Howl's Moving Castle - Limited Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray + DVD]

If you thought the art design was beautiful in Spirited Away (and it is, of course), then you must see Howl's Moving Castle. The art design in this film is singular and absolutely breathtaking. It looks not just realistic, but almost three-dimensional, and actually glows with a romantic depth I've not seen in any other film, either live-action or animated. This film simply looks gorgeous.When it comes to the films of Miyazaki, I never watch the English dubbed versions. I've seen several of them and they are all pathetic garbage. The English-speaking actors always get it wrong -- always. Therefore, I always go to the original, Japanese version and just turn on the subtitles. Now, a word about the subtitles in these Prime versions of Miyazaki's films on Amazon. The pull-down menu for the sound doesn't actually say "subtitles"; it says, rather, "English CC", which is supposed to mean closed captioned. However, it is not. It is supposed to say "subtitled" because this is what it is. I'm not complaining. Subtitles are always preferable to closed captioning, with all those annoying stage directions and such. The problem is with Amazon, who, rather than stating that they are "subtitles", insists upon stating that they are English CC (closed captioned). Of course, this makes no sense, but what can we expect from Amazon. I'm just thankful they are actually subtitles. What's more, they appear to be the original translation from the DVD I remember from several years ago.The film itself is an astonishing work of animation. Everything just seems perfect, beautiful, with nothing out of place. And the weird twist of what happens to the lead character is at once funny and horrifying. The characters, even the non-human ones, are all fleshed out perfectly. You genuinely care about them all, even "Calcifer", the little snot.It should be noted that the original story was not Miyazaki's. Usually, he writes his own original stories. This time, he did not. But the source material is absolutely charming and Miyazaki works with it in his typically masterful way, bringing everything to vivid life. The original novel was written by the British novelist, Diana Wynne Jones, who has served as the inspiration for many of the most famous of the contemporary novelist of the day. She won more than a dozen influential literary awards, all well-deserved.For all these reasons, I have again broken my own rule and gave this film 5 stars. If you have not seen it, you are missing a stunning film, one that will delight the eye and tug (gently but firmly) on your heart. It is one of those films that I classify more as an experience, one that stays with you long after you've watched it, probably even continuing to pull at your heart for a very long time to come.

Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 animated film "Howl's Moving Castle" was another wonderful animated film that equals the quality of his past works that include films such as Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Not using as strong a Shinto theme as in "Princess Mononoke" or "Spirited Away", the story of "Howl's Moving Castle" is about a young woman named Sofie who works in a hat shop and is placed under a spell that makes her an old woman from the spiteful "Witch of the Waste". With war looming between Sofie's kingdom and a neighboring kingdom, Sofie leaves the city and wanders into the neighboring hills, which isn't easy for an old woman; but she meets a scarecrow who helps her find shelter. The shelter turns out to be a moving castle (a hovel) that is owned by the young wizard named Howl, whom Sofie had previously met. Walking into the castle, Sofie settles down in front of the fireplace and the fire, named Calcipher, begins to speak with her; but the exhausted Sofie falls asleep. The caslte's other resident, a boy named Markl, pretends to be an old man when around other people. Howl's castle doesn't just move on its own on a set of long legs, it also has a magical door that is a portal to several different locations simultaneously depending upon the setting. Sofie settles into the castle as a cleaning lady. Once war breaks out, the kingdom that Sofie & Howl live in attept to induct Howl into its army of other wizards to fight the neighboring kingdom in large, flying airships; but Howl wants no part of it and instead begins to fight the kingdom's forces to avoid being captured. Sofie, in the meantime, is in love with Howl; but will the spell that the Witch of the Waste put on her ever be broken? Will Sofie discover the connection between Calcifer and Howl? Will Howl be captured? Who is the scarecrow? You'll just have to watch this wonderful animated film to find out.With brilliant animation, engaging characters and an amazing story, I rate Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Howl's Moving Castle" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. Though some amazing actors (such as Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall and Christian Bale) provided their voices to the English version of the film, I prefer to watch the Japanese version with subtitles. The film was nominated in 2006 for a "Best Animated Film" Oscar, but the Oscar ultimately went to the 2005 animated film "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit".

I recommend this movie to parents with children who play the same movies over and over again. This is a great change up from the dozen half done computer animated remakes like Cars and Planes. Howls Moving Castle is PG rated but can get a bit dark and mysterious at times. It is also is somewhat of an intelligent story which also acts like training wheels for young viewers getting used to more complex plots. With plenty of foreshadowing, clues and good climax it is hard to argue against this film and the imagination and the Disney kind of magic that I have grown up with.Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle is an incredible piece of art and story telling. All of hayao's movies are all beautifully illustrated and really transport the viewers, adult and children alike, to these different worlds and Howls Moving castle does this masterfully. His films will make you fall for this style of animation.The plot of the story is carried along quickly but is easy for kids to understand and with a couple twists that make it bearable for adults. What really makes this movie great is just the artwork and the detail. The settings and back drops really are truly incredible and all of the characters are artfully done.Studio Ghibli has been coming out with some other really fantastic family films and if you get a chance check out the Secret World of Arrietty, Spirited Away and Ponyo. These are also some really great films that often go over looked and I highly recommend anything Hayao puts his hands on.I hope this helps

Bought as a gift for my autistic son . He was very pleased with it . Says it works great and was well made. Happy son , happy life.