Howl's Moving Castle

The film starts by centering on the character of Sophie, a young girl who is working in a hat-making shop. One night, just after closing, a woman comes into the shop even though the door had been closed and locked. She makes some nasty comments about the shop and then rushes past Sophie.

The woman is a witch and curses Sophie, this related to an earlier meeting Sophie had with a mysterious sorcerer.

Sophie leaves the city and strikes out on her own, later coming across a rather large moving "castle." She manages to get on board with the help of an enchanted scarecrow. From that point on Sophie lives in the incredible world of Howl's moving castle, a castle that basically looks kind of broken down on the outside. A door opens portal-like to a variety of places. Inside a fire demon provides the energy to move the castle, and a young boy poses as an older man who sells magical materials.

Unfortunately, the castle and its inhabitants are not the only thing that Sophie must get used to; there's a war going on, a king that wants all sorcerers to report to him to help in the war, a sorceress, a sort of "wicked witch of the wastes,", instant flying lessons and a lot of amazing action and scenery.

The film, as most Miyazaki films, is stunningly beautiful, especially the scenery. The town is vivid in its own right, and the flying machines carry the characteristic over-the-top airplane designs of Miyazaki's films.

The characters are well done, all interesting. Even the non-human characters have their own fascinating characteristics. On top of this you have a wonderfully romantic story. There's not much more you could ask out of a film. This is one of Miyazaki's best films, and if you have a chance to see it in a theater you definitely should.

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