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It's late, but we just barely got back from seeing "Howl's Moving Castle" and I figured I'd type up a few quick comments about it, without getting spoilery.
The movie was visually stunning, but I'd pretty much assumed it would be... it's something that Miyazaki absolutely excels at. I loved the fact that the opening title included the words "From the book by Diana Wynne Jones." Yay!! I've been in love with her work since grade school... so it's wonderful seeing her name up on the screen, knowing that so many people are finding out about her.
It's been a very long time since I last read Howl's Moving Castle, so I'm a bit shaky on what happens in it... but I do remember enough to know that the movie deviates from it quite a bit. The main theme is even radically different and there are events and characters I don't recall seeing... while other things I would have considered major and important in the book don't show up at all in the movie. Oh, and Billy Crystal was a *horrible* choice (on the part of Disney) for the voice of Calcifur... because I heard *him* every time he spoke, and not the character he was supposed to be playing.
I'll be the first to admit that DWJ has a bit of a problem when it comes to ending books. Quite often, they're excessively rushed... as if she suddenly realized that the book had been going on for awhile and it was time to stop, so she wrapped everything up as quickly as possible and called it good. It's something I've gotten used to in her novels, and the overall stories are so good, it usually doesn't matter. But Miyazaki takes that problem to a whole new level... because he never really explains anything that was going on. We get to find out, pretty much, the answer to one major plot point and one minor one, while the rest just sort of ends.
I'd highly recommend the movie for fans of Miyazaki, mostly recommend it for fans of DWJ (if for no other reason than to see all the differences in the storyline), and tentatively recommend it for everyone else (and just warn you that there are some cringeworthy moments toward the end that made me wonder what Miyazaki was thinking).
And an even quicker word about this week's Doctor Who... Yowza! Clever writing and fantastic acting... and... and... shoot, I promised not to be spoilery. Assuming we don't run off to Olympia to visit relatives or something tomorrow, I'll see if I can come up with something more coherent and much more spoilerific. I will say that I'm absolutely in love with Russell T. Davies because of what he's done for the series... it's truly a beautiful thing.
The movie was visually stunning, but I'd pretty much assumed it would be... it's something that Miyazaki absolutely excels at. I loved the fact that the opening title included the words "From the book by Diana Wynne Jones." Yay!! I've been in love with her work since grade school... so it's wonderful seeing her name up on the screen, knowing that so many people are finding out about her.
It's been a very long time since I last read Howl's Moving Castle, so I'm a bit shaky on what happens in it... but I do remember enough to know that the movie deviates from it quite a bit. The main theme is even radically different and there are events and characters I don't recall seeing... while other things I would have considered major and important in the book don't show up at all in the movie. Oh, and Billy Crystal was a *horrible* choice (on the part of Disney) for the voice of Calcifur... because I heard *him* every time he spoke, and not the character he was supposed to be playing.
I'll be the first to admit that DWJ has a bit of a problem when it comes to ending books. Quite often, they're excessively rushed... as if she suddenly realized that the book had been going on for awhile and it was time to stop, so she wrapped everything up as quickly as possible and called it good. It's something I've gotten used to in her novels, and the overall stories are so good, it usually doesn't matter. But Miyazaki takes that problem to a whole new level... because he never really explains anything that was going on. We get to find out, pretty much, the answer to one major plot point and one minor one, while the rest just sort of ends.
I'd highly recommend the movie for fans of Miyazaki, mostly recommend it for fans of DWJ (if for no other reason than to see all the differences in the storyline), and tentatively recommend it for everyone else (and just warn you that there are some cringeworthy moments toward the end that made me wonder what Miyazaki was thinking).
And an even quicker word about this week's Doctor Who... Yowza! Clever writing and fantastic acting... and... and... shoot, I promised not to be spoilery. Assuming we don't run off to Olympia to visit relatives or something tomorrow, I'll see if I can come up with something more coherent and much more spoilerific. I will say that I'm absolutely in love with Russell T. Davies because of what he's done for the series... it's truly a beautiful thing.
