Last Friday I went to Palace Centro to watch Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service on the big screen. It’s been years since I’ve seen either of the movies – Kiki’s I last saw when I was in elementary/middle school, so needless to say I was really looking forward to this screening. The fact that the screenings were subbed and done in celebration of Hayao Miyazaki’s 70th birthday were extra perks.

The theater itself was really nice, with super comfy plushy seats. It was also incredibly packed – in fact, I almost didn’t get a ticket to Howl’s! When I got to the ticket counter, I was told that tickets to Howl’s had all been sold out. Luckily there was a random guy standing next to the counter who offered to sell me his ticket for the same asking price as the theater, so I gratefully took him up on his offer and forked over an addition $6 to Palace Centro for the Kiki ticket.

Now, Howl’s I had watched a little more recently (in college), and while I had enjoyed it, I didn’t think it was Miyazaki’s best. The friends who I watched it with also remarked that the movie wasn’t particularly true to the intricacies of the book. But I had forgotten how magic and imagination shines through in any/all of Miyazaki’s films. I also realized very quickly that the intricate details of Miyazaki’s animation can really only be fully appreciated on the big screen. The “Stroll through the Sky” scene near the beginning of Howl’s was particularly stunning to watch in the theater – the sense of uplifting flight was just incredible.

It also helped that the packed audience was VERY appreciative of the films – the chuckling and laughter helped punctuate all the comedic scenes, and I had a big silly grin plastered across my face throughout the film. I’d forgotten how much of a drama queen Howl was! How charming Sophie was in her old age. And I hadn’t realized that Takuya Kimura did the voice for Howl!

My original reservations against Howl’s Moving Castle remained – namely, that the war that had raged on throughout the movie was somehow wrapped up lickety-split in the final few minutes of the movie, so the happy ending, while inevitable, felt a bit forced. Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that Howl’s Moving Castle was a lot better than I remembered, and it was quite a visual treat on the big screen.

Kiki’s Delivery Service, on the hand, amazed me in how current it felt, despite the fact that it was released in 1989. Miyazaki is beloved around the world for the universal themes in his work, but watching Kiki’s this time around felt extra personal to me. Because I’ve been moving around so much in this past year, watching Kiki struggle to settle in after moving to a new town, trying to find new friends in a sea of impersonal strangers, re-discovering her confidence and figuring out what’s important to her really struck a chord with me, at this particular point in my life.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed myself last Friday and it was easily the best $12 I’ve ever spent for an anime viewing experience. I only wished I had found out about the Palace Centro screenings sooner; I would’ve liked to see My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and any number of the other Studio Ghibli films that I had last watched as a child. It’s really hard to convey just how wonderful Miyazaki’s works are on the big screen; if you ever get the chance to watch Ghibli films in a cinema, just GO – you definitely won’t regret it, and it will give you a whole new appreciation for Miyazaki as well