Assignment 17- Kristin

One director that always puts out beautiful movies that could almost become works of art is Hayao Miyazaki.  His films always feature rich and emotional storylines, soaring scores, and wonderfully drawn animation.  Two of his movies that I watched over the break were Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

As a music nerd, I am always on the lookout for movies with great scores, and each of these checks that box.  The themes were extremely well-written, and strings are not used sparingly (which is always great).  Each piece matches the events in the story, and there are several sections of no dialogue, just music and scenery.  This is unique to Miyazaki because one would not usually associate scenery with animated movies.  This not only showcases the amazing animation but gives the music a moment to be the main character.

In today's age of computer animation, hand-drawn movies are rare, but Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away are both animated by hand.  This elevates the movies from mere entertainment to pure art.

Although technically children's movies, these stories do not fall flat.  The viewer becomes attached to each of the characters, from mysterious but lovable No-Face (Spirited Away) to conceited but chivalrous Howl (Howl's Moving Castle).  The stories go deeper than romance or good vs. evil, which we see so much of these days, into themes of family, bravery, and finding where one belongs.  Anyone can glean truths from the movies.

It's odd to imagine so many similarities between two movies that seem so different at eye level.  Howl's Moving Castle tells the story of a girl who gets swept up from her ordinary life to war, magic, and the magician Howl, and how she finds where she belongs and becomes the glue in a dysfunctional family.  Spirited Away shows a child who, after spending her life complaining about the things done wrong to her, is forced to depart on brave adventures to save her family.  Both movies deal with what happens when magic is used for evil, but while Howl's Moving Castle shows how one can make their own place in the world, Spirited Away encourages one to be more appreciative of the family one has.