Howl's Moving Castle

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Howl's Moving Castle

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Acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki adapts British writer Diana Wynne Jones's popular fantasy tale for this animated feature adding his own unique and celebrated dreamlike spin. A young hat-maker named Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer) is turned into an old woman by the dreaded Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) when she attracts the notice of Howl (Christian Bale) a young wizard whom the witch desires for herself. As the old woman (voiced by Jean Simmons) Sophie finds refuge as a cleaning lady in Howl's magical castle an impressively realized mishmash of anthropomorphic shafts and gears where she meets among other wonders a cantankerous fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal). Howl's courage inspires her to seek a cure for her curse and vice versa and the two work together to prevent a major war as the castle roams the countryside on its mechanical legs. There's lots of magic afoot as well including travel through barriers of space and time and shape-shifting requiring full viewer attention to keep track of who where and when but this how dreams really are and the film engages on that same subconscious level. As with Miyazaki's previous work (SPIRITED AWAY KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE) the emphasis here is on creating a beautiful alternate reality where anything can happen and every frame is a breathtaking work of art. See it on the big screen if the chance presents itself; the elaborate intricacies and patiently realized alternate realities of Miyazaki's work makes him a true treasure.System Requirements:Running Time 119 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 786936296662 Manufacturer No: 04139900

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Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle. --Charles Solomon

The Many Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki

The works of Miyazaki

The Book

The Art of Howls' Moving Castle (book)

Stills from Howl's Moving Castle (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews:

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-30
Completely and utterly beautiful
I prefer the voices of the Korean version better than the English, but other than that, the movie excels in the movie department. In each of Miyazaki's movies, a beautiful score is written, but Howl's Moving Castle's score is especially excellent. While listening to the music, watch the scenery: clouds, lush pastures, a day in a fantastical European city...The story also, though quite different from the book, is pure with a wonderful love. Miyazaki again produces a wonder, and give meaning to cinematographic animation.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-28
For some reason, I usually call it Howl's Flying Castle
The Score has pure magic in it; it's Joe Hisashi's best work
The Voice Acting of Christian Bale and Jean Simmons fully personifys the characters
The way the love story develops feels just like some classic Golden Age movie

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-14
coudn't be more annoying
i watched the first half of this movie trying to understand and enjoy it but it was so boring and meaningless that didn't allow me to watch it to the end.

The story line doesn't make sense, the characters are depicted awfully and weird, a boy with long beard, an old woman cleaning a house over and over again, a young man who looks like a girl but has a deep manly voice; all confuisiing and nonsense.

but to be totally fair there was one positive point in this move, the beautiful backgrouds which were painted just great and if you just look at them as still pictures, you would say "wow" this is amazing;

if i want to watch this again, i turn off the voice, put on a soft music, and fast forward the movie to get to those scenes with awesome back grounds and then fast forward it again.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-01
The Wizard of Oz meets Manga but still like nothing you have seen before
While this is Anime it contains Manga moments but is for children and adults alike will love it too. The animation is sublime and the visuals are like a dream come to life. You have never seen anything like this before. It is hard to describe the story because the fantasy really is thick and at least ninety percent of the film takes places in a dreamlike vision, yet it still manages to gel together and you know that you are witnessing something not quite like anything you have ever experienced before.

A young Sophie finds herself under an old age curse by the Witch of the Waste, leaves town and accidentally finds Howl's moving castle in the country where she befriends the magician Howl and the fire demon Calcifer along with other interesting creatures and people that lead her on a journey through magical worlds.

Essentially it's a love story and it is love that pulls all the pieces together. Even the wicked get loved. It works on so many levels and is all about life. Its like watching Titanic for the first time. Just get this at all costs and let yourself go with the majesty of Howl's moving castle.

Rating:
Date: 2008-05-30
Loved it....
I absolutely loved this movie. I'm not really into anime and don't even know why I decided to watch this....but I'm really glad I did. This is now one of my favorite movies. It's so magical and fantastical and romantic. I love Sophie's attitude. I love that she is such a positive person, even if she doesn't think she's beautiful on the outside. I love her reaction to being cursed into an old lady...she didn't panic, or get hysterical...i love how she decided to look at the positive, commenting on how her dress suites her better now. I love that! Its as if the curse was a reflection of how she felt on the inside so she accepted it because she always felt ugly anyway. And the prince, who is so vain, the opposite of her, sees her beauty. Awwww....how can you not love that?

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