Howl's Moving Castle

This is by far one of the best films by Hayao Miyazaki and by Studio Ghibli, in my opinion. It has action, adventure, romance, characters to fall in love with, to pity, and to hate. It's got a lot all wrapped up into one, and it's definitely one to see if you haven't seen it already.

This story follows a young woman named Sophie, who lives during a time when war is about to take place. She tries to act wise and smart, when really she's rather frail inside. Her mother is more excitable than she is. The story starts out with Sophie having to meet up with her sister, Lettie, but as she's walking down an alleyway she's hassled by two guards who probably would have taken advantage of her had Howl not come around. He uses his magic to make the guards leave, but then the two are quickly followed by henchman of the Witch of the Waste. They manage to escape, even barely, but Howl takes Sophie to her sister - by walking on air!

Though she's not seen by anyone, she tells her sister what happens and Lettie warns her that Howl is dangerous and she shouldn't go near him anymore.

When Sophie arrives back home, she locks the door to the hat shop, but the Witch of the Waste comes in and puts a curse on her when she "defies" the Witch. Sophie is then turned into an old woman of about 80 years old, and can't believe it. She goes off to find someone who can help her - Howl. Along the way she meets Turnip-Head and manages to get into Howl's Moving Castle.

The story plays itself out by Sophie claiming to be the new cleaning lady, while Markl and Calcifer try to dissuade Howl from letting her stay there. But Howl lets her anyway because the castle really could use a good cleaning.

During her time there, Sophie slowly starts to break the spell over her and ends up falling in love with Howl. There are a lot of mishaps and things that go wrong along the way - like Howl using magic that transforms him to fight for the war and he'll soon turn into that creature unless he stops. At one point he turns into a giant beast that Sophie tries to tell she loves despite everything going on, but Howl won't hear of it - and the spell on her was almost broken, too!

You learn about Howl's past, about how he gave up his heart to Calcifer, and about how the Witch of the Waste desires it.

The group - Sophie, Markl, Calcifer, and Howl - all grow closer together as time passes, working with each other and learning from each other as they go. Even though trials face them, they manage to pull through in the end.

As I said before, there are characters to love and hate, to pity and laugh with, or at. But as I don't want to give too much of the movie away, you'll just have to determine for yourself whether or not you want to see this fantastic film. The movie is rated PG.

The Characters of Kiki's Delivery Service

There are many great characters in Kik's Delivery Service that have a lot of personality and just overall great characters to know and love. Let me start with Kiki, our heroine and main female character!

Kiki is a young teenage witch who just turned thirteen and has to go off for a year on her own to train to become a full-fledged witch! Though her parents - particularly her mother, also a witch - isn't thrilled with the idea of Kiki going off on her own, she knows that Kiki has to do it in order to become a full-fledged witch. From the very beginning you get a sense that Kiki is a very outgoing, outspoken girl. She's not afraid to go out into the world and do whatever she needs to to become a great witch.

As soon as Kiki takes off from home on her mom's broom, she has trouble flying, runs into a mean girl, and gets stuck in a rainstorm. She has to sleep on hay on a train in order to get away safely from the storm. She ends up getting to the ocean with Jiji complaining all the way. When she notices everyone staring at her as she flies over their heads, she tells Jiji to smile because they're being watched. She then almost causes a traffic accident and almost hurts herself in the process.

This is around the time when she meets Tombo, and doesn't like him much. She then meets Osono and her husband and helps to deliver a pacifier to a woman who forgot it at the bakery. This goes to show that Kiki isn't afraid to help a stranger in times of need, either. Kiki is a very brave girl, and even though she loses faith in herself after some very rude people and a storm during one of her deliveries, she still manages to find that spark in her that drives her to become a full-fledged witch after all!

Next up: Jiji

Jiji is Kiki's cat companion who isn't afraid to voice his opinions to her. He is very skeptical and very cautious when it comes to their safety, but he also isn't afraid to insult someone when they're being rude to either him or Kiki.

At one point Jiji has to take the place of a stuffed cat being given to a child as a present during one of Kiki's deliveries, and a dog lives at the house. Naturally, Jiji panics, but he quickly makes friends with the dog and is rescued by Kiki after all.

When Kiki loses her magic, Jiji doesn't talk to her anymore and ignores her. She can't understand what she says, and I'm assuming since the magic left her, Jiji no longer feels drawn to her to stick around. Plus he meets a fluffy white lady kitty whom he becomes very sweet on.

Jiji is still a very loveable character and provides some comic relief in the movie.

Next: Tombo

Tombo is a very curious teenage boy who loves to invent. He has some friends that are very stuck up that aren't very likeable, but Tombo himself tries his best to becomes Kiki's friend (and possibly boyfriend!) when she first arrives to town to make her feel welcome. Plus he's just very interested in flying that he can't help be drawn to her to find out just how flying works.

Tombo is very friendly, too, and knows how to clean up when he can. Though he gets himself into a bit of trouble at one point, Kiki comes to his rescue and it seems to be the starting point of their great friendship.

Next: Ursula

Ursula is a woman who happens to meet Kiki when Kiki is attacked by some black birds and the toy cat that she had to deliver to a young boy's house falls down to Ursula's cabin. She offers Kiki to fix up the toy as long as Kiki does a few chores around Ursula's cabin. It works out because then Kiki also gets to become a model for Usula's next painting. She's a great painter and seems to hold a big sister wisdom when it comes to talking to Kiki. She's a fun character, and even though she doesn't stick around long, you still can't help but like her.

Last, but certainly not least, Osono and her husband:

Osono is pregnant through the majority of the movie, and so she asks Kiki and her husband to do a lot of the deliveries and baking, but she still is very useful when around the shop. She's also like another mother figure to Kiki. She loves to laugh and has a very maternal attitude toward things.

Her husband talks maybe once in the whole movie, but just his expressions and gestures make him a great comical point in the movie. He tries showing off to Jiji and acts like a worried father when Kiki is out on a delivery. He seems like a great guy, though.

All in all, there are no "villainous" characters in this movie, but the conflict Kiki has with her magic ends up making her very vulnerable and cranky. So in a way, she's the villain. But still, all the characters are fun and hilarious and the movie itself is great. If you want to see just what these characters are like, you'll have to watch the movie yourself! It's a great one to see, for sure. It might just become one of your top three favorite Studio Ghibli films like it did for me.

Kiki's Delivery Service

This is probably number two in my top three Studio Ghibli movies. Kiki's Delivery Service is about a young teenage witch who has to go out on her own for a year and learn all she can about becoming a witch - as well as finding her special talent. Along with her best friend, a cat named Jiji, Kiki makes her way out of her parents' house and heads to a city near the ocean.

Along the way she gets into some trouble, but is taken in by a couple, Osono (the wife) and the Baker (the husband, whose name we don't know), who are expecting their first child. She and Jiji make their home in the attic above the bakery shop that the couple own and she then takes up the job as their delivery girl since she can fly on her broom and get the job done faster than walking.

Kiki meets a young teenage boy named Tombo and at first doesn't like him, but they become friends over time as Kiki helps him with his flying bicycle. Along the way she also meets a woman by the name of Ursula and stays with her when she loses her magic for a period of time - and when she loses a present she has to deliver!

There are many misadventures that Kiki and Jiji get stuck with, and eventually Kiki loses her magic! She doesn't believe in herself anymore, and so her magic reflects that. She eventually can't talk to Jiji anymore, either! It's up for her to be able to find her inner strength and be able to do what she's meant to do - and set out to do - becoming a witch.

Now, I love this movie. It has a lot of great characters that you can't help but fall in love with, and like all of Hayao Miyazaki directed films, the scenery and characters themselves are very detailed and beautiful, drawing you in even more. The details for every person that is shown is remarkable as you usually see "cookie cutter" characters being used in anime, but each person had their own individual look.

The characters, especially Kiki and Jiji, are very easy to love and connect with. She goes through typical struggles any teen girl goes through: boy troubles, looking nice, getting things done, and following your dreams. Jiji is just her loveable cat companion who she talks with (he can speak to her like another human would, but not to others) and provides much comic relief in the movie.

Tombo, Osono, and even Osono's husband, who doesn't talk much, are loveable characters with much personality to go around. The character, Ursula, is also good to connect with because she keeps a firm stand on the ground and helps to bring joy back into Kiki's life when she loses hope.

All in all this is a great movie for any age to enjoy. The movie itself is rated G. Check out the trailer below to see if you'd want to see it yourself!

A Look at Characters from Castle in the Sky

Let's take a look at some of the main characters from Castle in the Sky. Let's start off with Sheeta, our heroine and the main female character in the movie.

 

Sheeta is a young teenage girl who starts off having been kidnapped at the beginning of the movie, and at first she's really quiet. As the sky pirates, Dola and her boys, start to raid the airship, Sheeta is in the room with Muska and hits him over the head with a champagne bottle that had been dropped on the floor, showing that she has some guts and is willing to do whatever it takes to get away from her captors.

As you find out more about Sheeta you realize that she is very cautious when it comes to the people she's around and knows who can and can't be trusted. She quickly becomes friends with Pazu and is helped by him to escape from the pirates, but is then recaptured by the military and Muska. She cares deeply for Pazu even though they've only known each other for a short amount of time and is willing to cooperate with Muska just so that Pazu can be released from the military prison.

Sheeta has a gift, and a secret name: Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa. Meaning she is royalty! And from Laputa, the floating castle in the sky! She knows this from an early age and tells Pazu about it. She isn't exactly thrilled with this gift as she doesn't want any part of the death and destruction that comes with it, but she knows that she has to do what she can to rescue her home.

She also seems to have this gift of communicating with the robots of her land. She knows what they say even though all the say are beeps! It's a cool concept to know that she really is from the bloodline of Laputa. She becomes very brave in the end and is also extremely caring and useful as a cook.

Next: Pazu

Pazu is a young teenage boy working in the mines of his hometown in the valley. He is very quick and active, and also very helpful. You get the sense from the beginning that he is very useful when it comes to fixing pipes and machinery (considering he works in a mine with a lot of machinery). He is head strong and quick to act, but he has the best intentions. As soon as he rescues Sheeta he goes to finish up work and then takes her back to his place so she'll have an actual comfy spot to rest before she wakes up. You can also tell he is caring at the beginning when he talks to the flock of doves he has on the roof of his house.

Pazu, even though just meeting Sheeta, wants to do everything he can to help her with whatever she needs. He tries to help her escape and stick up to the pirates with his boss, and then he wants to help Sheeta find Laputa even when she tells him to forget about it. He is a very passionate young man when it comes to Sheeta and his interests.

When they are taken in by the pirates, he is instantly made the assistant to Pop and helps with the machinery to make it work. He is also the first willing to go into the massive thunderstorm with Sheeta to be able to get to Laputa itself. He also reminds me of a monkey the way he's able to climb and move into certain spaces.

Pazu is an inspiring character and a great hero for this story.

Next up: Muska

 Muska is the villain of this film - the villain to hate. He wants Sheeta's amulet etherium crystal's power for himself. He wants to be able to rule Laputa once they find it and then rule over all the world if he succeeds. He's unlikeable from the very beginning. He's vindictive and rude and just overall... bleh.

Anyway, Muska also has his own dirty secret: he's also royalty blood of Laputa! When you find this out it's almost like, "Why!?" It makes for a good plot twist, though. Though he's very evil and kills many people for his own gain, I'm just glad that he gets his "just desserts" in the end.

Next: Dola

This is Dola, the other "villain" in the movie. She's head of the air pirates that she has with her family (who I'm sure not all of them are her family) and wants Sheeta's etherium crystal, too. She has a very wild spirit and a mind of her own, for sure. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and she isn't afraid to tell people like it is.

She also has some compassion because she allows Pazu to go with them to rescue Sheeta and then allow Sheeta and Pazu to join the crew. She also isn't afraid to help them out of tight spots - just as long as she gets her treasure! She's a very fun and loveable bad guy, and you'll definitely love her, too!

There are other characters in the movie that don't play as big of roles as these main four, but they are still interesting, fun characters. If you want to check out more about them, you'll just have to see the movie yourself!

Stay tuned for my next blog post on Kiki's Delivery Service! This is one of my top three favorites, so it'll probably be more in depth. Also stay tuned for the summer because that's when I'll hopefully start doing some amigurumi figures of some of my favorite Studio Ghibli characters! If anyone has any suggestions for some amigurumi characters, comment below!