Forum - View topicJust bought Howl's
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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I just bought Howl's Moving Castle yesterday and watched it. I found it to be really enjoyable. So I don't really understand why some said on the Oscar thread that they didn't like it.
Admittedly, there was not a strong "background theme" to it other than slightly anti-war. But I still enjoyed it as much as Miyazaki's other movies that I've seen. I thought Howl himself was pretty funny and very, very vain. Sophie was cute even as a girl older than she should be and as an old woman younger than she should be. Now as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that, okay, the characters are not as strong as the ones in Princess Mononoke but I still enjoyed them. The one thing about the DVD that ticks me off, is that Disney doesn't want to acknowledge the Japanese VAs in the credits. I don't think I moved past them because I didn't see them acknowledged in Porco Rosso either. |
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slickwataris
 Posts: 1334 Location: Carol Stream, Illinois |
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I bought it.
It's not Miyazaki's strongest movie. If Spirited Away barely won an oscar there's no way this could have. Why should they put voice actor's names that weren't even on the dub. |
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Uhhh, because not everyone who buys the DVD will want to watch the dub? It would be nice to see credit given where it's due. 
I actually like Howl's Moving Castle more than most people, but I don't think it's as strong as Miyazaki's other works. I saw it in the theater when it was released and I enjoyed it enough to pre-order the DVD. But I'm much more excited about owning Totoro and Whisper of the Heart, to be honest. |
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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Because a sub version is presented on the DVD too? I just love how people say "it's not his strongest movie" but they never explain why they think so. I just bought Howl's Moving Castle on DVD today myself, but I had already seen it before, so I knew what to expect and it's still my favorite Miyazaki film. I like how different Howl's Moving Castle is from Miyazaki-san's previous films. It's a nice change of pace to see a lead character in a Miyazaki film who isn't a young, "I can do anything even without magical powers" girl that everyone falls in love with and doesn't have any flaws in their personality that's only been used for the umpteenth time in Miyazaki-san's previous films. Miyazaki-san claims that Chihiro is based on a real little girl but in all honesty is she really any different from any of Miyazaki-san's other heronies?
Sophie is much more down-to-earth in that she doesn't have the remarkable special ability to suddenly run across a pipe thirty-feet in midair or fly through the sky with a dragon in human form. She has real insecurities and reminds us that these characters are human characters and she seems more realistic than Miyazaki-san's other characters because she's not perfect. Howl is also different than Miyazaki-san's other characters in that he's beautiful but also very pompous and self-centered but eventually learns about what true beauty is. All of Miyazaki-san's other characters are all either average or ugly but never beautiful, and I find that to be a bit unrealistic in that Miyazaki-san never used beautiful characters in order to be more realistic even though beautiful people are a very much real part of life, too. Another thing I liked about Howl's Moving Castle was how Miyazaki-san for once didn't use a pro-enviromentalism theme for his film and instead chose to go with an anti-war theme. I thought the anti-war theme was an approiate choice for this movie with all the recent wars that've been going on around lately. Although it's nice to see a pro-envorimentalist message in a movie every once and a while and I have nothing personal against them, it does get rather tiresome when it's the same old message Miyazaki-san uses in every one of his films. I don't understand why so many people hate Howl's Moving Castle, either. It's actually my favorite Miyazaki film because of how different and unique the characters and themes are from his previous works. I also don't get why everyone thinks Miyazaki-san is this perfect genius that can't have any flaws whatsoever. His other movies aren't perfect either yet everyone treats them like they are, so when they finally notice a flaw in a Miyazaki film, they criticize it for not being his "strongest film" just because they're finally realizing Miyazaki films aren't perfect and neither were his previous works. In fact, even though Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite film, I'll admit that it has its flaws, the main one being that it's too short, but compared to the flaws of his other movies, that's nothing worth ranting about. I just wish somebody would present a legimate case as to why Howl's Moving Castle isn't a good movie by actually backing up their reasons without using the excuse "it's not his strongest film", because frankly that's not convincing enough. |
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Cloe
Moderator
Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Are you kidding? There have been dozens of threads filled to the brim with people explaining their dislike of Howl's, including reasons such as the film's convoluted story caused by an inconsistency of theme and incoherent plot. I personally agree with a review that called the film "spectacle without meaning" becuase of the wonderful animation that was really telling just a standard story. I didn't re-iterate specific thoughts earlier because I assumed everyone who frequents this forum--or even casually visits this forum--is bored to death of hearing people criticize Howl's Moving Castle. There are a number of problems with the film, that's for sure, but as I said earlier I still enjoy it. I wouldn't have bought the thing if I didn't think it was worth watching again.
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Angelcake
Posts: 74 Location: Just South of Heaven |
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Well, all I have to say is that movies based on books rarely are anything to write home about, and the books are usually better (exceptions being LOTR, The Shining and Capote)
I've actually read the original novel by Diana Wynne Jones......and it wasn't even that good, either. I'm afraid that not even Miyazaki could save it. |
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mydog8u2
 Posts: 82 |
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I can't let that one pass. "Never beautiful"? I really don't understand how, when you are able to see beauty in Sophie's "down-to-earth" character, you won't allow yourself to see Chihiro's charming, adorable, childlike personality that renders her equally as beautiful. You said that Sophie is more realistic than other Miyasaki characters because she's "not perfect". Okay, I don't remember Chihiro, or any of Miyasaki's characters for that matter, ever being 'perfect'. Since you predominantly referred to Spirited Away as Howl's lesser, let's keep talking about its protagonist, Chihiro. A seemingly innately-shy girl, who, due to the family's move to a new place, feels frustrated and insecure about starting a new life. She's a kid, and when a kid whines and shrivels up with her knees to her chest, it's one with whom many of us feel very instantly familiar. What is so beautiful is that this typical, troubled kid inadvertently embarks upon a journey that enlivens all that is great about childhood: monsters, witches, dragons, spirits and of course, magic! And within the magical, spiritual quest, Chihiro grows from a timid, self-doubting little girl to someone that carries the hopes and dreams of her friends. She becomes a heroine in a very special person's heart... and in ours. spoiler[The affecting parting between Chihiro and Haku is sad, yes, but the hope that they will someday meet again leaves the audience with a positive emptiness, which I think have to be called a most beautiful ending.] As for your apparent dislike for the magical element in Spirited Away, I guess Howl and Sophie floating on rooftops doesn't count as something 'unrealistic' .
Don't get me wrong. I love Howl's Moving Castle, and I won't say it is inferior to Spirited Away; they're just two of Miyasaki's masterpieces that are beautiful in different ways. But I do not particularly fancy the way you downgrade Spirited Away as "average or ugly". |
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