The Bottom Line
"Howl's Moving Castle" is a refreshing animated experience for the entire family. 15 minutes in you'll find yourself completely lost in the make-believe world of "Howl's Moving Castle."
Pros
- Totally mesmerizing
- Beautiful animation and an absorbing story
- The English language dubs work fine and don't detract from the film
- Interesting behind-the-scenes featurettes
- "Howl's Moving Castle" is simply magical
Cons
- None worth noting
Description
- 'Behind the Microphone' - The voices of "Howl's Moving Castle" at work
- Interview with Pixar Animation Studios Director Pete Docter
- 'Hayao Miyazaki visits Pixar Studios' - Miyazaki spends time with Pixar's John Lasseter
- Trailers
- "Howl's Moving Castle" Storyboards set to the film's music
- DVD Release Date: March 7, 2006
Guide Review - "Howl's Moving Castle" DVD Review
Based on the novel by Diana Wynee Jones, "Howl's Moving Castle" follows Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who labors away at her family's hat shop. Sophie doesn't expect much from life and doesn't date or socialize like other young women her age. She's settled for creating beautiful hats and living a boring life.Enter the Witch of the Waste, a horrid creature who places a curse on young Sophie after seeing her in the company of the wizard Howl (voiced by "Batman Begins" star Christian Bale). The Witch of the Waste turns young Sophie into a 90-year-old woman who is unable to tell anyone who she really is. Sophie can't bare to let her family see her so she runs away, only to find herself taken in by the occupants of Howl's Moving Castle. As she cooks and cleans and tries to figure a way out of her predicament, she and Howl find themselves drawn ever closer.
