Howl's Moving Castle

Rated PG

Catholic-ometer: 2 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

As an honest movie-watcher, and an appreciator of a good story, I love the works of Studio Ghibli.  They always produce beautiful movies with lovable characters and interesting plots.

However, I'm also a faithful Christian who notices when something seems likely to cause moral or religious confusion.  These two sides of myself have occasionally forced me to give Ghibli movies an imperfect grade, even when I really enjoyed them (and aside from one, which was too confusing, I've enjoyed all the ones I've seen.)

However, I feel I would be doing this movie a disservice if I tried to look at it through both of those lenses at once, so instead, I'll give my movielover's thoughts, followed by my thoughts as a Christian.

This movie is more than a little confusing at times, because like many Ghibli films, it often communicates nonverbally.  When large, black shapes start popping out of the walls, there's no explanation for it any deeper than "magic bad guys," and even many of the main characters are a little hard to comprehend the real motives of, most notably Howl himself.

On the whole, however, the movie comes off as a stunningly-beautiful fairy tale.  The side-characters are fun and likable, the main characters mysterious and interesting, and there's always the sense that there's a lot more to learn about them; right up to the moment the movie ends.  Magic is cast, spells are broken, there's a war to struggle through, a happy ending to reach, and the soul of an innocent boy to redeem.

The main character; Sophie, is cursed very early on in the film, and it takes a while for her to understand what kind of curse it is, and what needs to be done to break it.  I'm sure everyone will have their own theories on that, since it's not stated outright.

The relationship between Sophie and Howl comes off as a sort of odd retelling of Beauty and the Beast, except that beauty, in this case, is cursed to look like an old woman, and the beast is uncommonly pretty-looking most of the time.  Ultimately, both curses must be broken, and a happy ending attained, and as in most fairy tales, the characters labor through times of suffering and are ultimately rewarded with family and love; the perfect fairy tale formula.

I think I should also say a word about the costuming, which may be an odd term to use when talking about an animated feature, but so be it.  I loved how the characters dressed; all the characters.  It's an alternate-world, sort-of-period-piece, and has its own style of dress, utterly different from the way we dress today, and that, in this case, is a very good thing.  By itself, the modesty and otherness of this one aspect of the film roped me in and kept me watching steadily until the very end.

However, as a Christian, I think this movie is likely to confuse young children; not because of all the spells and magic; they're always depicted as causing problems, and never really solve them.  The real reason why I think this movie would religiously-confuse young children is because of one badly-used word; demon.

I could talk for an hour about the various words in Japanese used to represent monsters of various types; oni, youkai, akki, etc...  However, the one used in this film is "akuma" which is correctly translated as "demon."

However, the problem is that the "demons" in this film are not nearly as evil as the word "akuma" implies.  Calcifer, in particular, is one of the main characters, and is supposed to be a demon, but in practice, is mainly a cute lick of flame played quite nicely by Billy Crystal.  He's a bit of a pest, but acts more like a naughty child than a malicious evil spirit, and that might be confusing to young children, who are still learning the ins and outs of their real religion.

Just to be clear, however, this is not the fault of any mistranslation.  "Akuma" implies something horribly evil in the same way "demon" does.  It's just that neither word seems to apply well to Calcifer.

As a Christian, I believe firmly in the existence of demons, and that taking them lightly can be a dangerous thing to do.  Mature people will know that it's just fiction, and file it away as such, but for kids...  Parental guidance is suggested.

That said, when you get past the misuse of the word "demon," it's really a very heartwarming film with a happy ending and a number of good messages about family, devotion, sacrifice and love.  I enjoyed it a lot, but then again, it's Ghibli, and that's a pretty safe bet for quality entertainment, even in the rare cases when they're not particularly kid-friendly.

Porco Rosso

Rated PG

Catholic-ometer: 4 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

I probably wouldn't even have thought of watching this film, but somebody suggested it to me, so I figured it might be worth checking out.  It is Ghibli, after all, and they're usually pretty exceptional.  Still, I was a little surprised by just how much there was to enjoy.

Firstly, this film is not at all like Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, or other Ghibli films (in fact, really, no Ghibli film is quite like any other.)  It's more adult.  Not as adult as Princess Mononoke, but pretty adult nonetheless.  I'd say late childhood-early teens at the earliest.  There's a lot of adult references and remarks.  There's name-calling, the main character smokes, there's plenty of alcohol in this movie, and illegal arms trading...  All that stuff you see in adventure anime.

I loved it.  This film kind of reminded me of a cross between the story of Beauty and the Beast and Casablanca.  It takes place between the first and second world wars, and the main character is a fighter pilot, who retreated from Italy to get away from the fascists (and yes; they use the word "fascist" in context in this film.)  He was also somehow cursed, and now he has the head of a pig and is rather overweight.  However, there's no more information given about the curse than this.

There's action, adventure, high-flying air battles, drama, romance, suspense and great escapes in this film, as Porco is shot down by a rival and has to get his plane repaired, so that he can settle the score.  Porco himself is something of an anti-hero, but the film treats him with respect, and in the end, he...  Well, the ending is a bit ambiguous, but if you're a regular viewer of Ghibli films, you may have come to expect that.

If you're wondering whether this film is right for you, or for your children, just ask yourself this; would you sit your children down in front of Casablanca?  If the answer is yes, then this film should be fine for them as well.  I really don't think there is any film that makes a better comparison with this one than Casablanca.  They're both film noir, they're both drenched in 1930s terminology, speech patterns, character dynamics and scenarios, and they both contain most of the same things that modern adults don't like kids seeing.  Guns, cigarettes, liquer, etc...  No foul language in either case, but that was expected in the 30s.  This movie isn't any tamer than Casablanca, despite being animated, but it's also no less tame, despite being made in the 90s.

Still, Casablanca was one of the greatest classic films of all time, so the very fact that I'm comparing Porco Rosso with it repeatedly is probably a sign of something good.  I just know I loved this movie, and I hope you will too.

The Secret World of Arrietty

Rated G

Catholic-ometer: 4 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

I don't review secular movies often, simply because I don't watch them often.  I do have a special place in my heart, however, for Pixar films, and for Studio Ghibli.  The only problem I've really had with most Ghibli films in the past has been their tendency to have plots driven mainly by the occult.

This movie, fortunately, lacks that element of the Miyazaki legacy, though I probably would have enjoyed it anyway.  In fact, in some ways, I think I enjoyed this movie more than any other production ever released by Studio Ghibli, which is high praise indeed.

It's a story about a boy named Shawn, who goes to a small house in the countryside, where he discovers a family of very small people, who survive by taking what they need from the humans they live with; little things that people won't miss.  The tiny people call themselves borrowers, and often refer to the humans as "beans."  The family consists of an old married couple and their teenage daughter Arrietty.

The plot picks up when Arrietty is seen by Shawn, and the two begin a sort of strange friendship, which, unfortunately, can never be, since all borrowers know that to be seen by one human invites the curiosity and greed of the others, a fact which is proven jarringly true for the poor borrower family.

The father of the family is somber, softspoken and savvy.  He's something of an action hero, because he needs to be to take care of his family, getting in and out of kitchens and bedrooms quickly and without anyone seeing him.  He also seems to be a master craftsman in many fields.  His wife is herself very creative and skilled, demonstrating skill in knitting and cooking, though the primary impression that she's likely to leave on viewers is her tendency to worry.

Both Arrietty and Shawn are curious souls seeking to understand and bear life as best they can; figuring out how to get by, one step at a time, like all of us.

Ghibli films have a long history of taking their time and showing the viewers absolutely stunning sights.  Every single Ghibli film is gorgeous to look at, and yet, they tend to be patient affairs as well.  They allow a world of wonder to unfold before the eyes of the viewer; a world with its own problems and trials, like ours, and they take their time in doing it, instead of rushing around in big, flashy musical numbers and telling joke after ridiculous joke.

This film is certainly no exception to that.  None of the characters sing, nor do they tell jokes.  Many of them are introspective and quiet, and yet, the subject matter is such that it's hard to grow impatient with the movie.  I would say that this film is probably slower-paced and less intense than any other Ghibli film, but I actually thought the movie benefitted from its quiet atmosphere, as very tiny people trying hard not to be seen would, naturally, make very little noise.

In the end, though, as I said, the thing I liked most about it was that its premise was something nobody could take issue with.  Witches, magic potions, evil wizards and superpowered crystals could all be troublesome subjects for young children to absorb, but little people in an old house is the kind of fantasy that anyone can get into.  There's even one scene of Arrietty's mother briefly praying for her daughter and husband.  They do technically live by stealing things from humans, but because of their size, nothing they take is really that big of a deal, even according to the catechism of the Catholic Church.  It's a distinction that may need to be made by parents after the film is over, but certainly not a problem with the movie itself.

There are also quite a few good moral messages to be derived from this kind of story.  "A person's a person, no matter how small," "sometimes, even the smallest person can make the biggest difference," and even a message about how the power of goodness (in this case, courage,) can be made most perfect in weakness.  However, the film isn't perfect, and most of that, I suspect, has to do with the dubbing.  A few of the lines feel overly-familiar and almost cookie-cuttered in, and Shawn's voice could have stood to gain a few octaves.  He sounded like he was in his late 20s.

Still, I recommend this movie heartily to anyone who has a child or is still a child at heart; still willing to dream of other worlds beyond our own, which is really the point of most Ghibli features when you get down to it.  They do just what I want a film to do, elevating our minds to other possibilities and other worlds.  This one manages to make even a normal world look alien and strange, and thus maintain its strong level of interest for the child in all of us.  Most especially, I recommend this movie to those who, like myself, are religious and seeking a quieter, calmer alternative to the American "entertainment" of today.