Summer 2014 #1: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) - Hayao Miyazaki

I can’t believe that I’ve managed to get my almost 250 film Watchlist down to just 196 films in a little over a year. But I think I can do better! That means it’s time for another Moviecation. This time, I won’t be doing 15 films in 15 days like I did over winter break. I’m doing 15 films over the course of the summer. So

and let’s go!

My fifth Miyazaki film! In just sixth months. I can’t believe it was only January when I saw Spirited Away, and since then I have seen My Neighbor Totoro, The Wind Rises, and Princess Mononoke. Miyazaki has totally altered the way I think about animation, since, as I’ve said before, the only animation companies I respect are Disney and Pixar. 

I think Miyazaki has transcended the American idea that animated films have to be geared towards kids. And even though the fantastical worlds created in Studio Ghibli’s films are definitely, on the surface, childlike and wonderful, these films are always much deeper. Miyazaki’s hard childhood experiences with WWII bleed into all of his films, and you can feel the animator struggling to understand those troubling times in mid-twentieth century Japan.

Howl’s Moving Castle follows a strong female protagonist like many of his other films. This one’s name is Sophie, and within two minutes of meeting her as the bland hat shop girl who works herself too hard, a witch comes and transforms her into an old woman.

The film doesn’t care to take the time to characterize Sophie in her normal world, but we do hear a little about the strange wizard named Howl, who eats women’s hearts and must be watched out for. That is, until Sophie encounters him and he protects her from some evil spirits that are following her.

Old lady Sophie is a hilarious lens for the story, because she is strong-willed and curious and learns quickly that with old age comes a bizarre amount of courage. Her witty self-banter is probably the strongest comedic source in the film, and she quickly asserts herself into Howl’s magical world in hopes of having her curse lifted.

Howl’s connection to the crown makes him a target for the king’s system of drafting military men, since he trained with a witch that seems to have all the power in Japan. A violent and unjust war permeates the entire film, and Howl’s plight to stop it leaves him less and less human with each battle. It’s very interesting to see the negative characteristics in Howl, namely his cowardice, because it humanized someone who at the beginning of the film seems so inaccessible. 

Like the other Miyazaki films I’ve seen, feminist and anti-war themes ground the film, while the imaginative world it inhabits lifts it off of the screen and into a sort of escapist adventure. Between the witches and wizards, the spells, and Howl’s literal moving castle, the film has enough heart to rival even the best Pixar films. Not to mention a great love story.

And as always, Studio Ghibli’s ties with Disney made for some amazing English voice actors. Howl is voiced by Christian Bale, Josh Hutcherson plays his young assistant, and the amazing Lauren Bacall (The Big Sleep) gets to be the antagonist turned comedic side character, the Witch of the Waste. 

There she is in her “normal” state. Here she is the next scene.

Also the fire she is referring to is a tiny fire voiced by Billy Crystal.

I loved the film overall. It has drama, heart, and comedy. Roger Ebert, one of the only critics to not love it, called it one of Miyazaki’s weakest films. I think I’d be hard-pressed to pick a “weak” Miyazaki film, but out of the five I’ve seen, I can see where this one seems to be missing in that last bit of extra spark that his films usually emit. Maybe it’s the nonchalance with which Sophie falls in love with the deluded, cowardly Howl, I’m not sure. Not that the film isn’t great, because it is. It’s beautiful in so many ways, and definitely worth viewing.

Howl’s Moving Castle lost the Best Animated Film at the 2005 Oscars to “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.” But it ranks as #152 on the IMDb Top 250, only behind #36 Spirited Away and #130 My Neighbor Totoro. 

Monsters University (2013) - Dan Scanlon

I don’t shy away from telling people that Pixar is the most magical, inspirational production company working in film today. In our post 90s-Disney world, someone has to step up and put all of the pointless sequels and movies based on children’s toys (I’m talking to you, The Lego Movie) and TV shows that are before its own target audience’s time (Smurfs) to shame. And Pixar fills that role time and time again.

Now I know what you’re thinking, Pixar is in a slump of unnecessary sequels and some “meh” movies. Cars 2 was a disgrace (I’ve never even seen it), and I still hold the belief that Disney forced them to make it. Brave was pretty and heartwarming but a bit of a mess in terms of having a coherent story. So without having made a great movie since 2010’s Toy Story 3, Pixar had a lot riding on their first prequel. And that’s why I went in with a lot of expectations, but also why I walked out trying to wipe the tears from my face before the two other families in the theater with very young kids saw me in the light.

I’m not saying the film was perfect. In fact it had an almost identical formula as two other films about college, Sydney White and House Bunny, where a well-intentioned hero turns a group of ragtag fratbros/sorority sisters into popular winners through a lot of trial and error, plus transformation montages. But unlike Despicable Me 2, which I saw three days before, the film had what Pixar repeatedly proves it has, and that’s heart. Cue corny music. 

One thing I loved about the film is that they turned Mike from this funny egomaniac that you just laughed at in the first film into a fully developed, hardworking underdog. I found him so inspirational and courageous that you just root for him from the first scene, where, on a school field trip, he sneaks into a door on the scare floor and sees a real scarer in action. He is forever changed and works incessantly until he has earned his place at the top scaring school, Monsters University. Which is great, because it proves that no amount of difference (he’s made fun of for being so small and not scary) can keep you from accomplishing your dreams.

And yes he’s still lovable and these little easter eggs that reference the first film are magical when you see them. And once at school, Mike meets James P. Sullivan, the self-righteous legacy who got in only because of the merits of his father, Bill Sullivan. Sulley is naturally talented, unlike the intuitive and book-smart Mike, and the two dislike each other from the get-go. But when fate leads them to have to join the least popular fraternity and win a campus-wide scaring competition to prove their worth and not lose everything they had worked for, the two learn to understand each other’s differences and combine assets to make a great team. The film is relatable, touching, and teaches the value of friendship. Also it has a college setting, which is a nice touch considering the first film came out 12 years ago, so most of the target audience then is now in college.

FYI this is just a shot from the teaser trailer and isn’t in the film. So aside from Pixar being the studio that touches hearts around the world, they are also successful enough to afford a quirky and talented cast of voice actors. There’s Billy Crystal and John Goodman as Mike and Sulley again, and Bonnie Hunt (I’m not sure if Pixar secretly owns her or she just loves working for them, because she did Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc, Cars, Cars 2, Toy Story 3, and Monsters University) who plays Mike’s elementary school teacher. They also got Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Safety Not Guaranteed) to play an unattached, goth announcer for the Scare Games, but I guess you could have figured that out.

They also got Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses) to play a new age philosophy major named Art, who basically has all of the best one liners in the film because of how strange he is.

Overall, Monsters University isn’t one of the many unnecessary sequels that fill the younger generation’s heads with animated garbage. Pixar has made 14 films, all premiering at number one at the box office, and 7 have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Out of those films, 4 are not original stories (Cars 2, Toy Story 2 and 3, and Monsters University). Also Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo, is on the horizon. Before that, they had two original films coming up, The Good Dinosaur, and Inside Out. In my opinion, Pixar has earned the right to a few sequels, because aside from Cars 2, they understand that sequels are more than just quick money, but that they can also further a story so beautiful that it needed to be revisited.