In a fantasy world modeled imaginatively after Alsace, France circa World War I, a young woman named Sophie – who spends all her time toiling in the family haberdashery instead of enjoying life – encounters a notorious young wizard named Howl on her way home.

Howl roams the countryside in a fantastic walking fortress and is rumored to eat the hearts of young girls. After being literally swept off her feet and flown over town by Howl, Sophie is paid a visit by the Witch of the Waste (voiced by Lauren Bacall) who in a fit of jealousy, turns the young girl into an old crone.

Occasionally shifting appearance from young to old, Sophie journeys into the Waste, a domain of witches and wizards in the hills outside of town. She takes refuge in Howl’s fortress, making a pact with the wisecracking fire demon – exceptionally well voiced by Billy Crystal – who is the keeper of Howl’s magic. Their deal is for Sophie to break the spell which binds him in servitude to Howl in exchange for help reversing her own curse.

Though her curse forbids her from telling anyone who she really is, Howl knows, and after cleaning his wondrous fortress top to bottom, Sophie falls in love with him, helping the solitary young wizard – who fancies turning himself into a large bird and flying free – conquer his inner demons.

Directed and co-written by Hayao Miyazaki – who had retired from animation but stepped in to this adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ book when the previous director bowed out – Howl’s Moving Castle is much more than just a visually enthralling animated film. It’s an absorbing stream of conscious work that is even more dreamlike than Miyazaki’s previous films are.

Flights of spectacular here include a scarecrow that hops around in aid of Sophie; a magic door in Howl’s fortress that opens to different cities depending on where you set the dial; the witch of the royal court (Blythe Danner) unleashing a tidal wave at Howl and Sophie; the aerial firebombing of Sophie’s town, and most memorably, Howl sinking into an existential funk and summoning the “dark forces,” practically turning himself into a puddle with his depression.

The film gets even more inspired with a sequence towards the end where Sophie steps through a magic portal and finds herself in Howl’s childhood. The film blurs parallel universes throughout, but in a way that feels natural to the dreamlike story, and not confusing.

The voice work here is as great as you can ask for in an animated film. In addition to Crystal and Bacall, the cast features Emily Mortimer as Sophie, Christian Bale as Howl and Jean Simmons voicing the older version of Sophie.

Where this ranks among Miyazaki’s other films: I enjoyed the hallucinatory story, the characters and the A-list voice work. The anti-war imagery (the aerial bombardment recalls the bombing of Dresden) robs the film of a lot of humor. Crystal is amusing as the fire demon, but he’s by no means doing Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc here. Which is welcome. Shtick would have brought bad flashbacks of Shrek.

Instead, Howl’s character lends a heavy, despondent vibe to the movie. I liked this, but it is a bit of departure for Miyazaki. Howl’s Moving Castle has some of the same elements his masterpieces Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away did: the maturity of a young girl, fantastic creatures and the redemptive power of love among them. But it’s a lot darker and definitely more “out there.”