Having just watched Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle I feel compelled to 'furiously blog' about how disappointed I was with it. Don't get me wrong, there is no way I would even pretend to be able to render turn-of-the-century Europe in such exqisite detail or create a world in which the simplest ideas e.g. flying are turned into something wonderful and exciting. However when I sit down to watch what is essentially a film for KIDS I expect to be able to follow what's going on! Of the many questions I bored my girlfriend with during the film here are but a few:
1. What the hell was the war about?
2. Who was fighting the war?
3. What was Howl doing each night when he went out, turned into a bird and flew about a bit?
4. Why is Sophie sometimes a little girl and sometimes a crone?
5. If the Witch of the waste is a witch why doesn't she fly up the palace stairs instead of walking?
6. Why is Howl such a wuss?
7. Who is the little kid that lives with him in the castle?
8. Why does the film end so suddenly with none of the storylines resolved?
9. How does Sophie's curse get broken?
10. What's up with the Prince's (aka Turnip Head's) hair at the end of the film?
Silly, petty questions maybe but unanswered questions they remain. I had no such problems with My Neighbour Totoro, Porco Rosso, Laputa, Nausicca or Spirited Away although I do remember being bored, annoyed and generally a bit irritated with how much everyone banged on about Princess Mononoke.
Maybe I'm just an idiot!
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