Running time: 120 minutes
Starring: voices of Billy Crystal, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall
Rating 6 out of 10
Hayao Miyazaki's latest work has a familiar ring to anyone who is on good terms with the legendary Japanese director's output. As in his last film, the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, a young girl is whisked away from her normal life to an enchanted world where anything can, and quite often does, happen. The result is a beguiling affair: one which may be difficult to connect with on an emotional level but which showcases the extraordinary animated talent of the creator. Sophie is a young girl working happily in her sister's hat shop when one day she is cursed by a wicked witch. The curse makes Sophie age dramatically and she is forced to leave town as an old woman. In the wilderness she spots a strange, huge object coming towards her - the Moving Castle of the title - and decides to take refuge there.
The castle is owned by Howl, a dashing young man who possesses supernatural powers. He dashes off here and there to battle demons, leaving Sophie to look after his house with only a comical fire demon for company. The castle itself also seems to possess strange powers, with doors that lead into different worlds.
If all this sounds strange, don't worry. Howl's Moving Castle is one of the most surreal films of the year, with flights of fancy which border on the hallucinogenic. Of course it's the animation rather than the plot which will attract cinemagoers, and once again Miyazaki does not disappoint. His world is one that would make Heath Robinson jealous, with extraordinary mechanical machines, detailed panoramas and unlikely objects and creatures popping up all over the place. All of which is carefully hand-drawn and which is hugely impressive.
For the English language version a cast of Hollywood notables has been drafted in, including a lively Billy Crystal as the fire demon, an imposing Lauren Bacall as the witch and Christian Bale as the eponymous hero.
The sheer strangeness of the events may be difficult to comprehend for both adults and children alike, as Miyazaki creates a world unlike any other. But the two hours' running time do pass rather quickly thanks to the extraordinary depictions on the big screen. It may not quite reach the heights of his last work, but this is still another unique insight into the strange mind of one of the world's most feted film-makers.
Paul Hurley
