Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

What the critics said

Critics largely agreed the visuals were unmissable, even if the plot was not. Rotten Tomatoes reports 88% positive reviews based on 185 critics, with an average rating of 7.7 out of 10. Metacritic sits at 82 out of 100, a score it labels universal acclaim. Claudia Puig of USA Today praised the blend of "a childlike sense of wonder with sophisticated emotions and motives." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times offered a dissenting view, calling it a "disappointment" compared to Miyazaki's other recent movies. The consensus leans toward the animation; the script gets the blame.