I have not read the novel this movie is based on, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, nor seen the movie. Which might have helped with the reading of the picture book, Howl’s Moving Castle Picture Book (Howl’s Moving Castle Film Comics, #1), as there were “holes” in the flow of things that look like plot pieces are missing. But then again it is more of a screenplay (by by Hayao Miyazaki) and that might have something to do with the “holes” in my thought/flow processing.
I am assuming that the illustrations thought bubbles (lines are attributed to a character both in the story part and the illustration) are from the movie. This interruption/double wording was a smidgen distracting. However, the story is interesting, if not perhaps an older context than the traditional picture book crowd in some ways is used to. The artwork is a pure example of this studio’s style, being colorful and detailed, busy and overly cute, but also has a chilling thriller aspect. Perhaps some of the things I dislike about the art/theme is due to the year the book came out (one villain is old, fat, female, which is a bit stereotypical) but overall it is enjoyable and I plan on finding any continuations and/or the novel itself.
However, this is not for everyone. You need to suspend belief in a few places (SPOILERS), (why is Howl able to turn into a bird creature? Why did he eat the thing he did? What is a starchild?) and it is heavy on the fantasy elements that might not always make complete sense to a modern day reader. Also, the overall feeling is British and Japanese anime and/or colorful manga style that is not for everyone.
