Howl's Moving Castle
If you like the book Howl's Moving Castle, skip the movie. It will disappoint you or make you angry. If you've never read the book, skip the movie. It's the worst possible introduction to either Miyazaki or Diana Wynne Jones. Transferring a complicated novel to the screen involves simplifications and omissions (and is usually not worth the effort, but that's a rant for another day); however, there is a difference between making necessary adjustments and trashing the story.
The good news: visually, the movie is splendid, the castle in particular. It looks like a steampunk version of Baba Yaga's hut. And, um, that's about it.
The bad news:
The plot doesn't make much sense.
The characters aren't interesting, and their motivation is often unclear.
John Donne's Song is gone.
So is Wales.
Howl is less a disreputable sorcerer than a bishounen.
In the book, Sophie and Howl express themselves largely through insults and sarcasm. This satiric persiflage, one of the pleasures of the book, is entirely missing from the movie.
However, there is a war in the movie, which in the book was a merely distant threat. Miyazaki intended it as political comment, demonstrating once again that propaganda is the enemy of art.
... I could go on, but that's enough for now.
One fundamental problem is that Miyazaki has a different understanding of evil than Diana Wynne Jones. It's been often noted that there are seldom villains in a Miyazaki movie. I can only think of two: the count in The Castle of Cagliostro and Muska in Castle in the Sky (Mark Hamill's greatest role). Sometimes the absence of an unambiguous villain is a strength. In Princess Mononoke, for isntance, however misguided Lady Eboshi may be, she's not evil. The conflicts ultimately arise not from a simple good guy/bad guy clash, but from the intractable problems inherent in the meeting of technology and nature. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to consider those who do choose to do evil. In Jones' book, the Witch of the Waste is not only a constant threat to Howl and Sophie but she also illustrates the danger in Howl and Calcifer's contract. When Miyazaki turns Witch into a dear old infant, the plot no longer makes sense.
The book Howl's Moving Castle is a favorite of mine, and I recommend it to anyone who is old enough for Harry Potter. Miyazaki has made some excellent movies. Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are first rate, and all of his others -- until now -- are at least very good. If you do see Howl, please bear in mind that it's not representative of either Miyazaki or Diana Wynne Jones.
By the way, I saw the movie with a highly intelligent friend who hadn't read the book, and who has enjoyed Miyazaki in the past. She also found the plot incomprehensible and the motivation murky. It's not just me and my dislike of movie adaptations.
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