I just wandered in here via network but ha, yes, you summed up my thoughts on the movie beautifully. On the one hand, it's Ghibli, it's lovely! On the other hand, it's not just that they changed the book, it's that they changed the heart of the book and sanded off all the sharp edges. Like you said, it felt like they missed the point completely.

Apparently Ghibli has a history of doing that when they make adaptations, I guess?

But yeah, the two exist in entirely separate realms for me. It's easiest for me to think of them as not related in any way, just sort of sharing some similarities of names and plot.