Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Here was my last Studio Ghibli review,  click here.

Main Characters
Sophie played by Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons
Howl played by Christian Bale
Calcifer played by Billy Crystal


Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Run Time: 119 minutes
Reel Review Rating: 6

What was the movie about?
The movie is about a young girl named Sophie who gets a spell put on her by an evil witch that turns her old. Sophie runs away and stumbles upon the famous, but thought to be evil, moving castle owned by Howl. She figures out that Howl is not a bad person and gets a job as his cleaning lady. They face a lot of good and bad things and end up as a family with Howl, Sophie, the witch that turned Sophie into an old woman, Howl's assistant, a magic scarecrow, and the master of the School of Magic's dog.


After a series of events involving a war being fought, their castle being destroyed, and Sophie learning about Howl's past, will everybody's curses be lifted?

What I thought about the movie.
I thought the movie was an ok movie because it is hard to follow and also interesting. The most interesting part was when the castle keeps moving around to different places. Everything is popping up, and down, and out! The movie is for older kids because the general themes involve anti-war and love.


What I learned about making films.
I learned that complicated story lines in animation are challenging for many kids to understand. I've noticed that every Ghibli movie has some kind of magic in it every time. 


Why I think other kids should see this film.
I think other kids should see this movie because it's hard to follow BUT it's still very intriguing with all the witches and wizards and war scenes.