Magic from the scrapheap

Adapted from Diana Wynne Jones's children's novel, and with dialogue spoken by a cast that includes Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall and Billy Crystal, it is Miyazaki's first European setting. Eighteen-year-old Zofi lives in a town menaced by war and a barren wasteland.

There she meets the handsome young Wizard Howl, whose Moving Castle, a scrapheap fortress with dragon wings and chicken legs, competes with the flying battleships that roam the skies. Terry Gilliam couldn't have invented anything better.

Sophie's adventures are, though, at times confusing, since she is transformed by the Witch of the Waste into a 90-year-old woman - and back again.

The film is also too long for most children at two hours, and loses its way in its final half-hour. But just to watch Miyazaki's crowd scenes, his gliding spirits, flying bedsteads and the detail of his interiors is a pleasure.

Howl's Moving Castle
Cert: U