Movie Adaptations: For better or worse?

As a movie, Studio Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” is a sight to behold. As with all Studio Ghibli creations, it is a moving masterpiece. The story is rich, the art is gorgeously detailed and the characters are lovable.

As a movie adaptation, however, I would give Studio Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” one out of four stars Why? Because, as far as I am concerned, Studio Ghibli took a beautiful story, one that was already rich in detail and amusing and heart warming in its own quirky way, and twisted it to suit their idea of a good story.

It’s not that I’m putting Studio Ghibli down – okay. That’s a lie. I am putting Studio Ghibli down. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Studio Ghibli. In truth, I think Studio Ghibli creates some of the best animation films ever. I love “Spirited Away” and “Grave of the Fireflies” is one of the few movies to make me cry. “Howl’s Moving Castle” however, does not rank anywhere in my favourites.

Why? Simply because I can hardly recognise the main characters, let alone the plot. The Howl in the book, Diana Wynn Jones’ Howl as she created him, is vain, temperamental, an incurable flirt and prone to sulking. His Sophie is gruff, grumpy, straight forward, impulsive and prone to talking to things. Calcifer, the fire demon, is selfish, tricky, sly, cunning and likes complaining to Howl about Sophie. Michael, Howl’s apprentice, is a boy, yes, but one old enough to have a sweetheart. A sweetheart who, it turns out, is Sophie’s sister, Martha.

And this is yet another reason why I give Studio Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” one star out of four for accurate move adaptation; because there is no mention of Sophie’s two sisters in the movie. They are pretty central to the plot of the book and very central to Sophie’s character. To leave them out is, in my opinion, equivalent to leaving Prince Justin out.

Prince Justin is a missing prince who provides the Witch of the West with a way to get to Howl’s heart. The wizard Sulliman is part of the Witch’s plan as well but he is, very obviously, missing from the movie.

Now, realistically, I know that you can’t put the whole book, every single little incident, into the movie or you’d be watching a three hour long movie. But I believe you can take the basis of a plot and still come up with a movie that is like the book, with a few minor differences. Take the “Harry Potter” movies for example. The first few took the essentials out of the plot and made pretty darn good movies. Studio Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” did not.

But I have to be truthful here: in general, I do not like movie adaptations. Or rather, I cannot watch them because I will be constantly be comparing the plot of the book to the plot of the movie. Granted, I do not make a good movie adaptation viewer. But there are some movie adaptations I liked: The “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy (Legolas, hello!), “Angels and Demons”, “The Da Vinci Code”, and the first two “Harry Potter” movies. Studio Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” isn’t one of them.

If you’ve read the book and watched the movie, then judge me if you want. Maybe you agree with me, may be you don’t. But if you haven’t...well, do one or the other. Don’t do both or you’ll be sorely disappointed. I was.

Highlight: Spirit; Stallion of the Cimarron

“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is not your typical animation film. Firstly; the protagonist doesn’t really talk. Secondly; though the film has been touted as a musical, none of the characters actually sing. Both of these are major reasons why I love this movie so much.

“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is a breathtaking (and I mean that in every sense of the word) journey through North America, during the time when the Wild West was really wild (think cowboys and herds of buffalo!). Even though it is animation, you’ll really feel like you’re there, running on the plains of North America, right beside Spirit.

What drew me to this movie was that Matt Damon (excuse me while I squeal for a moment) was voicing Spirit. Actually, he does not voice his character in the traditional sense but provides a retrospective narrative.

I love the artwork in this movie. It is a mixture of traditional hand drawn artwork and computer animation. They are blended together so perfectly that I couldn’t tell what was hand drawn and what was CGI. And the attention to detail! Wow. You won’t believe it.

The movie begins with a young foal being born in long grasses. We watch him grow up; watch the adventures and antics he gets up to as he grows up. I fell in love with Spirit during this time, and it is hard not to. He is brave, mischievous, clever, and, most of all, curious. It is this curiosity that brings him into trouble, actually.

Most of the movie is about Spirit’s encounters with man. He meets the first of our species when he investigates a strange fire. This strange fire turns out to be a campfire and he is then captured by a bunch of cowboys. When the cowboys sell Spirit to the US army, we finally meet his nemesis for the movie: the Colonel. The Colonel is, obviously, a colonel in the army and actually breaks Spirit for a moment (just a moment!).

Soon after we are introduced to the Colonel, we are also introduced to Little Creek. Little Creek is from the Native American tribe, the Lakota, who ends up becoming Spirit’s ally.

Without giving too much away (I want you to watch the movie to find out what happens next), I can tell you Spirit finds love and earns respect from an unexpected quarter.

One of the things I love most in this movie is the soundtrack. The songs were written by Bryan Adams and the music by Hans Zimmer, two old dogs in the business. The creators of the movie describe it as a musical and, boy, does it deliver. Even though none of the characters break into song (think “Prince of Egypt” and “Mulan”), the soundtrack is just as powerful, sometimes even more powerful than, if they did just sing.

One particular scene – and song – that stuck in my mind and just struck (as in ding!) my heartstrings is when Spirit is captured by the US army after escaping them with Little Creek’s help. In this scene, he is unsure if his love is alive and he is depressed enough to refuse food. He is in a train, the kind with a locomotive engine and wooden carriages (like in “Zorro”), and he looks out the slats to see winter has set and there is snow billowing around outside.

This is where sight and sound combine to give you a moment that is heartbreaking in its intensity. The song is called Sound the Bugle, with Bryan Adams on vocals. His husky, slightly raspy voice suits the song to a T. The song starts out slow, sad, and then builds and builds and builds until it becomes an inspirational melody that leaves your heart bursting.

While the song is building, Spirit is looking out at the land, coated in winter, and he begins to, well, for lack of a better term, hallucinate. He sees, in the snow fall, the image of his herd, led by his mother, running through the plains of his homeland. At this moment, the song’s lyrics change, from depressing to inspirational and, even now, after watching this movie for the umpteenth time, give me the tingles.

It’s not just this song that’s great. The whole soundtrack, even the instrumental parts (which I normally don’t like) are good. No, not just good. Really good. If you’re anything like me, heck even if you’re nothing like me, I think you’ll still run out to buy the soundtrack. It’s just. That. Good.

Now, if you think this is sounds like some fan girl rambling on about her favourite movie: you’re right. I loved this movie when I first watched it and I love it still, as I sit here and watch it again while I write this. It has all the elements of a good story; a determined, courageous hero against impossible odds; an enemy that seems to always appear just when you think the hero has won; a love that is touching and sweet; and a mission to save a much loved and much missed homeland.

The main characters may be horses instead of humans but they touch you all the same. Spirit, especially, has such human expressions that you can’t help but identify with him. You can tell exactly what he’s thinking from his expressions, even without the benefit of Matt Damon’s admittedly brilliant narration (well, that’s my opinion anyway). Even without the benefit of a cinematic experience, I was blown away, wowed, and any other synonym you can think of for awestruck, by this movie.

So, if you have some spare time – actually, even if you don’t have some spare time, make some. This movie is a must see. Some might think its concept is a little adult for young viewers but who says animation is only for young viewers?

Watch it, and then watch it again and again and again. You can watch it as often as you like and, believe me, you’ll never get sick of it.

News from Tinseltown: Coraline

For those who have been missing The Nightmare Before Christmas, wait no longer as a new film, Coraline which uses the same stop motion animated technic that made both movies so unique.

The short synopsis accompanied with the official trailer: Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door and discovers an alternate version of her life on the other side. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life and the people in it only much better. But when this seemingly perfect world turns dangerous, and her other parents (including her Other Mother voiced by Teri Hatcher) try to trap her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to escape this increasingly perilous world and save her family.

According to Malaysia Seventeen magazine, the movie will be screened starting on 17 September this year.




Next week: Animation week, by Nadhirah!