Verified Purchase:Yes

This is not your usual Disney toon flicks, but something couple of notches above. Choice of voice over is amazing. It's a pleasure to hear bully crystal as the calcifer. You won't be disappointed...

My Best Buy number: 2350263791

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I would recommend this to a friend!

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This review is fromHowl's Moving Castle [2 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2004].

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Customer Rating

Another masterpiece

on November 5, 2015

Posted by: Steelbear

Verified Purchase:Yes

Hard to rank this movie anything but a 5 out of 5 stars. Miyazaki is truly a master of his craft. A somewhat underrated film, in comparison to Spirited Away, which proceeded it. A true treat of animation and story telling. This is the one that got my wife hooked on anime.

My Best Buy number: 2761675992

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Mai Gawd!!!

on November 8, 2015

Posted by: Morganical

Verified Purchase:Yes

That picture though.

There's pretty, and then there's Howl's Moving Castle. Production levels for this one must have been 4x the amount for Spirited Away, and that's saying something! I think the studio had a lot more to work with after the formers earnings were collated. Howl's Moving Castle has yet to be trumped by anything I've seen in anime, yet. It's that detailed. Every. Single. Scene has something intricate and individually detailed and moving. The full ROYGBIV spectrum is utilized in this film. If there was a visual equivalent to the hypersonic audio effect on Blu-ray, Howl's Moving Castle would have shattered the analogous record. It's that wondrous.

Christian Bales blesses us with his voice in this entry. I'm a Bale fan. I like the DKT, American Psycho, and yes I even like Terminator Salvation. This is another example of how Disney nailed the choices for the American dub. Bales deep, contemplative voice makes Howl more than just a tall Japanese pretty boy. It makes him sound like he knows what he's doing half the time, even though we know Howl is yet another one of Miyazaki's misunderstood troubled male trope protagonists. That's not the only gem, Billy Crystal, Emily Mortimer (Shutter Island), Josh Hutcherson and Jenna Malone of Hunger Games fame are also casted in the dub, and it's just so much fun to hear their voices when they were young and fresh in the industry! I get this same delight in hearing Claire Daines in Princess Mononoke, Shia LeBouf in Nausicaa, and Anna Paquin in Castle in the Sky. But it's the unsung heroine in this film who nails the voicing role; the late Jean Simmons. Jean plays Grandma Sophie after the spell has been sprung on her in the beginning of the movie. Jeans voice doesn't miss a beat, lips and sounds sync perfectly and inflection is perfect in every scene. Attitude by the protagonist never dithers and it demonstrates just how powerful and emotionally invested in feminism Miyazaki is.

Extras on this release are more exhaustive than the other Ghibli entries. There's storyboard, Japanese and American trailers, video segments interviewing Bale and the other voice actors, and Miyazaki touring at Disney's Pixar studios. The extras honestly held my attention for about 12 minutes, and then I was ready to watch the movie again or put in another movie. I wish one of these days they'd release a director's commentary on one these films, but given the language barriers and Miyazaki's general demeanor, snippets are probably the correct choice. To bad, as the man clearly has a motivated and imaginative mind that we only get glimpses at.

Anyways, TLDR: buy the movie! 5 stars!!

My Best Buy number: 2681094446

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Outstanding anime from Japan's top studio

on December 18, 2015

Posted by: pigglywiggly

from Sacramento, CA

Verified Purchase:Yes

This Disney film is family fare for all ages with deep characterizations that come to life. Studio Ghibli is famous in Japan for crafting magical stories from the heart that appeal to children and adults alike. All the voices for the characters are dramatically voiced by no less than 7 famous American actors and actresses. Studio Ghibli spared no expense by creating such imaginative animations in order to create a convincing world with characters that you care about and a memorable story that tugs at your heart. Using professional voices to convey emotions works so well that you forget that you are watching a cartoon.

My Best Buy number: 2169426431

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Super cool!!

on April 29, 2017

Posted by: SuperCoolMom7

from Voorhees, NJ

Verified Purchase:Yes

Another Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece! I highly recommend this film.

My Best Buy number: 2796626150

I would recommend this to a friend!

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This review is fromHowl's Moving Castle (Steelbook) - BLU-RAY.

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Customer Rating

Great steelbook ever

on June 15, 2020

Posted by: SouthernWind

Verified Purchase:Yes

I have been waiting for this steelbook released in US long time back. The only version you can get is triple price on Marketplace. No thanks to BestBuy made my dream come true. The steelbook alone is so pretty, included booklet from Studio Gibil. I am happy customer

Length of ownership: 12

Mobile Submission: false

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Studio Ghibli Classic

on February 12, 2022

Posted by: Manny

Verified Purchase:Yes

Howls Moving Castle is my second favorite Studio Ghibli movie. Only second to Spirited Away.

Length of ownership: 343

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I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Hayao Miyazaki's films are the best

on October 5, 2007

Posted by: Dragonlove

from Montgomery, AL

Your an average girl and you own a hat shop and one day a rather large woman comes to your shop and insults all that she sees even you. You tell her to leave and she does but not before casting a spell on you that turns you into a old woman it is then that you find out that she is a bad witch and you hear of Howl a great wizard who you hape to trun the spell back. You find him and start wroking as house cleaner that you wanted and falls in love with Howl and he sees you as you are a young woman under a spell. You help Howl anyway you can and help him break the curse on him self as well as yours. All in all this is one of Hayao Miyazaki's best films that I would like to live in

What's great about it: Its filled with magic and love stories

What's not so great: none

I would recommend this to a friend!

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