Howl's Magic Castle: details
Jun. 20th, 2005 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieNo, my seeing it and loving it doesn't mean I'll turn into a lover of anime, but this one movie I really did enjoy, and I don't even like anime. So, hunt it out in your local arthouse.
Plot: Sophie, a young woman who designs hats, is cursed by the Witch of the Waste to look like an old crone. She takes refuge and tries to find out how to break the spell in Wizard's Howl's moving castle, where she makes friends with his boy apprentice and his cranky fire demon, acquires a dog and an old lady (long story), and falls in love with Howl himself, who is likewise under a spell of sorts.
I thought the animation was utterly beautiful. I want to live in Howl's castle myself (though preferably after Sophie has cleaned it). And I adore Sophie who reminds me of one of those unflappable, pragmatic Heyer heroines. In fact, the whole relationship between her and the mysterious and moody Howl, who is cartoon-drop-dead-gorgeous (if I were a cartoon I'd be his groupie), reminds me of Mary Challoner and Dominic Alastair in Heyer's "Devil's Cub," though Howl is a lot sweeter.
OK, more reasons to like:
1. It's been a long time since I liked a female movie heroine as much as I do Sophie (how sad is that, that the best woman's role this year is animated). She's pragmatic, she's self-posessed, she is funny and she is also quite lovable. From her first, matter-of-fact and resigned response to girls who warn her about Howl because he eats women's hearts (something that, Miyazaki not being Tarantino, is luckily untrue), that she is in no danger because Howl only goes after "beautiful girls" to her wry comment on being an old lady (at least after panic has abated) that at least now her dowdy clothes suit her, to her response to Howl's temperamental reaction to change in hair-color....mmmmm, I love her!
2. I thought the scene where Howl saves her from the soldiers and they literally walk on air as people waltz beneath them is beautiful. It looks like Howl and Sophie are waltzing too.
3. I want to live in Howl's castle. It's so perfectly magically wonderfully rickety and cluttered. And I like the symbolism that at the end, his castle can fly.
4. I really liked the pacifist message. The two countries are at war but we never learn why and it seems like the prototype for World War I. The war ruins Sophie's beautiful town, and Howl refuses to join his Kingdom's wizards to fight the war, instead trying to get rid of the vessels with the bombs...
5. Scarecrow. Only this time he is sweet and friendly and VERY helpful.
6. Sophy and the Witch of the Waste climbing the palace steps. Sophie might be old but she is still better at it than the fat, obnoxious witch.
7. Howl. I really like him. He is rather dryly funny and sweet. And a bit of a primadonna. Heeee. And not a coward at all, whatever he says.
8. When Howl takes Sophy to his secret meadow, it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen, with the multi-colored flowers, streams with clouds reflecting in them....it is utterly gorgeous.
9. Sophie trying to save Howl at the end and thinking she's killed him. Awwwwwww....
10. At the end, the spell on Sophie doesn't matter, because whenever she is asleep or really happy or really in love, she is back to her young self and thus she is young with Howl, spell or no spell. I also like that her hair stays grey and he thinks it's beautiful, like starlight. Yes, it's probably symnolic about nature of love etc etc...and it makes me sniffle. Yeah, I am a sap. Deal with it.
In other news,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
crumpeteer posted about Batman Begins and expressed what I felt only better than I could. Go read it here
Plot: Sophie, a young woman who designs hats, is cursed by the Witch of the Waste to look like an old crone. She takes refuge and tries to find out how to break the spell in Wizard's Howl's moving castle, where she makes friends with his boy apprentice and his cranky fire demon, acquires a dog and an old lady (long story), and falls in love with Howl himself, who is likewise under a spell of sorts.
I thought the animation was utterly beautiful. I want to live in Howl's castle myself (though preferably after Sophie has cleaned it). And I adore Sophie who reminds me of one of those unflappable, pragmatic Heyer heroines. In fact, the whole relationship between her and the mysterious and moody Howl, who is cartoon-drop-dead-gorgeous (if I were a cartoon I'd be his groupie), reminds me of Mary Challoner and Dominic Alastair in Heyer's "Devil's Cub," though Howl is a lot sweeter.
OK, more reasons to like:
1. It's been a long time since I liked a female movie heroine as much as I do Sophie (how sad is that, that the best woman's role this year is animated). She's pragmatic, she's self-posessed, she is funny and she is also quite lovable. From her first, matter-of-fact and resigned response to girls who warn her about Howl because he eats women's hearts (something that, Miyazaki not being Tarantino, is luckily untrue), that she is in no danger because Howl only goes after "beautiful girls" to her wry comment on being an old lady (at least after panic has abated) that at least now her dowdy clothes suit her, to her response to Howl's temperamental reaction to change in hair-color....mmmmm, I love her!
2. I thought the scene where Howl saves her from the soldiers and they literally walk on air as people waltz beneath them is beautiful. It looks like Howl and Sophie are waltzing too.
3. I want to live in Howl's castle. It's so perfectly magically wonderfully rickety and cluttered. And I like the symbolism that at the end, his castle can fly.
4. I really liked the pacifist message. The two countries are at war but we never learn why and it seems like the prototype for World War I. The war ruins Sophie's beautiful town, and Howl refuses to join his Kingdom's wizards to fight the war, instead trying to get rid of the vessels with the bombs...
5. Scarecrow. Only this time he is sweet and friendly and VERY helpful.
6. Sophy and the Witch of the Waste climbing the palace steps. Sophie might be old but she is still better at it than the fat, obnoxious witch.
7. Howl. I really like him. He is rather dryly funny and sweet. And a bit of a primadonna. Heeee. And not a coward at all, whatever he says.
8. When Howl takes Sophy to his secret meadow, it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen, with the multi-colored flowers, streams with clouds reflecting in them....it is utterly gorgeous.
9. Sophie trying to save Howl at the end and thinking she's killed him. Awwwwwww....
10. At the end, the spell on Sophie doesn't matter, because whenever she is asleep or really happy or really in love, she is back to her young self and thus she is young with Howl, spell or no spell. I also like that her hair stays grey and he thinks it's beautiful, like starlight. Yes, it's probably symnolic about nature of love etc etc...and it makes me sniffle. Yeah, I am a sap. Deal with it.
In other news,
crumpeteer posted about Batman Begins and expressed what I felt only better than I could. Go read it here
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:46 pm (UTC)I'd always advise Rurouni Kenshin with it's historical bent and tough females. Even Inuyasha has some fiesty women. I also love Last Exile. Alex Rowe is the coolest rogue captain out there.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 04:53 pm (UTC)Looked up Escaflowne but doesn't seem to be my speed at all (I draw a line at 15 year old girls saving the world or men who are really women :) I'll do some searches on Rurouni Kenshin, but I foresee that Howl's will be a one-off for me.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:04 pm (UTC)Anyway, I don't care about your narrow-minded attitude on 15 year old girls or men-who-are-women, I'm set on making you watch it now. (Be happy I won't subject you to Utena, which is philosophically mind-fuck-like brilliant, but has 14 year old girls who are really boys who are really dead women who really don't exist, etc.)
The Inuyasha dub is horrid beyond all comprehension, and CN is evil. I'm... not so sure on my stance on Inuyasha in all, actually.
The movie is... eh. Admittedly I watched it in Japanese, but it really doesn't have most of the charm of the series, does it? I mean, it has some of the most beautiful art ever, but it's kind of on the gloomy side, and without the beautiful plot to back it up. You have to be in the mood for depressed teenagers to watch it, really.
PS
Date: 2005-06-20 05:07 pm (UTC)Re: PS
Date: 2005-06-20 05:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:09 pm (UTC)Kind of like a direct-to-video movie, except without being crappy like American direct-to-video releases are.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:19 pm (UTC)Another character of interest in the series is Aoshi, who has the coolest fighting style I've seen in older series. He also has issues coming out the nose.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:48 pm (UTC)But I might have to give you a quick lesson on Japanese politics of the era, just so you'll know who's fighting whom and why.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:16 pm (UTC)Dubs are normally awwwwful, which is part of the problem with americanized anime. The Saiyuki dub makes me want to vomit. Not a fan of the Inuyasha one either.
I love Trigun though. Quite funny, very poignient in its message and I LOVE Vash and the redemption story line with Wolfwood is heartbreaking.
For more serious, Peacemanker Kurogane is extremely good as is Cowboy Bebop. Bebop analyzes a lot of issues about revenge and living.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 05:21 pm (UTC)