Howl's Moving Castle - Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Watch more than Once

The first time you see this the visual will distract you and you will find your self glued to the screen.. There are a few elements which feel unfinished but everyone has commented on those already... So for little kids and adults alike this one works.. It will become a family favorite for sure...

A little like "The Wizard of Oz" but a story in its own right

***SPOILER ALERT*** I WILL DISCLOSE SOME THOUGHTS YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ PRIOR TO WATCHING THE MOVIE*** I generally love Miyazaki's work, but after Princess Mononoke (read: I did NOT enjoy), I wasn't keen to see Howl's Moving Castle. However, I did see it recently and found it wonderful, and I've watched it a number of times to try to figure things out.

First, it seems to be making a loose nod towards "The Wizard of Oz." Sophie is like Dorothy, a young woman who has a run-in with a wicked witch that leaves her searching for a home. Ok, so she's cursed by the "Wicked Witch of the Waste" (sound sorta familiar?) and now looks like an old hag. So that's different. She meets a scarecrow on the way who helps her find a place to live - with the Wizard Howl. Howl seems to be a composite of the Wizard of Oz and the Cowardly Lion and the Tinman - he's a Wizard, he's afraid to commit to anything and he doesn't have a heart. There's even a little dog, Heen, who attaches himself to Sophie. There are plenty of flying baddies - other wizards who have transformed into demon-like beings, sorta like the flying monkey boys, attacking Howl. Towards the end the Witch of the Waste is on fire and Sophie douses the witch with water, which has an adverse effect that I won't reveal here.

But of course it's not a complete parallel, just the characters are reminiscent. But it's an interesting and fun story, full of magic and mayhem, and a sweet love story. And there seems to be a time-travel loop.

Sophie is a young woman who is in a rut. She doesn't believe she is pretty, probably comparing herself to her sister and mother who seem to mesmerize men with their blonde (but ditzy) beauty. Sophie has mired herself in duty to her father's milinary shop. On her way to visit her sister in a nearby town, she encounters Howl, who saves her from some soldiers. But he himself is being pursued by minions of the Wicked Witch of the Waste, and he puts Sophie in a far worse danger - bringing her to the notice of the Witch.

Later that day the Witch curses Sophie with old-age as (presumably) a means to make the girl less desirable to Howl. But what it does is make Sophie leave her home to find her place elsewhere, and she inadvertantly makes her way straight to Howl. Insert a wizard's apprenctice - Markl - and a fire-demon - Calcifer - and an interesting castle that wanders around the "wastes" (sort of dreary no-man's lands outside of the general towns) makes for a fun story. Now for some spoilers and thoughts:

Another reviewer asks "why doesn't Howl have a heart? how/why did he lose it?" and I think the answer is this: When Howl was a chld studying magic alone in a cottage his uncle gave him, he met the demon Calcifer. Now, in most literature, the use of magic - especially strong magic - generally requires a sacrifice of something important. In this case, Howl gives his heart to Calcifer in exchange for powerful magic "on tap." At the time he makes this deal with Calcifer, he sees a strange vision - a young woman with silvery hair yelling at him from across a river - that she knows how to help him and Calcifer, that her name is Sophie and he should find her in the future. A black hole opens up and swallows her. He goes on to live his life until one day he saves a young brown-haired woman named Sophie from some soldiers. It's obvious to the viewer that he somehow knows Sophie, but she does not know him, she doesn't even realize he is Howl, who is a terrifying figure as he is reputed to eat the souls of beautiful young women (although she believes she is safe because she's "not pretty").

Throughout the story, Sophie goes from looking like a warty, fat old granny, to a young woman to a middle-aged woman and a range in between. She doesn't notice the changes, but something is changing inside of her, as she spends time living, she becomes younger. As an old lady, she can be funny, feisty, outrageous, she expresses herself with no regard to others, just says what she likes, which is freeing. She gives reign to anger and sorrow, but finds herself enjoying life. She also finds love, in a family with Markl, Calcifer, Heen, Howl, even the Wicked Witch of the Waste. When she spends time with Howl alone - in life or in her dreams - she completely changes to a lovely young woman. And Howl himself transforms a bit, he had had an affair with the Witch of the Waste because he thought she was beautiful, until he realizes she is not. With Sophie, as the old hag she is not beautiful, but becomes beautiful to him. I think it's both his seeing thru the curse and Sophie's acceptance that she is beautiful, especially in Howl's eyes that finally breaks her curse. I've heard the phrase "youth is wasted on the young" and in this case Sophie gets a chance to really appreciate her youth once the curse if lifted.

Overall I highly recommend this movie. There are a lot of things that are puzzling, including the war and the weird way it is being waged. The relationships between people are odd and hard to figure out, like Mrs. Suliman and how she strips the powers from witches and wizards. But how much can you do with a movie that's only a little over 2 hours long? But it's enjoyable enough that I spent a bit of time trying to puzzle things out. Take a look, hope you enjoy!

my kids/teens LOVE it!

My kids and teens all LOVE this movie! They think it's one of the best anime movies EVER!!!

LOVED IT

I loved this movie! I am a huge fan of Miyazaki!I am currently in the process of reading the book and so far the movie is just as good!

very good

A very nice movie, though the end is a little confusing. Reading the book adds a layer of meaning that improves it, which is rare for a book/movie pair.