I tried liking this movie. I don't get what all the hype is about. It is very hard to follow. Basically, this old witch turns this little girl who works at a hat shop into an old woman. The girl doesn't mind too much, because she's always been sort of an "old soul" anyways. She runs away from home because she doesn't want anyone seeing her as an old woman. She then runs into this random-ass scarecrow. Finally, she comes across the titular moving castle, although at this point in the story she has already had a run-in with the owner, Howl.
The moving castle is so confusing. There are so many weird and awkward aspects of it, such as a spinning color wheel by the door. I respect the creative animation, but it just doesn't spark my imagination the way that other films by Miyazaki do. Halfway through the movie, the old witch who turns the protagonist into an old woman suddenly becomes one of the "good guys" for no apparent reason. Howl is supposed to be mysterious and heroic, but he comes off more as arrogant and annoying. He is overall not a very likable character. He's a cliché animé pretty boy.
I understand that this movie is a criticism of war. I can respect that. But it's just kind of all over the place. There is no real continuity. Maybe I'm too dumb to grasp how good it really is. I'll give it another shot, but I must say, I was a little underwhelmed and very confused by this movie.
The moving castle is so confusing. There are so many weird and awkward aspects of it, such as a spinning color wheel by the door. I respect the creative animation, but it just doesn't spark my imagination the way that other films by Miyazaki do. Halfway through the movie, the old witch who turns the protagonist into an old woman suddenly becomes one of the "good guys" for no apparent reason. Howl is supposed to be mysterious and heroic, but he comes off more as arrogant and annoying. He is overall not a very likable character. He's a cliché animé pretty boy.
I understand that this movie is a criticism of war. I can respect that. But it's just kind of all over the place. There is no real continuity. Maybe I'm too dumb to grasp how good it really is. I'll give it another shot, but I must say, I was a little underwhelmed and very confused by this movie.