S. Worthen | Weblog

Hiyao Miyazaki's movie version of Howl's Moving Castle opened last week in Japan, and the reviews are spreading. It's a good movie - not as good as Spirited Away, because it wants to rush through more story while still keeping time to explore the world in leisurely ways. And, most importantly for book fans, the plot is not the same as the book. Oh, there's still Sophie and Howl and Calcifer, but Sophie has lost a sister, and, although the Witch of the Waste appears, the villain is someone else in this version of the plot. I've read three reviews: the consensus is that the less the reviewer tries comparing it to the plot of the book, the better the movie stands on its own.

luxvesperis posted a review and a few pictures, including what the Calcifer plushies look like.
reene commented briefly in the dianawynnejones community (where there's also a post about the movie soundtrack, which is also out).
Some of my comments on the movie also came from tsutanai's viewing. (Thank you for passing them on!)

Update: The BBC reports that Howl set new box office records for the opening weekend for a Japanese film.