Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san
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2004-11-19T00:00:00Z
Howl no Ugoku Shiro

Howl no Ugoku Shiro

Howl's Moving Castle

DVD  •  November 19, 2004  •  2h  •  Movie  •  G  •  Box Office $236,049,757
8.4/10
2686 votes
 
100
8.7/10
918436 votes
Ranked #68
 
-
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RANKED
# 66
DROP RATE
0.2%
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Military, Romance, Sci-Fi
 
Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three, is apprenticed to make hats for the people of Ingary, a place where spells, magic cloaks, and seven-league boots exist. She and all the young girls are warned to stay inside or be taken by Howl, the evil wizard whose black castle can be seen moving through the hills. ... More
Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Ghibli Fest 2023 Trailer
Other Titles: ハウルの動く城, Howl's Moving Castle
Sub Genres: Air Force, Ending, Mina, Curse, The Power Of Love, Military, Mythology, Anti-war, Heart-warming, Disaster, Place, Action, European Stylised, Speculative Fiction, Comedy, Romance, Fictional Location, Steampunk, Demon, Gaslamp Fantasy, Magic, Boy Meets Girl, War, Folklore... more
Studios: Studio Ghibli
Producers: d-rights, Tokuma Shoten
Licensors: Disney Platform Distribution
Air Date: Saturday Nov 20, 2004
Box Office: $236,049,757 (Foreign)
Age Rating:
Type: Movie
Links:
Plan to Watch
1,709 (17.2%)
I've seen this
8,237 (82.7%)
Dropped
13 (0.1%)
Total
9,959
  • Movies
Last Ep. aired on Saturday 11/20/2004
   
   
1
 
 
Recommendations
153 Reactions
 
33 Reviews
 
2 Comments
 
118 Memos
 
ABOUT #HOWLNOUGOKUSHIRO Newest Oldest Top Replies Top comments Top Memos Most Helpful Most Likes
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Aegon
Aegon 2 weeks ago
0
Watched it again today and it was great. The only weak point was the ending which was too abrupt.
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Aegon
Aegon 3 years ago
0
Not sure if it's a case of me warming up to Ghibli's movies or a case of this one genuinely being a better movie. But the drawings, colors, and animations were superb.
Story wise it was ok-ish. It started very well but as it got closer to the end the weirder it got, bringing in too many deus ex machina constructs (eg: time travel), and a few nonsensical events (eg: throwing water over the fire that powers the castle).
At its core the movie is a variation of the Frog Prince tale. But there are also other themes too: personal freedom vs responsibility (eg: Howl's choice to be free vs Sophie's choice to be responsible), war (ie: in this case an anti war message), environment (eg: Witch of the Waste and her blobs of pollution), growing up.
The dynamic aging of Sophie was a really smart detail, as she gets young again whenever she feels excited or happy or alive... just like when a young person would.
Maybe worth rewatching.



After rewatching - and some internet-ing - a few things became (more) apparent.
One is that the main theme of the movie is about growing up. On one side we have the reckless and narcissistic young Howl, while on the other side we have the responsible and old Sophie who - at least in her opinion - wasn't blessed with good looks. And there are even several monologue lines where old age is referenced.
One aspect of growing up is romantic relationships, and here Howl opts to escape instead of facing (or even confronting) the other part. Although that can be said about live in general, facing and dealing with problems as opposed to running away from them.
One interesting detail is that in fact Howl's castle is a metaphor for himself: the outside a strange but powerful being with a lot of baggage, the inside a disorganized mess, Calcifer his heart, Markl his innocence.
One topic open for debate is whether Sophie is a witch or not. Maybe that's intentionally left ambiguous. But there are several hints she may be one (eg: bringing the Turnip scarecrow to life, powering up Calcifer with her hair).
The black dial may be a gateway to Howl's own psych where we fights his own demons. And the morphing may be a metaphor to how you lose your humanity every time you commit acts of violence or simply on how when you fight monsters you run the risk of becoming a monster yourself. And the more you do it, the greater the chance you won't be able to come back to what you were. At his heart Howl is an idealist who doesn't believe in violence. A bomb will kill innocents no matter what.
The end is indeed messy and far fetched. But after you rewatch the movie you understand it better. And you see Howl bargaining a deal when he catches a shooting star and exchanges his heart for wizardry powers. As he may thought he would never had a use for one. And in that scene Sophie tells young Howl to wait for her, which connects back to the beginning of the movie where he is searching for her. Thus creating some sort of time loop.
There are a lot of clues laid out in the movie but since they are placed so perfectly you really don't see them.


Old Sophie: Ouch, ouch. It's not easy being old.

Old Sophie: Seems you get more cunning with age.

Old Sophie: I never realized how weak you feel when you get old.

Old Sophie: One nice thing about getting old is that nothing surprises you anymore.

Old Sophie: The good thing about being old is that you've got so little to lose.

Howl: I'm done for. What's the point in living, if you aren't beautiful.
...
Old Sophie: I've had enough of you, Howl! I've never once been beautiful!


Howl: [reading the spell scorched onto the table] "He who catches a falling star, oh heartless man. Your heart shall be mine."


Calcifer: Keep flying and one day you won't be able to change yourself back.
...
Howl: My own kind attacked me.
...
Calcifer: They'll cry plenty later on, when they can't regain human form.
Howl: No, they'll just forget they ever knew how to cry.


Suliman: But then a demon stole his heart, and he abandoned me. He turned his magic to purely selfish uses. Mrs Pendragon. That boy is dangerous. His power is too great for one with no heart. If he follows that path he'll wind up like the Witch of the Waste.

Old Sophie: You call Howl heartless! Yes, he's selfish, cowardly and unpredictable. But he's straight as an arrow. He only wants to be free. Howl won't turn into an evil monster. He'll battle the demon on his own. I believe in him.
Suliman: Mrs. Pendragon. You're in love with Howl.


Sophie: I'm scared. I'm afraid you'll go off and disappear somewhere once I'm inside. Howl tell me the truth. I don't mind if you're a monster. ... I want to help you Howl. I'm not beautiful and I'm only good at cleaning.
Howl: Sophie, you are beautiful!
Sophie: The good thing about being old is that you've got so little to lose.


Witch of the Waste: Men, why ever should we want them? But a young man's heart is so delicious!
Old Sophie: Unbelievable.
Witch of the Waste: And so adorable too.


Sophie: Let's run away. Don't fight.
Howl: I'm through running away. I've finally found someone I want to protect. You.
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Member’s ratings:
Tom Hendy Tom Hendy 10
Best Anime Movie Ever. I find it so magical and I think Sophie is so wonderfully written. The English voice acting is superb. Even more impr
Qua Couron Qua Couron 10
epic, beautiful, fun, awesome, family, good, interesting, magical, love, romance, comedy, fantasy

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