It is a painful and expensive hobby, trying to collect every single Studio Ghibli movie, not to mention when they start playing them at the theaters. But we managed to own a couple of them now: Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Raccoon Wars and our all time favourite, My Neighbour Totoro. And at 50 US dollars each, plus the costs to see some of them a couple of times on the big screen,… well, Studio Ghibli is turning me into a broke man.

They do make amazing movies and their new addition to the Ghibli family, Hauru No Ugoku Shiro / Howl’s Moving Castle, would even kick My Neighbour Totoro from our number one spot, if it wasn’t for its high cuteness factor. Based on a British story written by Diane Wynne Jones, the movie tells about a young girl who’s cursed by a witch and turns into an old lady. She runs away from home and meets the most interesting, colourful and strangest characters. Vague huh? I hate it when people spoil a movie by giving away too much information, so this will do.

It is almost a typical Ghibli, although it shows that the story isn’t Japanese. Again we have a tale about a strong independant girl and a bunch of characters who are not black or white, good or evil, like your typical Disney movie, but who are quite unpredictable and complicated. But there’s a shortage of Japanese gods, myths and believes, which gave all other Ghibli movies that magical Japanese touch. Nonetheless, they have done it again, bringing us a moving, touching story that is most wordy of your precious money.

We’re checking it out again at the Metropolis at Antwerp. I suggest you do the same!