“Howl’s Moving Castle” is a truly intriguing anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”, “My Neighbour Totoro”). It might be a little tricky to follow but it feels worth it because this is a magical and moving picture.

In this film, a pretty young girl by the name of Sophie becomes cursed by a witch. Sophie now has the body of an elderly woman and sets out to find a way to break the spell and she appoints herself cleaner of a castle that walks on metal legs and belongs to a mysterious wizard called Howl. Sophie falls in love with Howl but in the meantime, a ferocious war is being fought between two civilisations and Howl is drawn into the conflict.

I really loved the Sophie character and you really want to see her break the spell and have her body restored. Howl is quite interesting and the way he turns into a giant bird creature is rather enjoyable. The other characters include an adorable dog, a scarecrow and a talking fire so I absolutely adored the creativity here. All the characters are animated incredibly well and lots of details seems to have been added to maximise the impact of the characters’ visuals on the audience.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is up there with “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke” as among the masterpieces by Miyazaki. This a visually amazing film with a lot of heart and so much imagination that I couldn’t help but find it brilliant. It must take some serious skill, a lot of will and genuine creativity to make a film as great as “Howl’s Moving Castle” and that’s why Miyazaki is a truly wonderful director. Fans of anime will certainly want to see this magnificent picture and I think the mainstream audiences should make a real effort to see this as well.