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Howl's Moving Castle (film)

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Howl's Moving Castle
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHayao Miyazaki
Screenplay byHayao Miyazaki
Produced byToshio Suzuki
StarringChieko Baishō
Takuya Kimura
Akihiro Miwa
CinematographyAtsushi Okui
Edited byTakeshi Seyama
Music byJoe Hisaishi
Production
company
Distributed byToho (Japan)
Walt Disney Pictures (International)
Release dates
  • September 5, 2004 (2004-09-05) (world premiere)
  • November 20, 2004 (2004-11-20) (Japan)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film Japan
LanguageJapanese
Budget¥2.4 billion
USD$24 million
Box office¥23.2 billion
$231,711,096 (worldwide)

Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城, Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. Mamoru Hosoda, director of one episode and two movies from the Digimon series, was originally selected to direct but abruptly left the project, leaving the then-retired Miyazaki to take up the director's role.

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, 2004 and was released in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2004. It went on to gross $231.7 million worldwide,[1] making it one of the most financially successful Japanese films in history. The film was subsequently dubbed into English by Pixar's Peter Docter and distributed in North America by Walt Disney Pictures. It received a limited release in the United States and Canada beginning June 10, 2005 and was released nationwide in Australia on September 22 and in the UK the following September. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006.

Wynne Jones's novel allows Miyazaki to combine a plucky young woman and a mother figure into a single character in the heroine, Sophie. She starts out as an 18-year-old hat maker, but then a witch's curse transforms her into a 90-year-old gray haired woman. Sophie is horrified by the change at first. Nevertheless she learns to embrace it as a liberation from anxiety, fear and self-consciousness. The change might be a blessed chance for adventure.[2]

Plot

Sophie, a hatter, is a responsible-yet-plain 18-year-old girl who on her way to the bakery to visit her sister encounters a mysterious wizard by chance. This encounter arouses the Witch of the Waste, who comes to the hat shop and curses Sophie, transforming her into an old woman. As the curse prevents her from telling anyone of her condition, Sophie decides to leave and seek out a cure.

Sophie meets the fire demon Calcifer, who powers the castle and recognizes that Sophie has been cursed. Calcifer offers to break the curse in exchange for Sophie's help in breaking the spell he's under, which keeps Calcifer bound to the house. When Howl appears, Sophie announces that she is the castle's new cleaning lady, hired by Calcifer because he was sick of how dirty the castle was.

Currently, the country Sophie is in is caught up in the beginning of a war with its neighbor following the mysterious disappearance of the other realm's Crown Prince, and slowly the war begins to creep into Sophie's country itself. Howl receives summons from the King, who orders his various assumed identities to fight in the war. However, Howl comes up with an idea to send Sophie, as his mother to announce what a coward he is and that he would be useless. At the palace, Sophie runs into an asthmatic dog, Heen, who she thinks is Howl undercover. She also meets the Witch of the Waste, who Suliman punishes by draining all of her power, causing her to regress into a harmless old woman, with little memories of her past actions. Suliman tells Sophie that Howl will meet the same fate if he does not contribute to the war. As Sophie vehemently protests these measures, the Witch's spell temporarily weakens due to the love in her words. Suliman realizes Sophie's true relation to Howl and her feelings towards him. Howl then arrives to rescue Sophie, Suliman tries to entrap Howl, but with Sophie's help, they manage to escape.

Sophie learns that Howl transforms into a bird-like creature to interfere in the war, but each transformation makes it more difficult for him to return to human form. Sophie fears that Howl is preparing to leave them, as his remaining time as a human is limited, he returns to interfering in the war. Sophie's mother shows up and is actually under Suliman's control and leaves behind a bag containing a "peeping bug" under her orders. The former Witch of the Waste discovers it and promptly destroys the bug by tossing it into Calcifer. Unfortunately, Calcifer gets sick after eating the bug, rendering him unable to protect the castle from being discovered.

A few hours later, the city is carpet-bombed by enemy aircraft while Suliman's henchmen invade the hat shop. After arriving in the nick of time and protecting the hat shop from the bombing, Howl draws the guards away just after healing Calcifer. He tells Sophie he is not going to run away anymore because he has something he wants to protect before leaving to interfere with the war. Deducing that Howl must be saved, Sophie moves everyone out of the castle and removes Calcifer from the fireplace, destroying the castle. She offers Calcifer a piece of her hair to give him strength enough to power a portion of the castle. They head toward Howl when the former Witch of the Waste discovers Howl's heart within Calcifer. Sophie pours water on Calcifer to make her let go of the heart, making Calcifer lose his power. The segment of the castle is split, and she and Heen fall down a chasm.

Making her way toward Howl's heart, Sophie enters through the door into the black region, Howl's childhood. She sees a recollection of how Howl and Calcifer meet: Howl eats Calcifer, who then gains his heart. Sophie finds Howl, having now lost his human consciousness in bird form. They head back to the group, and Sophie asks the Witch for Howl's heart. She gives it to her and places the heart back in Howl, resurrecting him and freeing Calcifer. She kisses the scarecrow who reveals that he is actually the missing prince. Heen shows the scene of their happy end to Suliman, and the war is finally over. Howl, Sophie, and the others are seen high above the bomber planes returning home from the end of the war.

Cast

Differences between film and novel

Diana Wynne Jones did meet with representatives from Studio Ghibli but did not have any input or involvement in the production of the film. Miyazaki traveled to England in the summer of 2004 to give Jones a private viewing of the finished film. She has been quoted as saying:

"It's fantastic. No, I have no input—I write books, not films. Yes it will be different from the book—in fact it's likely to be very different, but that's as it should be. It will still be a fantastic film."[3]

The film is very different from Jones's original novel. The plot is similar, but it is flavored with Miyazaki's familiar style and characters, as well as several missing or drastically altered key plot points from the book. The plot is still focused on Sophie and her adventure while cursed with old age; however, the main action of the film's story takes place during a war, and its plot is chiefly concerned with Howl's attempts to avoid fighting in it for pacifist reasons. This aspect of the film's plot is actually rooted in Miyazaki's political views as a pacifist – in an interview with Newsweek magazine, Miyazaki told the interviewer that the movie had started production "just as your country [the USA] had started the war against Iraq", and the subsequent rage he felt about the Iraq war "profoundly impacted" the film.[4] The film is located in a fantastical nation somewhat reminiscent of pre-World War I Alsace. Many buildings in the town are identical to actual buildings in the Alsatian town of Colmar, which Miyazaki acknowledged as the inspiration for its setting.[5]

In contrast, the novel is concerned with Howl's womanizing and his attempts to lift the curse upon himself (discovering later how his lethal predicament is entangled with the fates of a lost wizard and prince) as well as running from the incredibly powerful and beautiful Witch of the Waste, who is the story's main villain and not at all the ugly, yet harmless, character she plays on screen. Another noteworthy change is that Sophie is herself an unwitting sorceress totally unaware of her power, with the ability to "talk life into things" like the hats she makes and her own walking stick; objects take on a life of their own the more attention Sophie gives to them.

The book detours for one chapter into 20th century Wales where Howl is known as Howell Jenkins and has a sister with children. This glimpse into Howl's complicated past is not shown in the film, but one of Howl's aliases is "The Great Wizard Jenkins."

Soundtracks

The soundtrack CD was first released on November 19, 2004 by Tokuma. Artist Joe Hisaishi also composed and conducted a Howl's Moving Castle: Symphony Suite, an album published on January 21, 2004 which includes ten re-arranged pieces from the original soundtrack.[6] He and Youmi Kimura also composed Howl's Moving Castle CD Maxi-Single, a CD single published on October 27, 2004 which includes the film's theme song, sung by Chieko Baishō (the Japanese voice actor for Sophie), its karaoke version, and a piano version of the film's main theme, "The Merry-Go-Round of Life".[7]

Original Soundtrack
Track Composer Duration
1 Opening: The Merry-Go-Round of Life (-オープニング- 人生のメリーゴーランド, -Opening- Jinsei no Merry-go-round) Joe Hisaishi (久石譲) 2:34
2 The Courageous Cavalry (陽気な軽騎兵, Youki na Keikihei) 0:51
3 Stroll Through the Sky (空中散歩, Kuuchuu Sanpo) 2:15
4 The Heart Aflutter (ときめき, Tokimeki) 0:20
5 The Witch of the Waste (荒地の魔女, Arechi no Majo) 0:59
6 Wandering Sophie (さすらいのソフィー, Sasurai no Sophie) 4:20
7 The Magical Door (魔法の扉, Mahou no Tobira) 5:27
8 The Indelible Curse (消えない呪い, Kienai Noroi) 0:45
9 Spring Cleaning (大掃除, Oosouji) 1:22
10 To Star Lake (星の湖 へ, Hoshi no Umi he) 4:13
11 Quiet Feelings (静かな想い, Shizuka na Omoi) 0:28
12 In the Rain (雨の中で, Ame no Naka de) 1:28
13 Vanity and Friendship (虚栄と友情, Kyoei to Yuujou) 3:58
14 A 90-Year-Old Young Girl (90歳の少女, 90-sai no Shoujo) 1:01
15 Suliman's Magic Square: Return to the Castle (サリマンの魔法陣 城への帰還, Suliman no Mahoujin ~Shiro he no Kikan) 5:23
16 The Secret Cave (秘密の洞穴, Himitsu no Doukutsu) 2:34
17 Moving (引越し, Hikkoshi) 3:05
18 The Flower Garden (花園, Hanazono) 2:58
19 Run! (走れ！, Hashire!) 0:57
20 Now That's Love (恋だね, Koi da ne) 1:12
21 Family (ファミリー) 1:24
22 Love of War (戦火の恋, Senka no Koi) 2:56
23 Escape (脱出, Dasshutsu) 1:33
24 Sophie's Castle (ソフィーの城, Sophie no Shiro) 2:39
25 The Boy Who Drank Stars (星をのんだ少年, Hoshi wo Nonda Shounen) 7:30
26 Ending: The Promise of the World: The Merry-Go-Round of Life (-エンディング- 世界の約束 人生のメリーゴーランド, -Ending- Sekai no Yakusoku ~Jinsei no Merry-go-round) Chieko Baishō (倍賞 千恵子) 6:51
Image Album
Track Composer Duration
1 Mysterious World (ミステリアス・ワールド) Joe Hisaishi (久石譲) 5:04
2 The Wizard of the Moving Castle (動く城の魔法使い, Ugoku Shiro no Mahoutsukai) 5:56
3 Sophie's Tomorrow (ソフィーの明日, Sophie no Ashita) 5:10
4 Boy (ボーイ) 3:43
5 Moving Castle (動く城, Ugoku Shiro) 3:56
6 War War War (ウォー・ウォー・ウォー) 4:47
7 Wizard's Waltz (魔法使いのワルツ, Mahoutsukai no Waltz) 5:39
8 Secret Garden (シークレット・ガーデン) 3:24
9 The Allure of Dawn (暁の誘惑, Akatsuki no Yuuwaku) 5:15
10 Cave of Mind (ケイヴ・オブ・マインド) 5:48
CD Maxi-Single
Track Composer Duration
1 The Promise of the World (theme song) (世界の約束 (主題歌), Sekai no Yakusoku) Chieko Baishō (倍賞 千恵子) 4:23
2 The Merry-go-round of Life (instrumental) (人生のメリーゴーランド (インストゥルメンタル), Jinsei no Merry-go-round) Joe Hisaishi (久石譲) 3:29
3 The Promise of the World (original karaoke) (世界の約束 (オリジナル・カラオケ), Sekai no Yakusoku) Youmi Kimura (木村 弓) 4:20

Reception

Howl's Moving Castle received mostly positive reviews. As of August 2011, review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of critics gave positive reviews, based on 148 reviews, certifying it "Fresh".[8] USA Today critic Claudia Puig praised it for its ability to blend "a childlike sense of wonder with sophisticated emotions and motives" while Richard Roeper called it an "insanely creative work". Other critics described it as "a visual wonder", "A gorgeous life-affirming piece", and "an animated tour de force." Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it two and a half out of four stars, and felt that it was one of Miyazaki's "weakest" films.[8] The movie also holds a 8.1/10 on imdb.

Top ten lists

"There's a word for the kind of comic, dramatic, romantic, transporting visions Miyazaki achieves in Howl's: bliss."
—Peter Travers, Rolling Stone[9]

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2005.[10]

Awards

Influences

Gore Verbinski cited it as an influence for Rango. [11]

References

  1. ^ "All-Time Worldwide Box office". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 8, 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  2. ^ Howl's Moving Castle (2004) NYT Critics' A. O. Scott
  3. ^ "FAQ / Howl's Moving Castle". The Hayao Miyazaki Web. Retrieved 2008-05-08. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  4. ^ Devin Gordon (2005). "A 'Positive Pessimist'". The Hayao Miyazaki Web. Retrieved 2008-05-08. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  5. ^ The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki by Dani Cavallaro; Publisher: McFarland & Company (January 24, 2006); Page 168; ISBN 978-0-7864-2369-9
  6. ^ http://www.joehisaishi.com/discography.php?itemnumber=81&cat=soundtrack
  7. ^ http://www.onlineghibli.com/howls_castle/music.php
  8. ^ a b "Howl's Moving Castle Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  9. ^ Travers, Peter (June 9, 2005). "Howl's Moving Castle". Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  11. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rango-gore-verbinski-johnny-depp-286366

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