Friday, September 11, 2009

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki loosely based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones. I'm not sure if I would classify it as "anime," exactly--the character style is distinctly Japanese, but the setting is European and the "physics of representation" are more consistent and realistic than in the mainstream manga-influenced anime you see on T.V. In any event, the characters and story are superb, the magic and fantasy elements are economical and wonderfully familiar-yet-strange, and the music is good too. It's nice to see a children's movie that contains no trace of Hollywood's signature media self-referentiality and movie star hype. Best of all, there's no Rascal fucking Flatts or Bare Naked Ladies in the soundtrack.

RATING: 90%

(Image from www.xjaymanx.com.)

9 comments:

Internet Robyn said...

Rascal is kind of a funny name for a pig but who in their right mind would name their child "Flatts"?

Internet Robyn said...

Also, a hot Japanese student accosted me in Starve Easy. I couldn't think of a single food (other than maple syrup) that would be a Canadian gift for her to send home to Osaka. Ketchup chips maybe?

Internet John said...

That cheese that tastes like a decomposing cow's anus couldn't possibly get any worse on the long trip across the Pacific.

Also, dulse. Japs like seaweed, but I wonder if they have it over there.

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

i want to watch this movie but im afraid there wont be enough tentacle rape for me

Internet John said...

More of a plant-rape guy myself. Alien rape OK, demon-rape so-so, monster-rape whatevs.

Internet John said...

No sex w/ foreigners, though. That shit causes HIV.

Internet Robyn said...

What a great movie. I wasn't expecting Billy Crystal or Christian Bale.

DCP said...

The hopping broom was funny. I like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke better, though. Did anybody see his new one?

laurie said...

Hey Glenn, do you remember when we went to see this with Mike D in Tallahassee. Ah memories. I saw the new one, and I guess I'll review it and shit.