Howl's Moving Castle is the latest gem from animation genius Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame (Spirited Away). He set out to make an animation for old people, but the result is a brilliant animation of ideas and inventions for all ages.

Based on a book by children's author Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle is set in an enchanted, Dickensian-looking Europe, ravaged by a 21st-century war. It is rendered by an unmistakably Japanese sensibility. Howl is a young sorcerer who lives in a moving castle and tries to avoid being drafted into battle. Sophie is a shy hat maker living in the nearby town. One day Howl saves her from a group of soldiers who are harassing her. Soon after, an envious witch turns her into an old crone, and in Sophie's quest to regain her youth she enters the fabulous, unruly castle of Howl...

Don't let this simple plot fool you. Howl's Moving Castle is complex, layered and visually impressive, and it toys wonderfully with the ideas of metamorphosis, odyssey and self-discovery.