As Hayao Miyazaki films by Studio Ghibli go, this 2004 adaptation of the novel by acclaimed British author Diana Wynne Jones stands somewhere in the middle of the pack. Though it earned the second Academy Award nomination for a Miyazaki work, it is neither visually nor especially narratively on quite the same level as some of the works which preceded it. Even so, it still presents a charming tale filled with lots of great visuals and wondrous details, the kind of thing which can delight children and adults alike.

Though perfectly adequate for the story it is telling, the narrative is nonetheless the movie's weakest aspect, in part because quite a bit of it is a retread of Spirited Away. A female lead gets taken out of her normal comfort zone by a curse, drawn into a world of magic, where she must discover her pluck in order to forge a place for herself. She finds a temporary home in a fantastical structure where she makes friends with some of the residents and earns later favors by helping strange beings out. Along the way love eventually develops with the most prominent male character, who can magically change into a flying form (which of course results in the heroine going airborne at least once) and a cute critter or two become tag-alongs. The details might be entirely different, but the essential premise and story progression are basically the same in both movies. The only major difference is that Howl's Moving Castle pitches a distinct antiwar message instead of a distinct environmental message. Granted, this probably will not be an issue for anyone who has not previously seen Spirited Away, but it does seem an odd coincidence that, given how diverse the subject matter is in Miyazaki's body of work, the two movies he has made which most resemble each other were made back-to-back.

The narrative has some other minor issues, too, as despite its nearly two hour running time, the ending wraps things up rather abruptly and a little too neatly; it especially trivializes the war in the end, particularly after having gone to such lengths to emphasize how ugly an affair it is. On the plus side, though, the conceptualization of the setting is just as wonderful an effort as seen in any other Miyazaki work and the equal of any anime setting short of perhaps Royal Space Force. This is a world which mostly seems to be modeled off of turn-of-the-20th-century Europe based on clothing, uniform, and architectural styles (and in fact Sophie's city was specifically modeled off of a city in France), but with some dramatic differences: steam-powered vehicles traverse the streets, electricity apparently has not caught on but wizards and witches are abundant enough that they have their own school, and flying craft ranging from small vehicles used for pleasure flights all the way up to mammoth battleships traverse the skies. The walking castle is, of course, also a marvel unto itself, especially the way its magical door – which can open to one of four different locations depending on its dial setting – works. The magic system is detailed just enough to make me wish for it being laid out more cleanly, as it seems rather arbitrary; the logic behind how Sophie's curse varies in the intensity of its effect and occasionally disappears altogether is hard to follow, for instance. Not thinking too much about how it works, and just accepting that it does, is recommended.

The artistry actually looks surprisingly rough in places in the early going, especially in the rendering of characters, but the spotty lacks of refinement mostly disappear as the movie progresses. The visuals most excel in the places where Miyazaki films typically do: in the elaborate, imaginative designs of aircraft; in the sumptuously detailed, vibrantly colorful building interiors; and in the spectacular design of the moving castle. Character designs are usually sharp, especially Howl's birdlike forms, and they almost universally have that unmistakable Miyazaki aesthetic about them. In both those and some other visual elements Miyazaki and his team were clearly borrowing from his previous works, as Sophie's most cronelike appearance and one of Howl's bird forms are strongly reminiscent of Yubaba in Spirited Away and the larger aircraft somewhat resemble some of those used in Nausicaä. Another scene quite distinctly resembles one from Whispers in the Heart, and Pazu, one of the co-stars of Castle in the Sky, supposedly makes a background cameo (though I could not place where). The animation does not show off as much as some other Miyazaki films do but is nonetheless very good by anime standards, with hardly any shortcuts taken and a good amount of background detail. Objectionable content is practically nonexistent, but some scenes may be too intense for young children.

Like he has for nearly all other Miyazaki productions, Joe Hisaishi once again steps up to do the musical score. The result is a fully orchestrated cinematic sound which complements the movie well without much standing out. A pleasant song which sounds like something from the 1940s anchors the end credits.

The Japanese vocal cast used a single actress to voice both young and old versions of Sophie, but in the English dub her role is split between Emily Mortimer and British/American film legend Jean Simmons, respectively; while the former functions reasonably well as a younger-sounding version of the British-accented Simmons, the latter suits the role perfectly. Christian Bale does fine as Howl and Lauren Bacall is great as the Witch of the Waste, but Billy Crystal never quite seems like a good fit as Calcifer. A couple of anime-dubbing regulars pop up in minor roles, including Jane Alan and Crispin Freeman. The English script plays quite loose in places but only rarely says something entirely different. Overall it is a solid but not spectacular dub effort.

Disney originally offered the movie on DVD back in 2006 but has much more recently released it as a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, which was based on a new digital master. The benefits of that are obvious, as it looks great on a large HD TV. The Blu-Ray version gains in visual and audio acuity over the DVD version, but the increase is not drastic; the main improvement instead is the way the subtitles are displayed. Each version has English subtitles for the hearing impaired, regular English subtitles, and French subtitles, and a French vocal track is included as well. Each also contains three main Extras: an American-produced “Behind the Microphone” piece which features most of the principal English voice actors (and seems to be aimed at audiences that aren't anime regulars), a Japanese-produced short feature on English dub co-director Peter Docter, and a grainy Japanese-produced video of Miyazaki's surprise visit to Pixar Studios in 2005. Both also have Japanese promo clips. Exclusive to the Blu-Ray version is an option to play the entire movie through with the original storyboards showing.

Perhaps because it has a Western-flavored setting and is based on Western source material, Howl's Moving Castle has a less specifically Japanese feel to it than most other Miyazaki films. That makes it more accessible than some others to non-anime fans. And, despite the criticisms above, it is still quite an entertaining film. For all of the neat trappings, though, it just isn't one of his best.