“Castle in the Sky” is a fast-paced, Indiana Jones-style animated adventure that will appeal to children and adults alike. As with most Hayao Miyazaki films, an engaging and thrilling adventure story is delivered with a subtle message of respect for the environment.
The film kicks off as a young boy, Pazu, encounters Sheeta, a girl floating down from the sky. We discover that Sheeta, who possesses a crystal necklace that’s believed to lead the way to the mythical floating island of Laputa, has been kidnapped by government agents eager to acquire the pendant and harness the island’s mysterious power. As Pazu and Sheeta try to dodge the secret agents and embark on their own quest for Laputa, a number of high-flying and thrilling adventures ensue involving trains, planes, pirates and robots.
As in all his films, Miyazaki creates an imaginary world full of color and life, inhabited by complex yet interesting characters. “Castle in the Sky” is filled with epic-style battle scenes and it’s refreshing to see both female and male protagonists on equal footing as heroes.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Revew: "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004)
“Howl’s Moving Castle” is an enchanting animated family film that transports you to a magical fantasy world and tells a moving story about the transformative power of love and kindness.
Adapted from a children’s book written by Diana Wynne Jones, “Howl’s Moving Castle” focuses on the story of Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer), a shy, plain-looking and serious teenager who works in a hat shop, and Howl (voiced by Christian Bale), a handsome but vain wizard whom she meets by chance when he literally sweeps her off her feet to protect her from some malicious soldiers. Enraged by jealousy, the Wicked Witch of the Waste (voiced by Lauren Bacall) promptly curses Sophie, turning her into a 90-year old woman. In an effort to break her curse, Sophie embarks on a journey that brings her to Howl’s mysterious moving castle where she befriends the wizard’s young apprentice and a tough little fire demon. As she experiences life through an older woman’s eyes, she not only matures and learns something about herself but helps transform all the castle’s inhabitants, who are “cursed” by their own personal demons.
As imagined by director Hayao Miyazaki, the fantasy worlds of “Howl’s Moving Castle” are visually stunning and not like anything seen before. Miyazaki creates gorgeous and richly detailed images of bustling towns, vast mountains and flowery fields, reminiscent of early 20th century Europe. But the piece-de-resistance is Howl’s castle – a smoke belching contraption that looks as if its components were foraged from a junkyard and which moves about on chicken feet. It’s just awe-inspiring.
The narrative is complex and frequently goes off on tangents, into and out of various worlds and across time and space. Yet the journey is always interesting as the characters are multi-layered and we come to care about them. The English voice cast is excellent all-around, particularly Christian Bale who imbues Howl with a sexy bad-boy vibe.
Miyazaki weaves together a number of messages which should resonate with children and adults alike. One is that old age can be liberating. We see this quite vividly as Sophie develops from a shy, mousy girl into a confident and loving woman. Another is that embracing others with compassion and kindness can help them to tackle personal demons, resulting in positive change.
Adapted from a children’s book written by Diana Wynne Jones, “Howl’s Moving Castle” focuses on the story of Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer), a shy, plain-looking and serious teenager who works in a hat shop, and Howl (voiced by Christian Bale), a handsome but vain wizard whom she meets by chance when he literally sweeps her off her feet to protect her from some malicious soldiers. Enraged by jealousy, the Wicked Witch of the Waste (voiced by Lauren Bacall) promptly curses Sophie, turning her into a 90-year old woman. In an effort to break her curse, Sophie embarks on a journey that brings her to Howl’s mysterious moving castle where she befriends the wizard’s young apprentice and a tough little fire demon. As she experiences life through an older woman’s eyes, she not only matures and learns something about herself but helps transform all the castle’s inhabitants, who are “cursed” by their own personal demons.
As imagined by director Hayao Miyazaki, the fantasy worlds of “Howl’s Moving Castle” are visually stunning and not like anything seen before. Miyazaki creates gorgeous and richly detailed images of bustling towns, vast mountains and flowery fields, reminiscent of early 20th century Europe. But the piece-de-resistance is Howl’s castle – a smoke belching contraption that looks as if its components were foraged from a junkyard and which moves about on chicken feet. It’s just awe-inspiring.
The narrative is complex and frequently goes off on tangents, into and out of various worlds and across time and space. Yet the journey is always interesting as the characters are multi-layered and we come to care about them. The English voice cast is excellent all-around, particularly Christian Bale who imbues Howl with a sexy bad-boy vibe.
Miyazaki weaves together a number of messages which should resonate with children and adults alike. One is that old age can be liberating. We see this quite vividly as Sophie develops from a shy, mousy girl into a confident and loving woman. Another is that embracing others with compassion and kindness can help them to tackle personal demons, resulting in positive change.
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