When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle. Hauru No Ugoku Shiro is another film that doesn't belong on the Top 250 and to be honest i'm just tired of keep seeing again and again movies that are just overrated. This film is all magic and stuff but not full of adventure or great animation movies like The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are 100 times better than this movie easily. (0/10)

There are lovely touches of understated humour throughout this beautiful looking film which reflect the tone of original story really well. It is also suitable for watching with younger children without boring yourself silly.

Sophie, a young hatter, encounters a wizard named Howl on her way to visit her sister Lettie. Upon returning, she meets the Witch of the Waste, who transforms her into a ninety-year-old woman. Seeking to break the curse, Sophie leaves home and sets off through the country. She meets a scarecrow, whom she decides to call 'Turnip Head'. He leads her to Howl's moving castle, where she meets Howl's young apprentice, Markl, and the fire-demon Calcifer, who is the source of the castle's energy and magic. When Howl appears, Sophie announces that Calcifer let her in, and she has hired herself as a cleaning lady for the house.Meanwhile, Sophie's country is caught up in a war with a neighboring country. The King summons Howl to fight in the war; however, Howl decides to send Sophie to the King under the pretense of being his mother, to tell the king that Howl is too much of a coward to fight. Before leaving, he gives to Sophie a charmed ring that connects her to Calcifer. Sophie meets Suliman, the king's adviser, and also the Witch of the Waste, whom Suliman punishes by draining all of her power, causing her to regress into a harmless old woman. Suliman says that Howl will meet the same fate if he does not fight; Sophie protests passionately in his defense, allowing Suliman to see Sophie's true form, and to realize that she has feelings for Howl. Howl arrives to rescue Sophie; Suliman tries to trap him, but with Sophie's help, they escape along with the former witch.

I really appreciate Miyazaki's story-telling and the unique perspective he brings to the world of children's films, and Howl's Castle is no exception. Although it is based on a book (which I have not read), Miyazaki really makes the story his own. The world he crafts and the story he weaves are so amazingly detailed and interesting that I was truly spellbound for most of the film. Unfortunately, the ending does not live up to the promise of the film and is somewhat unsatisfying, which is the only reason I could not rate this as a 10. However, it is still worth seeing. As is typical with Miyazaki, he successfully relates the conflict and ambiguity of the world around us in an engaging way, without resorting to the Western ideals of good and evil. His characters really embody the concepts of yin/yang and wabi-sabi. Nothing and no one is completely good or completely evil and nothing is really as it may seem. I think these are concepts that all children (and adults) should be introduced to and I can't think of a better way than through a tale told by Miyazaki.