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Howl's moving castle
Jul. 5th, 2005 12:22 pmJuergen, Sarah, Becky and I finally went to see Howl's Moving Castle. I was prepared for it in two ways: Diana Wynne Jones had said she liked it (and she wrote the book) and the DWJ list said it was extremely untrue to the book.
So, I was able to enjoy it. A lot.
First of all, it deviates significantly from the book storyline, and the ending has a much different feel, but I could see how Diana would appreciate it. Miyazaki has taken the ideas of the characters and taken them in a different direction, but the movie characters are entrancing anyway. He's also moved the story from generic-16th-17th c. fairytale time frame to Edwardian fantasy time frame, and added an active war.
Some people said they didn't like the movie Howl and Sophie, because both are much 'softer' in the movie. We see Howl following his concience, instead of pretending not to have one. (However, the green slime scene is still there; Gise, you need to read the book just for the green slime so you recognize it when our Mutual Acquaintance does it... ) We see Sophie genuinely being taken aback, instead of being as verbally fiesty as we remember her from the book. But Howl is still shallow in a number of spots; Sophie is definitely a girl of spirit. But her spirit is more like that of the heroine of the folktale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, rather than being a dynamo powered by grumbling. :)
Miyazaki's scenery and animation is exquisite as usual. Especially the Star Lake and some of the other landscapes, and his trademark Edwardian steam backgrounds; his wierd flying machines. I want to retire to the landscape of a Miyazaki film someday. Best of all is the flying castle itself, which is, in the movie, a walking castle on bird legs (reminiscent of Baba Yaga's cottage). Unfortunately, we all felt the animation of Calcifer, the captured fire demon in the hearth, was poor-- too wobbly. Billy Crystal was fine as the voice, though.
Now, Howl himself. Being the sort of girl who as a teenager was madly susceptible to anime, I admit I have a fictional-crush on Miyazaki's conception of Howl. He pushes all the teenage girl emotional/hormone buttons in exactly the way he should. In Diana's book, we never see Howl being really charming, though there are a number of points when we get glimpses of it. Here, he's all charm and power. Sophie's power is less obvious, and it's not entirely clear she is a witch... but, well, she's pretty clever for a non-witch.
The most important difference is the changeover from a Georgette-Heyer, verbally-sparring-to-the-end setup, to a more 19th century, courageous but wounded hero and brave woman who saves him. It takes the fairy tales apart and puts them back together in a very different way. But it's still magical, and it still was a great film. And even better, if you've read the book, there's still suspense because the plot is different. :)
So, I was able to enjoy it. A lot.
First of all, it deviates significantly from the book storyline, and the ending has a much different feel, but I could see how Diana would appreciate it. Miyazaki has taken the ideas of the characters and taken them in a different direction, but the movie characters are entrancing anyway. He's also moved the story from generic-16th-17th c. fairytale time frame to Edwardian fantasy time frame, and added an active war.
Some people said they didn't like the movie Howl and Sophie, because both are much 'softer' in the movie. We see Howl following his concience, instead of pretending not to have one. (However, the green slime scene is still there; Gise, you need to read the book just for the green slime so you recognize it when our Mutual Acquaintance does it... ) We see Sophie genuinely being taken aback, instead of being as verbally fiesty as we remember her from the book. But Howl is still shallow in a number of spots; Sophie is definitely a girl of spirit. But her spirit is more like that of the heroine of the folktale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, rather than being a dynamo powered by grumbling. :)
Miyazaki's scenery and animation is exquisite as usual. Especially the Star Lake and some of the other landscapes, and his trademark Edwardian steam backgrounds; his wierd flying machines. I want to retire to the landscape of a Miyazaki film someday. Best of all is the flying castle itself, which is, in the movie, a walking castle on bird legs (reminiscent of Baba Yaga's cottage). Unfortunately, we all felt the animation of Calcifer, the captured fire demon in the hearth, was poor-- too wobbly. Billy Crystal was fine as the voice, though.
Now, Howl himself. Being the sort of girl who as a teenager was madly susceptible to anime, I admit I have a fictional-crush on Miyazaki's conception of Howl. He pushes all the teenage girl emotional/hormone buttons in exactly the way he should. In Diana's book, we never see Howl being really charming, though there are a number of points when we get glimpses of it. Here, he's all charm and power. Sophie's power is less obvious, and it's not entirely clear she is a witch... but, well, she's pretty clever for a non-witch.
The most important difference is the changeover from a Georgette-Heyer, verbally-sparring-to-the-end setup, to a more 19th century, courageous but wounded hero and brave woman who saves him. It takes the fairy tales apart and puts them back together in a very different way. But it's still magical, and it still was a great film. And even better, if you've read the book, there's still suspense because the plot is different. :)
