Howl's Moving Castle

On the advice of a coworker I recently watched Howl's Moving Castle. I haven't tended to watch Japanese animated films, but this was the second or third time I've had this particular movie recommended to me so I gave it a try, and I'm so glad that I did. A warning that there are spoilers in this post.

I had some preconceived notions of what the film might be like. I was thinking of Final Fantasy, or maybe anime films that I have seen, and I could tell almost immediately that this wasn't going to be an easy film to categorize. It surprised me that it was set in a Britain-like country. Early on it seemed like it might be in the steampunk vein but it wasn't really that, and it also seemed like it might be an action-packed film about war, and wizards duking it out, but it wasn't that either.

Fairly early in film the protagonist, a young woman, is turned into a very old lady by a witch who curses her. Her reaction to that curse sets the tone for the entire film in my opinion. It's how I knew that I was watching something truly different, and that was going to love it. After a fairly brief moment of shock and dismay Sophie rolls with her new reality. She takes stock of her new situation, decides what she needs to do, and sets off to do it. She is utterly pragmatic, and almost completely devoid of bitterness. She notes almost immediately after the curse about her drab attire "well, at least my cloths fit me now." She also talks about how she worries less, and how she's more inclined to take in the scenery and, even though she's only been "old" for a few hours, she says at one point "I've become quite clever in my old age." She is easily one the most interesting and compelling characters that I can think of in any movie.

There's such a warmth about the entire movie. Despite the fact that there's a war going on and wizards being pitted against each other, the movie takes long pauses and focuses in on relationships. Really, this is a movie about relationships more than the other stuff. My son compared the movie to Coraline, and I see what he means. It's such a fanciful, imaginative, and visually striking film, and Coraline is similarly hard to categorize.

But in Howl's Moving Castle no one is beyond redemption. The wicked witch is just a heartbroken old woman, the fierce fire demon is really just a trapped fallen star, and the powerful wizard made his moving castle because he's scared and insecure. Maybe the only real evil is war born of ignorance and misunderstanding. Even for the nameless wizards that Howl battles in the sky his concern is that they've been misled, and that they might never be human again. Oh, and the hero is a little old lady whose power is pragmatic optimism and forgiveness. That maybe sounds saccharine, but it's true, and it's conveyed so well. On multiple occasions Sophie's decision not to take vengeance when she justifiably could have is what sees them through their difficulties. And she somehow has this characteristic without being a pushover.

This movie was an absolute delight. It's what I needed right now – something thoughtful, kind, and whimsical. I feel like I just stumbled on a whole genre that I'm so excited to explore.