I absolutely agree. I adore the book, but it’s drastically different from the film in so many ways that there’s no point comparing them because the strengths of one is the weakness of the other. The movie’s meant to be beautiful and whimsical and charming, with a fearless heroine as the protagonist and a romantic figure as Howl. The book’s got a tighter plot and plenty of levity, with a clueless but lovable idiot for the protagonist and a self-absorbed but lovable idiot as Howl.
I absolutely agree. I adore the book, but it’s drastically different from the film in so many ways that there’s no point comparing them because the strengths of one is the weakness of the other. The movie’s meant to be beautiful and whimsical and charming, with a fearless heroine as the protagonist and a romantic figure as Howl. The book’s got a tighter plot and plenty of levity, with a clueless but lovable idiot for the protagonist and a self-absorbed but lovable idiot as Howl.