Miyazaki-Ghibli again...

Eighteen-year-old Sophie, who runs her late father's hat shop, encounters the mysterious wizard Howl by chance. He takes a liking to her. This attracts the attention of the Witch of the Waste, who has been seeking Howl's heart for herself. She curses Sophie, turning her into an old woman. As the curse prevents her from telling anyone of her true form, Sophie decides to run away. Along the way, she befriends an animated scarecrow she names Turnip Head and they come across Howl's castle. Once inside, Sophie meets the fire demon Calcifer who powers the castle and recognizes that Sophie has been cursed. Calcifer offers to break the curse in exchange for Sophie's help in breaking the pact between him and Howl. When Howl appears, Sophie announces that she is the castle's new cleaning lady. As she adjusts to life in the castle, she discovers that the front door is a magic portal leading to several places. She also learns that Howl is vain and immature, and that the Witch of the Waste's vengeance is due to Howl's past behavior towards her.

All of the usual Miyazaki traits.... this time its his anti-war sentiment that is expressed in this adaptation of the novel by Diana Wynne Jones... again we have amazing backdrops and well animated mechanical gizmos.... I think its worth watching any Miyazaki-Ghibli movie just for the sheer visual extravaganza that they put on.... and without relying on the psychedelic lighting and sudden jarring cut-scenes....

Ghibli's visual prowess has always been a wonder to behold. No use of CG,no flashy special effects,no slow motion and other gizmo's that big budget productions often apply...but still the rich color pallet,the fluid character animation,the detailed backgrounds..there's hardly any flaws to be found.

Indeed.... I personally fee, that CG makes the anime look..... impersonal.... I guess it just goes to show I am an old school anime fan.... but I like my CG in very small doses.... if at all....

Yeah..me too. Personally I feel CG animation to be artificial and sometimes unrealistic. Specially CG done wrong. Totally detracts from the viewing experience.

On the other hand... if a show is completely done up in CG.... it might still be better than the mishmash they usually dish out.... unless they do a spectacular job of merging the two...

a nice blend of nice genres
a must watch