Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has already proven himself a master of the artform with his stunning films Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. I had high expectations for his latest, and they were all surpassed. Howl’s Moving Castle is every bit as inventive and magical as those other films by Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, and even more breathtaking in its scope and artistry. The story is more focused than previous efforts, but still completely dream-like. As in dreams, there is both wonder and danger, which Ghibli never dumbs down for a young audience, like many American studios do. Howl’s Moving Castle has a strong anti-war stance, demonstrating the effects of violence on both sides of a struggle. Even the friendly main characters have a hint of scariness to them: a cute and mischievous fire demon; the immature wizard Howl who is prone to haunt-inducing depressions; the titular Castle itself, a hulking mish-mash of industrial mechanics suspended precariously on robotic chicken legs. The small, inner workings of the Castle are as mesmerizing as the gorgeously lush vistas that define the story’s world. Do your best to see it on the big screen to get the full, larger-than-life effect. I’ll be eagerly anticipating the DVD release to revisit the world and characters.

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