DISNEY - HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE(2004)
Another delving into the Anime field for Disney, this one is
not quite as good as their first(Spirited Away!), but still a
good effort!! B
A review from Amazon:
Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to
vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience
excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With
domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl
passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3
film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James
Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne
Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki
has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service
(1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain,
has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until
the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old
woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break
the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like
Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her
hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the
title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that
looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's
honesty and determination win her some valuable new
riends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow;
Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious,
wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible
wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive
war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from
frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent
features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's
Moving Castle. --Charles Solomon