As much of a hand-drawn treat as Spirited Away, chock-full of numinous sunsets, fabulous organic machinery and gratuitously delightful touches.
Comment
09/24/05
Howl's Moving Castle (2005)
85
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:144
Fresh:123
Rotten:21
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Exquisitely illustrated by master animator Miyazaki, Howl's Moving Castle will delight children with its fantastical story and touch the hearts and minds of older viewers as well.
Theatrical Release:23-09-2005
Synopsis: Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away") takes moviegoers on an amazing new animated adventure that celebrates the power of love to transform and the resiliency of the human... [More]
Starring: Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Reviews for Howl's Moving Castle
Top CriticAnother work of great imagination and beauty from Hiyao Miyazaki.
09/07/08
Top CriticIf you're in the market for a brilliant piece of family animation you'd be hard-pressed to find anything better this year.
09/26/05
Youngsters and Miyazaki fans will coo at the world's depth and rich surreality, but opaque plotting, and a tendency to mope with Sophie whilst Howl is off affecting events let the momentum of the first act vanish into thin air.
09/18/05
Top CriticA stunning example of a pure, disorienting dream logic that cinema provides all too rarely.
06/24/06
Top CriticThe hand-drawn animation is breathtakingly gorgeous and there's a huge amount of detail that will reward repeated viewings.
09/24/05
One of the most unusual and involving animated epics ever put on screen.
06/29/05
A parade of weird characters comes onstage to do their turns, but the underlying plot grows murky and, amazingly for a Miyazaki film, we grow impatient at spectacle without meaning.
06/09/05
Top CriticThere is no story, or rather, there's no force to the story, which meanders almost casually this way and that for no apparent reason.
06/10/05
Yes, there are moments of great beauty here, but boy, the story could have used some editing.
06/27/05
Speaking of enchantment, that's the ultimate thing missing from Howl's Moving Castle. That and soul.
06/10/05
Choppy story lines and threadbare characterization often hamper live-action adventures, and Mr. Miyazaki's newest anime endeavor suffers from similar handicaps.
06/16/05
I've seen the best anime movies of my generation destroyed by bad writing.
06/17/05
A regression for Miyazaki from his last two films in almost every sense.
06/09/05
Miyazaki's engaging touch for the surreal counterpoints the film's antiwar message nicely.
06/10/05
With its bold screen-filling imagery, this is definitely a movie to be relished on the big screen.
06/10/05
IN THE ANIMATED WORLDS of Hayao Miyazaki, the border between the domestic and the magical, between the everyday and the astounding, lies no further away than the nearest broom closet or backyard.
06/11/05
Click to read the article
06/11/05
The latest animated tour de force from the Japanese director Hayao Miyazak is a fitting introduction to one of modern cinema's great enchanters.
06/09/05
Top CriticFor the first time, the Master's wondrous imagination feels slightly... familiar.
06/09/05
Latest News for Howl's Moving Castle
August 21, 2008:
Japanese Audiences Flocking to Miyazaki's Latest 
He delighted audiences with Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle -- and now director Hayao Miyazaki is doing it all over again with his latest film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the... More...
March 20, 2007:
Will Miyazaki's Next Film Be His Last?
It's been speculated that legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki will retire after the release of his next film, "Ponyo on a Cliff," but now it looks like we'll have at... More...
October 19, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Flags" Flies High; "The Prestige" Is Magic; "Flicka" Is A Pretty Good Ride; "Marie Antoinette" Spared Critical Guillotine
This week at the movies, we've got a complex tale of heroism (Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," starring Ryan Phillippe), a story of dueling magicians... More...
October 03, 2006:
Miyazaki Prepares Next Animation Classic
Let's face it: When the director of "Spirited Away," "Princess Mononoke," and a whole bunch of other brilliant pieces of animation announces that he's about... More...
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