Great movie for intelligent children and adventurous families.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie! It is beautiful, with real artwork - One of my favorite things about Miyazaki movies is how often he makes certain that by the end you cannot hate anyone - even "evil" characters are not left to be simply two dimensional evil, but have deeper stories and good inside of them. Yes, there is a war in the background of the movie, but the message is that the war is pointless and bad - it does not glorify war. Truly beautiful movie.

There is violence and "sorcery" but nothing a younger child would really understand. No gore, and while Howl as a bird might seem a little scary, still nothing to scare younger viewers away. Just know your child. A fun story with a sweet romance to it.

Like all Miyazaki's movies, this is certainly a pleasure to look at. The exquisitely detailed anime-style art and the visual inventiveness will capture anyone's interest, and spellbind children. Whether or not the convoluted story will hold them is another thing. I always feel like I'm not getting something when I watch a Miyazaki film, as if something about its Japanese-ness just doesn't translate. My kids (8 and 10) seem to care less about that then I do, and they enjoyed it just fine. There's some creepy imagery (pursuit by black-blob creatures, an obese witch who seems to melt as she ages) and a hint of nudity (a woman looks away as a man's towel falls off), but nothing really upsetting. Mostly, if your kids are like me, they'll be fascinated and bewildered by this movie. Not such a bad thing. --mm

This was our first introduction to anime and my boys really love it. I highly suggest it, the storyline is good enough to keep parents interested and it has a different feel than other kids movies but it's refreshing and fun.

Howls moving castle is an anime from Studio Ghibli fro, the year 2004. The film director was Hayao Miyazaki the film based on Dianna Wynne Jones book with the same title. The film goes about Sophie a young hat-maker that was saved by Howl a wizard. After that, an envious witch transformed Sophie in a not so old 90 years woman. Sophie left her town and crosses on her way a like a kangaroo jumping besom which shows her a big moving metal castle, where she promise Calcifer, a little insolent fire that is bound on that castle, to find out how he get away from this and Howl. He accepts Sophie in his house like a cleaner .Howl is a wizard, who shall battle in a war, but he does not want because of that Madam Siliman search for him. She find him and he battle against the enemy for Sophie. In that chaos Sophie, disappear in howls days as a child to the moment as he found Calcifer. Might that help her to stop the war, or to rescue calcifer and howl? Will she ever look like herself? The film was directed by hayao Miyazaki a Japanese drawer, author and producer. After his politic studies and his work by Studio Toei, he founded with his friend Iisao Takahata in 1985 Studio Ghibli. The music is from Joe Hisaishi. He is a Japanese composer, which plays piano and makes music for Studio Ghibli. Many people mean that his music shall show you magic without words. I like that film but I would not recommend that film for someone who do not like mangas and anime because it could be boring if you don not like or fascinated of this kind if art . I read the book too, but I find the book is nothing special opposite the film.