It won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 1987, and was also was designated an ALA Notable Book for children and young adults.
Howl's Moving Castle was produced by Studio Ghibli (Ponyo on the Cliff, Spirited Away), and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind). Howl was released in theatres in Japan on November 20th, 2004, and showed dubbed in theatres Stateside starting on June 10th, 2005, courtesy of Disney, and is available both subbed and dubbed on DVD.
STORY: Sophie Hatter is a young, self-conscious young woman who, after a chance encounter with the wizard Howl, is cursed with the body of a ninety-year-old…
Read at the sourceyusuke116
Hayao Miyazaki is rightfully considered one of the great artists working in the anime form. Eschewing the hard-edged violence that many American viewers (rightly or wrongly) associate with the form, Miyazaki creates painterly, pastoral visions filled with beauty and eccentric charm. And unlike much of anime, his characters are really animated: they live and breathe and move; they don’t just stand there filling up the composition while the extreme camera angles, moody lighting and striking character design strive to compensate for minimal movement. Moreover, the writer-director is not just a painter of pretty pictures; he fills his films with deeply felt themes (environment, war, etc) that are expressed through the grandness of the visuals. Unfortunately, the narrative thread binding these…
Read at the sourceadeadaccountlol
Howl's Moving Castle has to be the most overrated of all Miyazaki's films. While it produces legendary animation and a wonderful soundtrack, the story is dull with characters that are difficult to get attached to at all. There is very little character development and many of the characters seem absolutely useless to the plot. The relationships between the characters are also sloppily done with a rushed feeling to them, making them feel like nothing special. Also, not enough is learned about ANY of the characters' pasts and many of their actions seem inconsistent with the personalities you previously thought you knew, making it unpredictable in a bad, random kind of way.
Based off a novel I never read, this is continued proof that Miyazaki just fails to deliver great films when the story i…
Read at the sourceStarfleetCpt
Howl's Moving Castle is, ultimately, just one example in the ever-growing pile of evidence as to why the word "miss" is never associated with Myazaki.
Story: 10 (Outstanding)
It's hard to say that Howl is original when not only does it draw very heavily from established conventions and tropes from high fantasy and nostalgic works but also happens to be the anime adaptation of the British book of the same name, but it manages to be surprisingly original nonetheless. The story begins with Sophie really just minding her business when she happens to cross paths with an ornery witch who curses her with advanced aging. Desperate to find a cure, she later bumps into another magical being, the mysterious magician Howl and his moving castle. Howl quickly reveals his true colors as a friendly and…
Read at the sourcekiriska
I'd figured that waiting so long to see this made me a bad Miyazaki fan, but after seeing it, I wasn't much bothered by my long delay anymore.
STORY - This movie was apparently based off a book, but as I haven't read the book, I'm judging this movie as a work all on its own, for better or worse. So I suppose this was, in a way, a story about courage and facing one's fears, but it was approached in such a roundabout way that I'm really not sure, even now. The premise of the movie -- Sophie getting bewitched into an old woman -- seemed almost completely random, and I was left wondering why? and what was the point of that? Those questions were, for me, repeated a ridiculous number of times throughout the course of the movie. Indeed, most of the scenes seemed haphazardly spliced together with…
Read at the sourcekatsup
I have watched this movie many many times since it is one of my favorite Miyazaki films, so why not write a review? I have also read the book, which takes a much different direction than the film does. And yes, it may seem like I rate highly but for some i was between 9 or 10, and I have explained things that I disliked that may not reflect in my number ratings.
Story: the story is about a girl named Sophie who gets turned into an old woman and ends up living with a wizard named Howl in his moving castle. The story is the only part I felt was lacking in this movie. Though I have to admit I see more flaws with the story after reading the book (even though I find the movie much better). Overall, I felt many of the war scenes were overdramatized and left a lot of questions. There were also a…
Read at the sourceBelerophon
First off this is another great film from Hayao Miyazaki I personally loved this film the characters are bright, and vibrant with great personalities which is one of the things that makes me whatch this film over and over again.The film is also good because it can be watched by an entire family and be enjoyed on many diffrent levels,the enviroment in the film are beautifuly rendered and the range from beautiful fantasy, to early modern war periods I would reccomend this anime for anyone first off who is a Hayao Miyazaki but most importantly who is intrested in seeing a masterpiece of its own kind.
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