su & hao

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
Found this on someone's blog. What do you all think bout her review?

"I feel pity for Hayao Miyazaki sometimes. Despite his repeated requests to retire from making animated films, it seems that his studio keeps demanding more and more of him until he is becomes so burnt out that even his ideas are no longer new-instead just rehashed versions of his previous works.Still, that doesn't mean that I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle any less. Even though much of the art was practically re-used from 'Spirited Away'(千と千尋の神隠し）, it was still visually stunning. I suppose if it ain't broke, don't fix it... Anyhow, the juxtaposition of 2D animation with 3D art was quite difficult to get used to at first, but it gradually grew on me. (Sidetrack: I actually went to the Studio Ghibli Museum while I was in Japan and realised that it wasn't exactly 3D imaging that they were using, rather something called 'lithographs'-2D models moved in such a way to create a 3D illusion. I think it's the primary stage for all of Miyazaki-sensei's work.) What I liked about Howl's Moving Castle was the landscape views that were drawn because it made the world seem so vast and obviously, very beautiful. And the details! If you look very carefully, the castle is also a work of engineering genius! Towards the end, when the castle has somehow been torn apart, you are able to see the mechanism of the castle which consists of a simple axle-pulley system, not entirely unworkable.(But Miyazaki-sensei, why must they always cry big, glistening tears?!!) In terms of seiyuus, we find the same voices popping up again. If I'm not mistaken, the voices of Calcifer, Sophie and the Witch of Waste also featured in Spirited Away. Still my favourite voice belongs to マルクル(Markl) whose seiyuu is Ryunosuke Kamiki. XDXDXDXD He's one of the cutest child actors in Japan out there. So squishable! And he was so cool on that dorama! *licks* Okay, enough fangirling. (But he really is so adorable!) I was quite surprised by the the seiyuu of Howl himself, Takuya Kimura. Initially when I read the Japanese movie guidebook (koped a copy from Japan), I was thinking, "EW. Smap dude! He's like...so not male." But he made Howl sound quite hot really. Maybe his voice has got some kind of pheremone that works to seduce poor, hapless movie go-ers like me. *cackles* The plot in itself, is full of loopholes like: "Why is Howl such a coward?", "What's the point of the war?", "Why didn't Sophie's hair turn brown again?". To some extent I attribute this to the natural phenomena of movie plotholes, but at some points I was beginning to tear my hair out because I really, really wanted to know the background to the war and the characters. This could of course be a deliberate ploy of Miyazaki-sensei who always encourages people to imagine what happens in the blanks. Still, I was dissatisfied with the way that the ending tied itself up so neatly. I felt that given adequate treatment it would have been possible for the plot Howl's Moving Castle to have extended over two movies.Still characterisation was superb. I really felt sorry for Sophie when she got cursed. But then they chose to make her so uber-cool and calm about the situation. I vow that when I grow old I want to be as funky as Sophie the obaa-chan. XD To be frank, I envy Sophie because she got to go on all sorts of adventures even though she was very old. I dunno lah... Throughout the movie I was thinking, "What exactly have I done to make MY life worthwhile?!!" Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with many reasons, which sort of left me quite sad through the movie. One of the strange comments that I remember reading in a newspaper review about the movie was regarding Howl's supposed narcissism. I think this was prompted by the line, "What's the point of living if you can't be beautiful?!!" To the reviewer of the movie: you obviously didn't get it. Howl has lost his heart to a demon and therefore cannot think about anyone but himself. This doesn't mean that he isn't wholly incapable of doing so, it's just he needs someone to show him the way i.e. Sophie.Lastly... Like most Miyazaki movies, Howl's Moving Castle does come with a lesson/s. I believe that in light of the on-going strife between countries in these times, Miyazaki-sensei made this movie in order to tell the world to stop fighting. Many times in the movie, the words "foolish war" was uttered. Howl's evident distaste for such activities is perhaps parallel to Miyazaki-sensei's own feelings. And perhaps, the idea of a moving castle was to show the desire of most people to escape from their circumstances. So in that respect, Howl isn't exactly a coward as we are led to believe and neither is he selfish. Like everyone else, all he wants to do is live.Sophie: Who's warship is that? Ours or theirs?Howl: Does it matter? They are all murderers anyway.The movie also points out that to love someone doesn't mean loving them just for what they look like but for who they are. Howl does love Sophie even though she is in appearance much older than himself, and Sophie loves Howl even though in some aspects he is a demon and a initially a selfish one to boot. The movie also shows that for the one you love, you will do anything, even changing who you think you are in order to suit that person.*sigh*Okay, I've rambled for long enough as it is. Point of my own summary: Get the DVD so that I can watch it over and over again.
Edit: So now I'm confused. Diana Wynne Jones wrote the book on which the movie is based. But how much of the movie follows the book and how much follows the wanderings of Miyazaki-sensei's mind? Ohoho! Something new to research!"