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Charm and imagination abound in 'Howl's Moving Castle'

Animator Hayao Miyazaki is often called "the Japanese Disney," a comparison that's about half accurate.

Yes, Miyazaki's work stacks up nicely against Disney's most beloved films. But as an auteur, Uncle Walt can't hold a candle to his modern counterpart: Unlike Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Snow White, Miyazaki's characters all clearly spring from the same fertile mind, one that combines universal psychological truths with a singular imagination. Disney had immensely talented artists working for him, but Miyazaki is a magician.

Walt Disney Pictures 'Howl's Moving Castle' 3 out of 5 stars Director: Hayao Miyazaki Voices: Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall Run time: 110 minutes Release date: June 10, 2005 Rating: PG for frightening images and brief mild language. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Howl's Moving Castle"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

In "Howl's Moving Castle," the master has his way with a story by Diana Wynne Jones: Young Sophie is turned into an old woman by a witch's curse; seeking to undo the spell, she takes up with a vain young wizard who (like almost everyone here) has his own strange cross to bear. With a mysterious war in the background and a strange challenge at every turn, she becomes more assertive and energetic in old age than she ever was as a teenager.

The plot is complex and its motivations sometimes obscure; at two hours, the meandering plot takes its time. (You'd think this would overload a child's attention span, until you remember how many snooze-inducing speeches kids have happily endured in the "Star Wars" prequels.)

But to compensate for the slow pace (a hallmark of Miyazaki's films that helps conjure their dreamlike mood), we are treated to an array of imaginative wonders: a living flame that cracks wise while helping the heroes, a crew of blobby villains who ooze through walls, a voiceless scarecrow that pogos along behind Sophie, and a shaggy, oddly intelligent little dog. (Those last two are among the film's many allusions to "The Wizard of Oz," an indication of Miyazaki's ambitions as a mythmaker.)

For some viewers, the most wonderful thing here is the moving castle itself — an overgrown, cobbled-together thing that walks through the countryside on mechanical legs. But the castle isn't nearly as entrancing as its own front door, which presents different views depending on how it is opened. The castle exists in many places at once, and this twisting of space and time — of reality, fantasy, and dreams — is central to the film's charm.

Also crucial is the filmmaker's fondness for protagonists who are smarter, more admirable and more human than 99 percent of cartoon characters. The film is briefly awkward in its closing scenes, when moral lessons are spelled out in dialogue, but the bulk of the tale embodies these values without making them explicit.

Despite the rave reviews it is getting, "Howl's Moving Castle" is not as thoroughly satisfying as some of Miyazaki's earlier work. It is neither as charmingly light as "Kiki's Delivery Service" nor as spellbinding as "Spirited Away," where the heroine's quest forced her to confront truly fearful visions. Still, it's the kind of movie that transcends mere entertainment; Miyazaki's world is in the league of Lewis Carroll's or Dr. Seuss', and even one of his less successful efforts boasts an unmistakable glow.