Animal Sidekicks

The most successful animated films all have protagonists with some kind of animal sidekick. The most notable studios, Disney and Studio Ghibli, have films that almost always have animal sidekicks, especially if the main character is a heroine. Disney's Tangled has a chameleon companion, and Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service has a black cat as the trusty friend. Pretty much almost all of Miyazaki's works has an animal sidekick. What is the importance of including an animal sidekick? Is it because Miyazaki's films send the message of being one with nature that he finds it necessary for the protagonists to be always physically close to nature's creatures? Or is it simple because audiences react well to the cuteness and appeal of animal sidekicks?

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is my personal favorite out of Miyazaki's films. And I must say, out of Miyazaki's typical female protagonists, Sophie is definitely my favorite. She's typical in that she learns to take command of a situation at the end of the film, similar to how Sheeta does in Castle in the Sky. However, she is unique in that she is the most dependent female protagonist of Miyazaki's works (besides Lana from the anime Future Boy Conan). She pretty much admits that she wouldn't be the same without Howl, showing how devoted she is to him.
Even though the film is named after Howl, and even though Sophie is the main protagonist, I would have to argue that it is Calicifer who keeps the story together. This is symbolized by how he keeps the castle together and moving. So in a way, Calicifer is the storyteller, while the Castle is the story. The castle starts off as a mysterious place. Then as the climax arises, the castle falls apart, and at the most critical point in the story, it crumbles, with only a single board left moving. And at the end, when everything is solved, the castle returns to its original state and even flies off into the distance.
Miyazaki's films are known to end not like mainstream films, with a flashy conclusion and everything being perfect. His films usually end with things almost returning to its original state, nothing beyond then how it started. Therefore, the implication at the end of Howl's Moving Castle, with the characters forming a family unit and with the castle being able to fly, shows that Miyazaki is branching off in this film to become more mainstream. Majority of people do like happy, reassuring endings and that is exactly what Howl's Moving Castle has. Perhaps this is why it made so much and why it is considered one of Miyazaki's most successful film.

9.5

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is considered to be the remake of Miyazaki's earlier film, Nausicaa. I must say, it equally matches (and at some parts, surpasses) its predecessor. Although in both films, the characters learn to understand one another, Princess Mononoke's understanding leads to a bit more uncertainty. The ending of the film is definitly less of a joyful one as Princess Mononoke is not considered to be that much of a hero as Nausicaa is in her story.
Also, Princess Mononoke does not contain the same level of epicness as Nausicaa does, mainly because the latter is set in a post-apocalyptic world, while the former is set in a pre-industrialized world. Both films, however, contain enormous beings of destructable power.
This does not mean that Princess Mononoke is less of a film, or less entertaining than Nausicaa. On the contrary, I find Princess Mononoke to be a bit more enjoyable, mainly because of its contemporary style, fuller characters (Princess Mononoke shows more of her personality than Nausicaa does), and unsure ending. Nausicaa is much more similar to contemporary Hollywood cinema in that there is a legend, and the hero becomes the savior and everyone lives happily ever after. What's great about Princess Mononoke is that it follows anime/Miyazaki's style with a more floaty ending. It is difficult to side with any of the groups in conflict; they all have their faults. Therefore, in the end, instead of everyone winning, it's more like everyone going back to their own lives, trying to be more cautious of the other groups.
One of the main things that makes Princess Mononoke better than Nausicaa is that while Nausicaa is on the side of her people of the valley, Princess Mononoke is on the side of nature and the forrest. Nausicaa has less of a connection with the forrest and the insects (she is an outsider) compared to Princess Mononoke, who practically was raised by the wolves and grew up in the forrest. The different angle which the main character comes from strengthens the equality of the triangle conflict. Therefore, nature has a much more stronger siding in Princess Mononoke.
Animation, music, and story of this film makes it a must see out of Miyazaki's works.

9.0