I know it's not a good thing to compare the original work and its movie adaptation, but this particular case is an exception for me. If while watching you feel even for a moment that the characters/plot are confusing, the pace is hard to follow or any other story-related nuances are just somehow off - and you will definitely feel that - the sole reason is that the adaptation is horrible and this work was never meant to be made by Miyazaki.
The original book brought out the characters' imperfections and the story was heavily based on exploring them. Howl was a grown-up-child who liked fancy clothes and procrastinating. Sophie was an independent down-to-earth woman who would obviously have fights with him all the time. And this was the core of the story.
Don't worry, these are no spoilers for the movie because it COMPLETELY omits this important and exciting part, instead introducing a cutesy Disney-like love story with relationships between characters magically turning out great, and with 70% of the exciting plot completely cut out to the point you'd be surprised how fast everything was over. No character development or explanations of what's happening. The characters are stale and too obviously idealised.
Overall impression - boring and confusing, but pretty.
If you like cheesy magical love stories, this might be for you. But if you're looking for something well-written with hidden philosophies and deep meanings, just go read the book, this movie is completely bland.
