Howl's Moving Castle

Out of all his films, Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle fails to impress me. And it is not because of the themes that he uses have gotten old or boring, or clichéd over the past eight or so films, because I think the lessons of coming-of-age, self-discovery etc. can always be relevant, but rather because the story that he tells in Howl which these lessons are embedded in falls short of the excellence expected of Miyazaki. While roughly the first twenty minutes of the film begins the narrative solidly enough, the rest of the film fails to capture any kind of believable continuity- and moment after moment seems to be yet another dues-ex-machina or another incredulous continuation to the story. For example, when Sophie’s mother recognizes Sophie and welcomes her back, and then turns out to be a spy for Suliman, turns the Howl into somewhat of a political thriller, which is definitely not the direction the film intends. In another case, as when the Turnip-head is turned back into a prince who is missing from the neighboring kingdom, the tale experiences a dramatic change of pace in heavy distinction from the earlier parts of the film, which moves in a snail’s pace. Despite all of its faults, Howl still manages to impress with its outstanding animation art, and memorable characters, especially Howl’s young apprentice. But unfortunately, for me the storytelling in the film is too jumbled and distracting for the wonderful animation to take over and lift the film up by itself.