‘Howl’s
Moving Castle’
The
critics aren’t quite howling over the great Miyazaki this time, but forget
that. In fact, don’t read beyond this paragraph. Just see the film, knowing
that Lila, Miyazaki Fan Number One, has proclaimed it his best ever.
So
many things set Miyazaki apart, and all his fetishes are here: transforming
creatures; natural beauty juxtaposed with belching pollution; heroic girls and
hags who aren’t all bad (in this case, both in a single character); machines of
the future in a world of the past; a bewildering plot; sappy Japanese crooning;
amorphous creatures with hats (always hats); and gorgeous, hand-painted panoramas.
If you love Miyazaki, you know.
What’s
the story? “It’s about a girl who finds a magic castle,” Lila explains.
“There’s a wizard living there, and he’s vain — at the beginning, but not at
the end. Sophie makes him less vain.” That’s about right. There are some
complicated messages about choosing a family in there. “It starts out like
every line is a joke,” Lila felt. “Then it gets more exciting.”
“I
liked the characters, like Califer (Billy Crystal), the fire demon,” Lila says.
“I liked his sarcasm and his funniness.” Crystal’s voice grates, but Jean
Simmons and Lauren Bacall excel as the hags.
Howl’s is based on a novel by
Dianna Wynne Jones, but aside from the vaguely European setting, you’d hardly
know. If the plot is more addled than usual, if the pacing is strange, there’s
still enough invention and wonder here to keep Miyazaki towering over the world
of animation.
—
Adam Wilcox
This week for families
Brighton Memorial Library storytimes: Mondays 10 a.m.
(ages 3-4), 10:30 a.m. (ages 1-2.5); Thursdays 7 p.m. (families) | 2300 Elmwood
Avenue. 784-5300, www.brightonlibrary.org
Discover Madagascar Fri, June 25. Seneca Park
Zoo, 222 St Paul St, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free with zoo admission. 336-7200
Fathers’ Leadership Academy Thursdays, through June 29.
Parent Center, 30 Hart St, 6-8 p.m. Free. 262-8456.
Girl Scouts Rally Mon, June 27. Seabreeze
Amusement Park, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free with park admission. 292-5160
Henrietta Public Library storytimes: Wednesdays 10:30
a.m. (preschool). 455 Calkins Rd. 359-7092
Young Visionaries Awards
Program applications
due by June 30, Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Ave, rmsc.org
Get your head out of the box
My
son and I went kayaking yesterday morning. It was overcast, cool, and quiet but
for the dipping paddles, bird calls and soft conversation. It occurred to me
that my son had no frame of reference for this experience. No commercials. No
script. It was not television or a video game. It just was.
There
is ongoing debate about how television influences our kids’ behavior. Does it
promote obesity through inactivity? Do the commercials sway their desires for
products? What’s wrong with educational television? What about watching and
discussing the news with our kids? What about professional sports on
television? What is too much screen time? When is it okay for our kids just to
“veg out” in front of the tube?
I
don’t know the answers to any of these questions. There probably aren’t any
simple ones. But perhaps they are all the wrong questions. The issue is that
the imaginative involvement of viewing television and playing video games acts
as a powerful filter of life experience. Neuroscience tells us that this
repeated exposure deeply affects developing minds, forming a governing frame of
reference. Television’s products, language, socialization, and story lines
restrict creativity more than they stimulate it. The more kids watch
television, the more the world seems like television.
So
it was particularly satisfying to watch my son remove the filters, finding
balance outside of the TV amidst the reeds and water. Our kids inherit our
world. They must experience it outside of the box.
—
Laurence I. Sugarman, MD
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2005.
