Howl's Moving CastleFor some, age brings wisdom. But for a young milliner named Sophie, age comes too fast when a curse is put upon her. Sophie lives in a fantastical realm full of wizards and witches, ambulating castles, and other mysteries, but her existence has been confined to the hat making shop where she works. One day, a handsome young man saves her from being accosted by a couple of soldiers and flies with her above the city streets. His name is Howl, and he is said to have sold his heart for his magical powers after making a pact with a demon. After the Witch of the Wastes casts an aging spell on Sophie for telling her off, the suddenly elder Sophie is forced to quest out into the wilds surrounding her town, seeking a remedy to her plight.
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Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Howl's Moving Castle is inspired by the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. It depicts a steampunk world where the existence of magic is generally accepted though not fully understood by the public at large. Two opposing kingdoms are at war, using massive ships by air and sea for their campaigns while drafting spellcasters into service. But these details happen largely in the background of this movie, which is really an adventure and a love story first. Sophie resents some comments made by her colleagues about Howl, whose infamy precedes him. He reportedly only takes the hearts (literally, it would seem) of "pretty girls", while Sophie dresses plainly and considers herself to be unattractive. When the suave Howl steps in to save her and lifts her aloft into the air, her sense of awe recalls the flying sequence from the 1978 Superman movie with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. Part of the Witch of the Waste's curse is that she cannot speak about the curse cast upon her (although this is apparently only true when talking to someone other than the witch), so when Sophie finds the eponymous moving castle, she is forced to adopt the persona of an elderly cleaning lady to get closer to Howl; and she certainly has her work cut out for her. She meets a pair of residents in the castle vestibule: a young boy named Markl--who is an apprentice wizard himself and adopts a silly beard when in disguise and greeting guests--and a comical fire demon named Calcifer, whose flame keeps the castle moving. Suddenly, Sophie finds herself in the awkward position of tidying up the place, hoping that somehow, Howl will bother to pay attention and figure out what's happening to her. But Howl's terribly unfocused, waging a private war against the military engines of war by night, and dodging his summons to the various kings by day. It becomes evident that his moving castle is essentially a way to keep himself from being pinned down by authority. His former teacher and the court sorcerer, a woman named Suliman, has been transforming wizards into little more than cannon fodder. She is implied to be the power behind the throne, suggesting that she has some vested interest in the war's continuation. She tells Sophie that Howl is defying his responsibility to the state by "dodging the draft", so to speak, but she is unapologetic in her brutal methods to increase her nations military strength at the expense of its wizards, so Howl has no motivation to comply. But more pressing for Howl, deep down he is haunted. Something is missing from his life, and its absence has been gradually transforming him into a monster.
Like many of the Studio Ghibli films, Howl's Moving Castle is charming and accessible for all audiences. It isn't just a kid's movie, however, as it deals with important themes, like the futility of war and of growing up. Despite grand pageantry, no one seems to really know why there is a war in the first place. Whole cities are engulfed in flames, but since this happens somewhere else in the world, the people in the cities are generally unconcerned, until the bombs start dropping where they live. There are many mysteries in the film that go unanswered, existing as a part of the tapestry of the story without needing exposition. For example, the Witch of the Wastes employs a bunch of shadowy servants who carry her sedan chair around. (Since the witch is exceedingly obese, she barely fits in the carriage at all.) The court is attended by a bunch of pages who all look alike, suggesting that they might be homunculi or something. And even when the relationship between Howl and Calcifer is clarified at the end, there still remains unanswered questions about just how their bond was formed on a practical level. Nevertheless, the mystery of these fantastic elements do not detract from enjoying the story. Sophie is already a level-headed girl--much more than her flighty mother--so she adapts to her sudden change in age better than most. Conversely, Howl is essentially an overgrown child. He leaves messes everywhere, and when he is upset throws a kind of "tantrum" that has a physiological effect on him, morphing him into anything from green slime or shadow substance, to even into a giant raven. So while Sophie is more mature for her age, Howl is the opposite. But Sophie is coping with her own feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, believing that she is undesirable. Yet despite her age, Howl never treats her poorly because of her appearance, aged or otherwise. One of the sweetest things he says to her is that her silver hair is like "starlight". As their relationship grows, she has moments where she becomes younger again. Even though the Witch of the Wastes has claimed that she doesn't know how to break the spell, I believe that there is no true cure for it at all. Instead, the love shared between Sophie and Howl mitigates the damage, and helps restore her to an age more closely tied to her actual one. They help one another with their respective problems--even if Howl does so seemingly unintentionally--because they care for one another. And they find camaraderie among the other residents of the castle--a kind of makeshift family. Theirs is a ragtag collection of misfits, which even includes (surprisingly) the Witch of the Wastes and an animated scarecrow which Sophie calls "Turnip Head". Even though Sophie's life has been changed forever forcing her to abandon the life she used to know, her new one is more fulfilling than she could have ever imagined.
Recommended for: Fans of a colorful and delightful animated tale, full of wonder and adventure. Howl's Moving Castle was made in 2004, and it is clear that it has been computer animated; compare its effects and smoothness of the animation with some of the earlier Ghibli works and you'll see what I mean immediately. It's a strange and wistful thing to see how the medium has evolved in so short of a time, but like Sophia, it is better to look at all of the blessings the future holds rather than to be constantly facing backwards in regret of how it used to be.
Like many of the Studio Ghibli films, Howl's Moving Castle is charming and accessible for all audiences. It isn't just a kid's movie, however, as it deals with important themes, like the futility of war and of growing up. Despite grand pageantry, no one seems to really know why there is a war in the first place. Whole cities are engulfed in flames, but since this happens somewhere else in the world, the people in the cities are generally unconcerned, until the bombs start dropping where they live. There are many mysteries in the film that go unanswered, existing as a part of the tapestry of the story without needing exposition. For example, the Witch of the Wastes employs a bunch of shadowy servants who carry her sedan chair around. (Since the witch is exceedingly obese, she barely fits in the carriage at all.) The court is attended by a bunch of pages who all look alike, suggesting that they might be homunculi or something. And even when the relationship between Howl and Calcifer is clarified at the end, there still remains unanswered questions about just how their bond was formed on a practical level. Nevertheless, the mystery of these fantastic elements do not detract from enjoying the story. Sophie is already a level-headed girl--much more than her flighty mother--so she adapts to her sudden change in age better than most. Conversely, Howl is essentially an overgrown child. He leaves messes everywhere, and when he is upset throws a kind of "tantrum" that has a physiological effect on him, morphing him into anything from green slime or shadow substance, to even into a giant raven. So while Sophie is more mature for her age, Howl is the opposite. But Sophie is coping with her own feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, believing that she is undesirable. Yet despite her age, Howl never treats her poorly because of her appearance, aged or otherwise. One of the sweetest things he says to her is that her silver hair is like "starlight". As their relationship grows, she has moments where she becomes younger again. Even though the Witch of the Wastes has claimed that she doesn't know how to break the spell, I believe that there is no true cure for it at all. Instead, the love shared between Sophie and Howl mitigates the damage, and helps restore her to an age more closely tied to her actual one. They help one another with their respective problems--even if Howl does so seemingly unintentionally--because they care for one another. And they find camaraderie among the other residents of the castle--a kind of makeshift family. Theirs is a ragtag collection of misfits, which even includes (surprisingly) the Witch of the Wastes and an animated scarecrow which Sophie calls "Turnip Head". Even though Sophie's life has been changed forever forcing her to abandon the life she used to know, her new one is more fulfilling than she could have ever imagined.
Recommended for: Fans of a colorful and delightful animated tale, full of wonder and adventure. Howl's Moving Castle was made in 2004, and it is clear that it has been computer animated; compare its effects and smoothness of the animation with some of the earlier Ghibli works and you'll see what I mean immediately. It's a strange and wistful thing to see how the medium has evolved in so short of a time, but like Sophia, it is better to look at all of the blessings the future holds rather than to be constantly facing backwards in regret of how it used to be.