Alternative TitlesEnglish: Howl's Moving Castle Synonyms: Hauru no Ugoku Shiro Japanese: ハウルの動く城
Information
Type: Movie
Episodes: 1
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Nov 20, 2004
Duration:
1 hr. 57 min. Rating:
PG - Children
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.651 (scored by 35349 users)
Ranked: #322
Popularity: #33
Members: 45,817
Favorites: 1,108 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
adventure drama fantasy ghibli romance |
SynopsisA plain young hatter named Sophie has her life changed when an evil witch transforms her into an old woman. Unable to face her family in such a condition, Sophie runs away in search of a way to become young again. Along the way, Sophie helps a turnip headed scarecrow, who repays her by leading her to the moving castle owned by the dreaded wizard Howl. There she befriends Howl's apprentice Markl, Howl's fire demon Calcifer, and eventually, Howl himself. Sophie then becomes the castle's cleaning lady in an effort to not only find the solution to her problem but to save Howl from his own terrible secrets as well. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Howl's Moving Castle
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Venneh
28 of 40 people found this review helpful
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1 of 1 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
TITLE: How's Moving Castle
NOVEL, ANIME: Howl's Moving Castle was originally a young-adult fantasy novel written by Diana Wynne Jones in 1986. It won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 1987, and was also was designated an ALA Notable Book for children and young adults.
Howl's Moving Castle was produced by Studio Ghibli (Ponyo on the Cliff, Spirited Away), and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind). Howl was released in theatres in Japan on November 20th, 2004, and showed dubbed in theatres Stateside starting on June 10th, 2005, courtesy of Disney, and is available both subbed and dubbed on DVD.
STORY: Sophie Hatter is a young, self-conscious young woman who, after a chance encounter with the wizard Howl, is cursed with the body of a ninety-year-old by the spiteful Witch of the Waste, and is unable to tell anyone about the curse. She ends up going into the Waste, and, with the help of an animated turnip-headed scarecrow that she helps, ends up finding Howl's home; a legged, walking, amalgamation of a castle. In order to break her spell, she makes a deal with the fire demon who powers the castle, Calcifer; if she can break the spell on him and Howl - which he also can't tell anyone about - he will break hers.
Howl's Moving Castle isn't necessarily one of Ghibli's strongest movies, story-telling wise. There are a lot of disparate plot elements floating about, with not a lot of explanation given, or even development, for that matter; the movie kind of just drifts from scene to scene, as if it can't decide what plot element it wants to focus on. Probably the biggest example of this is Sophie's curse. There are times in the movie where she'll appear younger or older; it's hinted that this difference in physical appearance is tied to her self-confidence, but it's never explained, it just happens. The ending is kind of unsatisfying, as everything's quickly wrapped up in a neat package with even little to no explanation of sudden plot elements that end up popping up.
The characters themselves are all fairly well fleshed out, though, and are at least intriguing to watch; the moments in this movie that center around the characters alone are where it really shines, such as Sophie going through and cleaning the house, Markl going to market with Sophie, or Calcifer and Howl talking by the fire.
Taken in terms of the original novel, Howl is a nice retelling. The basic plot elements from the novel are mostly intact, though a great deal of the actual plot has been changed around. If you don't mind a looser retelling of the novel, then you should be fine with this; however, if you're looking for the novel translated exactly onto the screen, then you may not want to see this.
ART: As always with Studio Ghibli, the art for this is beyond beautiful, that goes without saying. There are three big things that stood out for me with the art, though:
-The castle. I can't say enough about how intricately this was done; just the design itself is amazingly thought out, and the animation of the movement and all the little parts moving and operating on their own and as a part of the larger whole is incredibly steampunk.
-Anything to do with magic being used. Incredibly created, especially in how it manifests from character to character, and with beautifully intricate detail.
-The war sequences. Incredibly realistic and devastating, though it should be noted that production on this was happening while the Iraq War and the bombings were just beginning.
MUSIC: Joe Hisaishi does the composing work on this, as he always does. While his music has most of the normal chords and progressions it normally does, the music here tends to be variations on several instruments of the main theme song, which, while not my favorite ever, is passable. Not the greatest soundtrack he's ever done, but still fairly solid.
SEIYUU: The cast for this is fairly new to voice work, but it doesn't show; there are some excellent performances in this, especially the voice actor for Calcifer. I actually like the sub and dub about equally, so I can't state preference here for any one cast. I do like that there is a single seiyuu for Sophie, whether she's young or old, as it just shows you the range of the seiyuu.
VOICE ACTORS: The English dub for this has some fairly big names for the performances; Christian Bale does a pretty good job (and even utilizes the Batman!growl) as Howl, Jean Simmons does an amazing job as the older version of Sophie (even though I don't really understand why there needs to be two separate voice actors here), Billie Crystal does a good job of being the comedic relief in Calcifer, Lauren Bacall is an amazing Witch of the Waste, and Crispin Freeman even shows up for a few lines. Overall, a solid performance.
DUB: I have absolutely no criticism whatsoever for the dubwork on this. Translations are done accurately, there's no intentional flubbing of the original meaning, and it's fairly well done.
LENGTH: The movie does tend to drag at times, especially with how the movie tends to float from scene to scene. The whole thing feels kinda dreamy, though, and you tend to not notice where the time's gone at the end of it.
OVERALL: Not Ghibli's best story or score, but still has wonderful characters, amazing animation, and a fairly solid dub, and cast in both languages. A dreamy sort of film, good for a rainy afternoon.
STORY: 7/10
ART: 9/10
MUSIC: 7/10
SEIYUU: 8/10
VOICE ACTORS: 8/10
DUB: 8/10
LENGTH: 8/10
OVERALL: 55/70; 79% (C+) read more
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kiriska
72 of 104 people found this review helpful
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1 of 1 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
I'd figured that waiting so long to see this made me a bad Miyazaki fan, but after seeing it, I wasn't much bothered by my long delay anymore.
STORY - This movie was apparently based off a book, but as I haven't read the book, I'm judging this movie as a work all on its own, for better or worse. So I suppose this was, in a way, a story about courage and facing one's fears, but it was approached in such a roundabout way that I'm really not sure, even now. The premise of the movie -- Sophie getting bewitched into an old woman -- seemed almost completely random, and I was left wondering why? and what was the point of that? Those questions were, for me, repeated a ridiculous number of times throughout the course of the movie. Indeed, most of the scenes seemed haphazardly spliced together with little rhyme or reason connecting them. Eventually, the focus of the movie fell onto Howl and his troubles, which was fine, except that we seemed to forget entirely about Sophie's initial dilemma because of it.
In some ways, Howl's reminded me of Spirited Away, what with its eclectic assemblage of characters, all with their own problems and goals. But while Spirited Away maintained and remembered its initial story and theme, Howl's Moving Castle was seriously all over the place. The further we progressed into the movie, the more it seemed like Sophie's problems were taking a backseat to Howl's, and even her position as a member of his castle and one of his helpers didn't seem very important. One of the things that annoyed me the most was also the fact that the spell placed on Sophie was never explained the depth -- all you knew was that she couldn't tell anyone about it (which was pretty useless since most characters seemed to be able to tell anyway). Nothing was explained as the spell seemed to gradually fade; when Sophie randomly appeared to be her old self, you were never sure whether it was for real or a dream. Eventually, you sort of accepted that she was slowly regaining her old self, but even then, you weren't sure why.
There's also the matter of the war. Throughout the entire movie, it seemed like more of a background element more than anything else. We were never told why the war was going on or against whom they were fighting; thus, it didn't seem like all too important of a thing, even when leaders were requesting the aid of magical folk. In a way, I find this impression interesting as there seems to be a distinct separation between the affairs of our characters and the world around them. Despite the war, they're in their own little world, even with airships attacking every so often and Howl's subsequent injuries. I'm not sure why that is or whether it's a positive or negative element, but it's there all the same...
CHARACTER - I wasn't really all that impressed by any of the characters in this movie. Most of them seemed to be typical of Miyazaki both in personality and goals and were consequently predictable. Sophie is an all around "good" character who only wants the best for her family and friends. Howl is the mysterious one with great power and internal insecurities. Calcifer is the sharp-tongued, sarcastic one who just wants to be free, despite a seemingly good relationship with his master. And Markl is just a good kid, more or less in the same vein as Sophie except younger, and the Scarecrow was a similar personality as well. The Witch of the Waste is a completely stereotypical semi-villain, as is Suliman.
Though there are certainly attempts at expanding on some of the characters' very flat personalities, I don't really feel as if any of them are successful. Sophie's fascination and eventual love for Howl was a little interesting, but the feelings could be attributed very easily to the typical goodness of her personality, and it didn't seem like Howl was very special to have her affections. Similarly, Howl's feelings for Sophie seemed generic, or perhaps he (and all the other characters) could not help but be attracted to her goodness, as there didn't seem to be very many flaws in that purity at all.
ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - This is easily what contributes the most to the entire movie. As we have come to expect from Studio Ghibli, Howl's Moving Castle was an exceptionally beautiful film. The highly detailed background renders were superb and featured all sorts of fantastical elements, giving the environment a wonderful personality. The streets and storefronts were inviting and cheerful, and the darker alleyways held a mystery of their own. The characters were all wonderfully animated, especially Howl, who transformed slickly between his human and harpy-like form.
The design for the castle was especially fun. As more or less a gigantic heap of metal parts, its lack of uniformity gave the viewer a lot to look at, and all of it was interesting. It was also great to see rooms and halls within the castle shift, contract, and expand as Howl magicked them around.
MUSIC - I don't remember anything especially extraordinary, but I think it's safe enough to say that most of the music was satisfying and fitting for their scenes.
VOICE ACTING - I've only seen the movie subbed. The voices were about average, but I would say that's more because of the characters' flatness more than lack of talent on the part of the actors. Calcifer is the only one that had a particularly memorable voice -- it was a little whiny and a little scratchy: absolutely perfect for his grumbling character.
OVERALL - Howl's Moving Castle was a very fun movie to look at. The visuals were gorgeous and everything smoothly animated. Unfortunately, the story and characters definitely left a lot to be desired; there was so little substance that I might have gotten about the same impression if I'd seen the whole thing on mute (or without subtitles). I've been told that the original novel is better, and I wonder if Miyazaki's downfall is only in that he was trying to adapt someone else's work, because certainly I know the man's capable of telling a story better than this. read more
Recommendations
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Similar Animation and Storyline (Disney-like)
Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are visually stunning experiences with a strong surreal underpinning behind coming of age narratives. In both movies a magical world unfolds before bewildered young heroines who must claim a new position within apparent chaos. Spirited Away is more hectic and upbeat while Howl's focus on darker themes such as war and violence. Yet both invoke the same spirit of beautiful natural scenes rendered sublime by Miyazaki's unique style.
A mystical and enchanted storyline of romance permeates both of these wonderful creations by the same director
Weird mystical magical realms
This two great movies have the same creator and they both contain great stories about curse, love, and drama at the same time. If you'll notice upon watching them, the way they were drawn was also the same. In characters Haku(Spirited away) and Howl(HMC) are look alike. Both movies have great lessons and that after you watch them they will left a good memory.
It's by the same producer. The art work looks the same and the movies have the same feel to them.
It's the same producer. IMO spirited away is way better than this movie
As you all likely know already, both Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away are the brainchild of Hayao Miyazaki; however, the two films share numerous similarities in addition to Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki's style.
Perhaps the greatest overbearing theme in both movies is the use of surreality bordering upon absurdism. Miyazaki is a master of this style. His movies are filled with surreal and inventive worlds and magical, unique characters. More so than any of his other films, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle invoke the same feeling of wonder to their majestic settings.
As far as the narrative goes, both movies are centered two young and bewildered coming of age heroins and their sojourns through the new and fantastic worlds they are discovering. Along the way, love, compassion, curiosity and development are evident in each of the protagonists. Miyazaki's protagonists are quite akin to Alice from Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, featuring young female leads as they journey through newly discovered mystical worlds.
Although Howl's Moving Castle contains a slightly darker theme with a violent war ravaging the world and Spirited Away has a lighter and more upbeat feel, both are excellent films laden heavy with Miyazaki's beautiful and sublime visions coupled with a mystical, romantic adventure.
Besides that both are made from Hayao Miyazaki, they both represent pure love and friendship. Spirited Away is about a girl, Chihiro, who depends on her friends to save her family from the magical world which they do not belong in and Howl's Moving Castle's, Sophie, relies on her friends, one of them supplies major eye candy, to release her from a curse. They both have happy endings and are films that are in my top ten favorite movies (Spirited Away is one of Roger Ebert's favorite movies) and they will definitely be yours too.
Same director, similar artwork and both are great films! Go Hayao!
They have the same atmosphere and are directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Like magic? Like inventive transportation? The creators of Spirited Away and the talented voices of Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, and Emily Mortimer bring Howl's Moving Castle to life. See a world where wizards and witches fight in a war and curses are cast on the innocent so nothing and no one is quite what it seems.
The plots are different but both have a girl as the protagonist as they accidently get involved in another world full of magical elements and fantasy.
Both have gorgeous art and they both dwell in fantasy and the supernatural. They also have the same producers so they have similar art styles. What's more, they both have fascinating plots and lovable characters.
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its great and both about castles XD
Hayao Miyazaki has a very poetic way of telling stories. In both of these movies you see his fascination for flying machines.
similar but different ...magic of a sort ...rescue...boy girl relations...u get the drift :D
Both movies by the same creator and both exhibit machinery candy and a cute romance
both of them are innocent love story. they are made by Hayao Miyazaki
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Opening Theme"Sekai no Yakusoku (世界の約束; The Promise of the World)" by Chieko Baisho
Ending ThemeNo ending themes found, add themes.
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