"Howl's Moving Castle"

I read the book back before Christmas, and I was pretty sure I had a copy of the Miyazaki movie on my shelf. Yes, I did. I vaguely remembered having watched it before - mainly Calcifer (voiced in the US version by Billy Crystal) and the scene at the beginning where Howl leaps up and he and Sophie walk over the rooftops.

I had been slightly confused by the Madame Suleiman subplot but after reading the book (ironically) it made more sense, though Wizard Suleiman is a very different character in there (she sort-of takes the Madame Penstemmon role in the book, but she is also the antagonist)

The biggest difference is that the movie has an anti-war theme - two of the nations (nation-states? It's not clear the relationship between Porthaven and Kingsbury) are at war, and it's hinted that Madame Suliman tinkered around to help cause it.

Also, the Witch of the Waste is more of a pathetic figure and not the main antagonist.

The main framework is similar, though. And the fact that Sophie saves Howl (and Calcifer) at the end.

There are many things I love about Miyazaki movies - I think I have all of the "big" ones on dvd, and perhaps someday I'll purchase some of the lesser-known ones. Some of the things are not....always things you see in American-made movies:

- Often older female characters are, if not the protagonist, they are an important figure in the movie. And they aren't necessarily conventionally beautiful: Sophie is very definitely an old woman for much of this movie (I'm reminded of the claim that your nose keeps growing throughout your life, though I do not think that is literally true).

- Kindness is an important virtue. Arguably it's Sophie's kindness here that is what saves *everyone* - from Howl and Calcifer, to breaking the enchantment on the prince, to even sort of redeeming the Witch of the Waste. As someone who considers kindness an often-denigrated and overlooked value in our culture (pushed aside by "I gotta get mine" or a desire to get power/wealth/whatever regardless of the cost to others), it speaks to me when a protagonist's success comes BECAUSE she is kind rather than DESPITE it.

- The music. I think the Studio Ghibli movies have some of the most gorgeous background music of movies I've seen. It's not really classical, not really New Age, not really jazz, but somewhere between those and it's very pleasant to listen to. There are a couple of compilations on YouTube that make excellent background working music, because it's entirely instrumental (Some of the Ghibli music does have words; often the closing theme, and often it's left in the original Japanese).

- There are a lot of nice little domestic scenes that don't always advance the plot, but give a nice slice of life: from Sophie working on hats at a workbench at the beginning, to getting to see Markl enjoy the breakfast she cooks (no one can animate kids eating like Studio Ghibli). And the shots of Howl's gorgeous, cluttered bedroom. (He even has a couple stuffed toys on his bed, and OF COURSE I would notice that). The films are just *pretty* to look at - both the interior shots but also many of the exterior shots - the area where Howl's "little study" is located, the scene where the castle is "walking" and Sophie and Markl go out on the balcony and get a bird's eye view of the countryside it's walking through...

- Also sometimes the plots are a bit more....random-walk....than in some Western movies. Again, that slice of life thing, but also, the idea of an episodic plot. "My Neighbor Totoro" has a lot of slice-of-life things, and also, the pace is slower. I like the slower pace of many of the Ghibli movies. Sometimes movies are too frenetic

- While there is humor in a lot of them, often (a) it is a gentler sort of humor and (b) Miyazaki doesn't have ANY problem with being serious when he needs to be. Again, I sometimes feel like so much of our culture has gotten so surficial, so caught up in being cool for coolness' sake, and it's almost like we're embarrassed about genuine emotion. positive or negative: it's not "cool" to be too happy about things, but it's also not "cool" to be angry about injustices, or sad about genuinely sad things, or afraid....it seems like a very limiting way to live, and very flat. And I CAN'T be cool in that way; I feel things strongly and I react strongly to things and it is often hard for me to cover up how I feel under a cloak of cool.

- And while bad things do happen in the Ghibli universe - and that can and does include war and illness and death - somehow it also feels like a nicer universe. In the sense of kindnesses being more noticed, and the good times being better, and pretty things (landscapes) are prettier. And the technology is more interesting - there's sort of a steampunk aspect to it.

The movies, for me, just fill an entertainment niche I need. I can happily rewatch them (like especially "Ponyo" and "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away" oh and "Kiki's Delivery Service," which is the first one I ever saw) many, many times - which is why I invested in them on dvd.

I'm sure they're not for everyone - I'm sure there are people who dislike them - but many people I know have expressed admiration for them. They are just well-done and I wish there were more things like them out there.