Kiki's vs Howl's

A for long while, Howl's Moving Castle was my favorite Miyazaki film. It was the first Miyazaki film I watched, and the story and romance was appealing to me. However, the moment I watched Kiki's Delivery Service, I knew that my favorite had changed. Kiki's is not only unique, but it centers a lot more on the main protagonist's freedom and worries than Howl's. I guess because Kiki's focuses all on Kiki and Howl's focuses on both Howl and Sophie, that Howl's feels more divided in attention. For me, Kiki's has a lot more detail in the characters and story that just makes me tingle with longing for a world similar to hers. However, one major aspect that Howl's is better in is the music. Regrettably, Kiki's doesn't really have any music that you can consider memorable, which is kind of strange, because virtually every Miyazaki film has a wonderful theme song. Howl's theme song is by far my favorite and I can't wait for the day when I will learn how to play it on the cello. All in all, Kiki > Sophie.

Memorable Moments

What makes such moments in films memorable? The images that you see on screen are not from your own memory; yet, you remember them as if they have certain value. For a film to be truly successful, not only does it have to draw in its viewers, but also cause viewers to relate themselves/care for the characters to the point that the characters' actions become the viewers' own. Hence, a memory shared by both film and viewer.

Ponyo

I watched this film the first time in theaters. It is the first film of Miyazaki's that I've seen on the big screen. Regrettably, it is also one of my least favorite films of Miyazaki. The main problem that I have with this film is that it seems like they're having a wedding for two little children. Also, Ponyo seems to be centered for young audiences, as you can tell from the young main characters and the "lack in plot." Unlike Totoro, which also contains young heroines, Ponyo did not have as much of a serious/mature tone to it. I must admit, I lost interest at some points and only began focusing on the animation of the film. This is not to say that it's a bad film, just not what you'd expect from a renown filmmaker like Miyazaki.

7.7

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

Spirited Away

Spirited Away was the first film of Miyazaki's that I watched. I remember watching it way back when and I had no idea what was going on. Upon watching it again, I realize that it is another one of Miyazaki's masterpieces. Just like all of his other films, so much goes on in the plots and between characters. It is very similar to Totoro, in that the girl, Chihiro, becomes lost in another world that could be just her imagination or part of the real world. Miyazaki always includes some sort of imagination conflict in his films. You never know for sure if it's real or not, such as Jiji's ability to talk.
When I watched Spirited Away back in middle school, I remember being creeped out by No-Face. Watching it now in college, I'm still creeped out by his unusual gestures, but I must admit, he is my favorite character in the film. Not only is he the coolest monster in the film, but he also makes a pretty nice (but brief) side-kick for Chihiro. I still don't understand why No-Face was ok with the idea of staying behind with Obababa's twin sister. I mean, he seemed so set on impressing and being close to Chihiro. Why the sudden change?

9.0

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