Ghibling - 1

The new batch of Studio Ghibli films were re-released by Disney the other month and recently arrived at my proverbial doorstep. I have no actual doorstep. Armed with that knowledge, you can probably figure out what I was up to for 6 hours last weekend.

"Howl's Moving Castle"

The newest release that I "just missed" all of last year. The theaters in town wherever I was (South Carolina, Virginia, Nebraska, Tokyo) were either just dropping it, or not quite ready to put it on the second run screens. Oh well.

I'm not quite sure where this one goes wrong, but I think it's story based. Even though Miyazaki is a heck of a storyteller and the source material seems to fit his style, the story doesn't quite work. I think there are just too many threads spread across too large a tapestry. The beauty of most Miyazaki films (as we'll discuss later) is in their complete honesty and openness focused on a single struggle of (usually) a single character.

The story follows the struggle of Sophie to find direction in her life. She is a reclusive young lady that should be enjoying the prime of her life. Instead she seems resigned to a fate of just scraping by fueled by a low self-image. The film then turns into a metaphor of sorts. A rather disgusting witch casts an enchantment on Sophie that turns her into an old lady, a physical representation of how she seems to be living life. The rest of the film is about Sophie discovering herself. At it's core, it's not that different from "Spirited Away". The treatment is not nearly as good though.

Sophie soon joins up with the wizard Howl who has a bad reputation around town, but doesn't seem to deserve it once she gets to know him. Howl's castle (of the title) does in fact move and is in fact a very impressive piece of concept art. Alright, in execution it's a little too Terry Gilliam-ey for my taste, but the actual design is from a master at work. The whole thing is run on the steam produced by a little hearth monster called Calcipher. The relationship between Calcipher, Howl, and the castle is brilliant and not really played up as far as it could be. I think that thread is more interesting than Sophie's but I don't think there would be a way to make a film about just that. Sorry for all the obscurity, but I really don't want to ruin the film. You should see it and then you'll understand and then we can talk.

Then on top of this you have a strange war story that gives the plot some forward motion but just feels clumsy. I think -it adds an unnecessary layer of confusion to- (or obfuscates (one of my favorite self defining words)) everything. It may have worked great in the book, but as many people have found over the years, a book and a movie are two different things. We're not talking apples and oranges, or even fruits and vegetables here; more like...vegetable and mineral.

And yet it's still Miyazaki and definitely worth 2 hours of your life. The Disney releases are always very good. The English dub is well done. Batman (Christian Bale) plays Howl and Billy Crystal is Calcipher. The other voices are good, but nothing terribly memorable. One of my favorite features on the DVDs is the second disc which features the film in storyboard form. It's odd at first to watch a film in this sort of snapshot form, but for me, the boards are so much more direct in the emotional core and are able to emphasize what is important about a scene more immediately than the animation. So while rough and not as flashy, they present a film that feels just a bit different and deepen your enjoyment of the feature.

The last thing I'll mention is just a little snippet of truth that I've found in a few Miyazaki's so far. In this film it takes the form of the Witch of the Waste. At the beginning she is a cruel character that basically tries to ruin Sophie's life. Sophie has ever reason to hate her. About half way through the witch is turned into a broken, helpless, barely sentient creature. Maybe I'm cruel, but my initial reaction is "all right, she got what she deserved...now we can get on with the movie" but then I'm put to shame by Sophie who takes in this poor lady as she is and cares for her as though they've been friends their entire lives. The past is forgotten and a fresh start can be made. It's a beautiful truth. The same thing happens in "Spirited Away" with that eating monster thing (can't remember the real name), and in a slightly different form between Curtis and Porco at the end of "Porco Rosso".

Coming soon - "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Whisper of the Heart"