The character of the young girl who is transformed through witchcraft into an old woman is an intriguing one, and the titular castle is a superbly animated creation. This time around, it's an anti-war feature, with war providing the backdrop to the central tale. To describe it too much would be to spoil the fun suffice to say, this is a film packed with incident and insight, with engaging characters and larger than life situations. HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE is another wonderful animation from Japan's Studio Ghibli, a children's cartoon that proves to be a moving, inventive and utterly imaginative experience for kids and adults alike. But overall, Howl's Moving Castle is an enchanting and delightful work from Miyazaki. The final third is a little too rushed, and the ending is a little over-surreal. Did I notice anything wrong? Yes, but these flaws are minor compared to the overall beauty of the film. The story is a sweet, timeless imaginative one, not the best written one by all means, but it did touch me a lot. Billy Crystal is a joy to behold as Calcifer, one of my favourite characters in the film, and Turniphead was very intriguing as well. This character is perfectly voiced by screen legend Lauren Bacall. The Witch of the Waste is a character consumed by jealousy, so much so it results in Sophie's transformation from a young 18 year old girl to a pensioner. Her younger form is sensitively voiced by Emily Mortimer and her older self is voiced by the late Jean Simmons with real sincerity. Christian Bale's(not a stranger to voice work, he voiced Thomas in Disney's Pocahontas as well) seductive and silky voice brings vain wizard Howl to vivid life, and Sophie is a very lovable and beautiful character, whether in her younger form or her older form. The characters are engaging and are beautifully voiced by a terrific voice cast. Beautiful, magical and poignant themes that caressed my ears, like a Mozart opera would. I also have to mention the score, it was absolutely stunning. The visual style here also has a certain elegance about it, and the atmosphere the visuals create is somewhat meticulous. Plus the castle itself was a wonder to behold. The animation here is amazing, the backgrounds are gorgeous and the colours so bright. I admit I haven't read the book by Diana Wynne Jones, but this film is so imaginative and delightful I doubt I would have cared if it was unfaithful to the book or not.

And you know what, I wasn't disappointed.

I love anime, and when I noticed that Howl's Moving Castle was showing today, I knew I had to see it.

Howls moving castle movie