Movie #83 - Howl's Moving Castle

Title: Howl's Moving Castle

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Release Year: 2005 (USA)

Plot Summary: A young woman named Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste, and turns into an old woman, and she is unable to tell anyone of her plight. Unable to continue her job at her mother's hat shop, she goes to the ambulatory castle of the notorious wizard Howl, and insinuates herself into his household...

Thoughts: An absolutely gorgeous film. I often have mild complaints about the story and pacing of Miyazaki's movies, but you can always rest assured that they'll be beautiful to look at, and this is no exception. :)

Also, I felt like this was a lot quicker-paced than the other Miyazaki films that I've seen, which is a good thing in my book - I've found that upon re-watching Mononoke and Spirited Away, they seem quite drawn-out to me. At least upon my first viewing, I didn't feel like there were any places where the story got bogged down, or too slow.

Of course, I still need to see the last two minutes with sound. ~grumble~

Rating (0-10): 8.5

Recomendations: A worthy addition to the Miyazaki legacy, if you ask me.