Howl's Moving Castle (film)
Encyclopedia
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, 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.
, is a responsible though plain 18-year-old girl who runs her late father's hat shop. When on her way to the bakery to visit her sister, Lettie, she encounters by chance the mysterious wizard Howl, who takes a liking to her. This arouses the ire of the Witch of the Waste, who has been seeking Howl's heart for herself. Later that night, she 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 run away. Along the way, she befriends a sentient scarecrow that she names Turnip Head, who eventually leads her to Howl's castle.
Once inside, 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 between him and Howl, which keeps Calcifer bound to the house. The next morning, Markl, Howl’s young apprentice, comes downstairs and begins to create potions and spells for Howl’s patrons. He is perplexed by Sophie’s presence, but doesn’t try to throw her out. Throughout the course of the story he comes to love her like an older sister. 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. As she adjusts to life in the castle, she discovers that the front door is a magic portal leading to several places.
Currently, the land Sophie is living in is caught up in the beginning of a war (reminiscent of World War I
) with its neighbour following the mysterious disappearance of the other realm's Crown Prince Justin, 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 fears Madame Suliman, the royal court's magician and his former mentor, and comes up with an idea to send Sophie, with the protection of a magic ring and Howl himself in disguise, as his mother to announce what a coward he is and that he would ' be of no use'. At the palace, Sophie runs into Suliman’s asthmatic dog, Heen, who she originally thinks is Howl undercover. She also meets the Witch of the Waste, who had previously been expelled from the court many years ago and now seeks to regain the royal house's patronage; instead, Wizard Suliman punishes the Witch by draining all of her power, causing her to regress into a harmless old woman, with little memories of her past actions, only remembering her obsession with Howl. 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 and allowing the witch one small victory over Howl, she knows of someone he cares about. Howl then arrives to rescue Sophie, dressed up as the King, but his cover is blown when the real King enters, with the Witch and Heen tagging along. The magic ring Howl gave Sophie guides her to Calcifer, but Suliman begins tracking her to get to Howl.
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 (as it is made apparent that all wizards who would perform such a change could lose themselves to madness). Howl shows his appreciation for her by transforming the castle so that it can lead to Sophie's old home as well as Howl's childhood residence, which he gives to Sophie as a gift. During their walk together, Sophie changes back and forth between her old and young selves until she temporarily stops at her young self albeit with silver hair. Sophie fears he's preparing to leave them, because he knows his remaining time as a human is limited. A bomber ship flies over Howl's home and he causes it to malfunction. However, he is then forced to leave Sophie back in the castle while he returns to interfering in the war. Soon after, Sophie's mother visits the house and somehow recognizes Sophie, despite her old appearance. They then have a happy reunion. However, Sophie's mother is actually under Suliman's threats 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 when Markl opens the windows to air out the Witch's cigar smoke.
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, while Sophie and Calcifer bring the castle to the Wastes. Sophie pulls Calcifer out of the castle to destroy the magic and cut off all ties to the city, so that Howl would not be continually forced to defend them (During this time, Sophie has continuously stayed young). They replace Calcifer in the castle's remains and create a smaller version of the moving machine so they can rescue Howl. Unfortunately, the Witch discovers Howl's heart in Calcifer's flames (after Calcifer explains that he needs a part of someone for assistance in powerful magic) and grabs it. To save her from burning, Sophie douses her and Calcifer with water. With Calcifer extinguished,
what is left of the castle breaks apart and Sophie and Heen are thrown over a cliff and separated from Markl and the Witch, with the now barely glowing Calcifer still in her hands.
Sophie recovers in tears, believing that she has killed both Calcifer and Howl, as their lives are interconnected. As she is sobbing, Howl's ring points to the remains of Howl's castle door, but Sophie doesn't see it until Heen alerts her; she walks through it, with Heen reluctantly following and finds herself in Howl's past, where she sees Calcifer being caught by a young Howl as a falling star. Howl and Calcifer make a contract with each other; Howl swallows Calcifer, who then emerges from his chest with Howl's heart as well. Sophie is pulled back into present time, but before leaving, she yells to Howl and Calcifer that she knows how to help them and they should find and wait for her in the future. They watch in surprise as she is swallowed up by the ground, with a little dog following her. Lost in time and space and falling to the earth, Sophie is guided back to the present by Heen, who keeps urging her to hurry, before the passageway collapses.
Back in the present, Sophie finds Howl, having now lost his human consciousness in bird form, and realizes that he has been waiting for her all along. When they return to the others Howl becomes human again and Sophie pleads with the Witch to give back Howl's heart, which she puts back in his chest after Calcifer agrees to it. Although Howl has not yet regained consciousness Calcifer returns to his original form and flies away. With Calcifer gone completely, the remains of the castle with everyone still atop, slides down the cliffs and Turnip Head is forced to almost sacrifice himself to stop the fall. As a result of his brave actions, Sophie gives him a kiss, transforming him back into the missing Prince Justin, who had been cursed by a witch until he could receive a kiss from his true love.
By now, Sophie has fully transformed back to her youthful self (with the exception of her silver hair) and Howl recovers and sits up, immediately feeling the new burden of his restored heart, though glad to see Sophie again and comments on her 'starlight' hair. Though he has come to love Sophie as well, Prince Justin realizes that her love is for Howl and leaves to put an end to the war, as does Suliman, who has been spying on the group using Heen. Calcifer returns, realizing that he could not bear to leave his friends. Howl, Sophie, and the others are later seen aboard a new, flying castle powered by Calcifer of his own free will, high above the bomber planes now returning home from the end of the war. The film ends with Markl and Heen playing on a grassy area of the castle, overlooked by Calcifer, with the former Witch of the Wastes watching from a chair like a kindly grandmother, while Howl and Sophie share a kiss on a balcony at the head of the flying castle.
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:
The film is very different from Jones's original novel. The plot is similar, but it is flavored with Miyazaki's familiar style. The plot is still focused on Sophie and her adventure while cursed with old age. The main action of the film's story takes place during a war, reminiscent of World War I
with monstrously large dreadnought
-style battleships and airships. 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.
The novel is concerned with Howl's womanizing and his attempts to avoid finding a lost wizard and prince. The film is concerned with his attempts to avoid helping in a national war 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.
The book detours for one chapter into 20th century Wales
where Howl is known as Howell Jenkins and has a sister with children. This is not used in the film, but one of Howl's aliases is "The Great Wizard Jenkins."
also composed and conducted a Howl's Moving Castle: Symphony Suite, an album published on January 21, 2005 which includes ten re-arranged pieces from the original soundtrack.
reports that 86% of critics gave positive reviews, based on 148 reviews, certifying it "Fresh". 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.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
of Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
and based on the novel of the same name
Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986. It won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was named an ALA Notable Book for both children and young adults. In 2004 it was adapted as an Academy Award-nominated animated film by Hayao...
by Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
. Mamoru Hosoda
Mamoru Hosoda
Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese animator and director. Since 2005, he has been a staff director at Madhouse, where he has made his acclaimed films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars.Hosoda was commisioned by Studio Ghibli to direct Howl's Moving Castle but left the project during the...
, director of one episode and two movies from the Digimon
Digimon
, short for , is a Japanese media franchise encompassing digital toys, anime, manga and video games. The franchise's eponymous creatures are monsters of various forms living in a "Digital World", a parallel universe that originated from Earth's various communication networks.-Conception and...
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
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
on September 5, 2004 and was released in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2004. It went on to gross $231.7 million worldwide, making it one of the most financially successful Japanese films in history. The film was subsequently dubbed into English by Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
's Peter Docter
Peter Docter
Peter Hans "Pete" Docter is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter from Bloomington, Minnesota. He is best known for directing the films Monsters, Inc. and Up, and as a key figure and collaborator in Pixar Animation Studios. The A. V. Club has called him "almost universally...
and distributed in North America by Walt Disney Pictures
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. It received a limited release in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
beginning June 10, 2005 and was released nationwide in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on September 22 and in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the following September. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 78th Academy Awards
78th Academy Awards
The 78th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2005 and were held on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, with Tom Kane making his first appearance as the show's announcer...
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.
Plot
Sophie, a hatterHatter
A hatter is a person engaged in hatmaking.Hatter also may refer to:*The Hatter, a fictional character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* Luton Town F.C., team a.k.a. "The Hatters"* Stockport County F.C., team a.k.a. "The Hatters"...
, is a responsible though plain 18-year-old girl who runs her late father's hat shop. When on her way to the bakery to visit her sister, Lettie, she encounters by chance the mysterious wizard Howl, who takes a liking to her. This arouses the ire of the Witch of the Waste, who has been seeking Howl's heart for herself. Later that night, she 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 run away. Along the way, she befriends a sentient scarecrow that she names Turnip Head, who eventually leads her to Howl's castle.
Once inside, 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 between him and Howl, which keeps Calcifer bound to the house. The next morning, Markl, Howl’s young apprentice, comes downstairs and begins to create potions and spells for Howl’s patrons. He is perplexed by Sophie’s presence, but doesn’t try to throw her out. Throughout the course of the story he comes to love her like an older sister. 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. As she adjusts to life in the castle, she discovers that the front door is a magic portal leading to several places.
Currently, the land Sophie is living in is caught up in the beginning of a war (reminiscent of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
) with its neighbour following the mysterious disappearance of the other realm's Crown Prince Justin, 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 fears Madame Suliman, the royal court's magician and his former mentor, and comes up with an idea to send Sophie, with the protection of a magic ring and Howl himself in disguise, as his mother to announce what a coward he is and that he would ' be of no use'. At the palace, Sophie runs into Suliman’s asthmatic dog, Heen, who she originally thinks is Howl undercover. She also meets the Witch of the Waste, who had previously been expelled from the court many years ago and now seeks to regain the royal house's patronage; instead, Wizard Suliman punishes the Witch by draining all of her power, causing her to regress into a harmless old woman, with little memories of her past actions, only remembering her obsession with Howl. 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 and allowing the witch one small victory over Howl, she knows of someone he cares about. Howl then arrives to rescue Sophie, dressed up as the King, but his cover is blown when the real King enters, with the Witch and Heen tagging along. The magic ring Howl gave Sophie guides her to Calcifer, but Suliman begins tracking her to get to Howl.
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 (as it is made apparent that all wizards who would perform such a change could lose themselves to madness). Howl shows his appreciation for her by transforming the castle so that it can lead to Sophie's old home as well as Howl's childhood residence, which he gives to Sophie as a gift. During their walk together, Sophie changes back and forth between her old and young selves until she temporarily stops at her young self albeit with silver hair. Sophie fears he's preparing to leave them, because he knows his remaining time as a human is limited. A bomber ship flies over Howl's home and he causes it to malfunction. However, he is then forced to leave Sophie back in the castle while he returns to interfering in the war. Soon after, Sophie's mother visits the house and somehow recognizes Sophie, despite her old appearance. They then have a happy reunion. However, Sophie's mother is actually under Suliman's threats 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 when Markl opens the windows to air out the Witch's cigar smoke.
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, while Sophie and Calcifer bring the castle to the Wastes. Sophie pulls Calcifer out of the castle to destroy the magic and cut off all ties to the city, so that Howl would not be continually forced to defend them (During this time, Sophie has continuously stayed young). They replace Calcifer in the castle's remains and create a smaller version of the moving machine so they can rescue Howl. Unfortunately, the Witch discovers Howl's heart in Calcifer's flames (after Calcifer explains that he needs a part of someone for assistance in powerful magic) and grabs it. To save her from burning, Sophie douses her and Calcifer with water. With Calcifer extinguished,
what is left of the castle breaks apart and Sophie and Heen are thrown over a cliff and separated from Markl and the Witch, with the now barely glowing Calcifer still in her hands.
Sophie recovers in tears, believing that she has killed both Calcifer and Howl, as their lives are interconnected. As she is sobbing, Howl's ring points to the remains of Howl's castle door, but Sophie doesn't see it until Heen alerts her; she walks through it, with Heen reluctantly following and finds herself in Howl's past, where she sees Calcifer being caught by a young Howl as a falling star. Howl and Calcifer make a contract with each other; Howl swallows Calcifer, who then emerges from his chest with Howl's heart as well. Sophie is pulled back into present time, but before leaving, she yells to Howl and Calcifer that she knows how to help them and they should find and wait for her in the future. They watch in surprise as she is swallowed up by the ground, with a little dog following her. Lost in time and space and falling to the earth, Sophie is guided back to the present by Heen, who keeps urging her to hurry, before the passageway collapses.
Back in the present, Sophie finds Howl, having now lost his human consciousness in bird form, and realizes that he has been waiting for her all along. When they return to the others Howl becomes human again and Sophie pleads with the Witch to give back Howl's heart, which she puts back in his chest after Calcifer agrees to it. Although Howl has not yet regained consciousness Calcifer returns to his original form and flies away. With Calcifer gone completely, the remains of the castle with everyone still atop, slides down the cliffs and Turnip Head is forced to almost sacrifice himself to stop the fall. As a result of his brave actions, Sophie gives him a kiss, transforming him back into the missing Prince Justin, who had been cursed by a witch until he could receive a kiss from his true love.
By now, Sophie has fully transformed back to her youthful self (with the exception of her silver hair) and Howl recovers and sits up, immediately feeling the new burden of his restored heart, though glad to see Sophie again and comments on her 'starlight' hair. Though he has come to love Sophie as well, Prince Justin realizes that her love is for Howl and leaves to put an end to the war, as does Suliman, who has been spying on the group using Heen. Calcifer returns, realizing that he could not bear to leave his friends. Howl, Sophie, and the others are later seen aboard a new, flying castle powered by Calcifer of his own free will, high above the bomber planes now returning home from the end of the war. The film ends with Markl and Heen playing on a grassy area of the castle, overlooked by Calcifer, with the former Witch of the Wastes watching from a chair like a kindly grandmother, while Howl and Sophie share a kiss on a balcony at the head of the flying castle.
Differences between film and novel
Diana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
did meet with representatives from Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
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."
The film is very different from Jones's original novel. The plot is similar, but it is flavored with Miyazaki's familiar style. The plot is still focused on Sophie and her adventure while cursed with old age. The main action of the film's story takes place during a war, reminiscent of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
with monstrously large dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
-style battleships and airships. The film is located in a fantastical nation somewhat reminiscent of pre-World War I Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. Many buildings in the town are identical to actual buildings in the Alsatian town of Colmar
Colmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
, which Miyazaki acknowledged as the inspiration for its setting.
The novel is concerned with Howl's womanizing and his attempts to avoid finding a lost wizard and prince. The film is concerned with his attempts to avoid helping in a national war for pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
reasons. This aspect of the film's plot is actually rooted in Miyazaki's political views as a pacifist – in an interview with Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine, Miyazaki told the interviewer that the movie had started production "just as your country
The book detours for one chapter into 20th century Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
where Howl is known as Howell Jenkins and has a sister with children. This is not used in the film, but one of Howl's aliases is "The Great Wizard Jenkins."
Soundtrack
The soundtrack CD was first released on November 19, 2004 by Tokuma. Artist Joe HisaishiJoe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
also composed and conducted a Howl's Moving Castle: Symphony Suite, an album published on January 21, 2005 which includes ten re-arranged pieces from the original soundtrack.
Reception
Howl's Moving Castle received mostly positive reviews. As of August 2011, review aggregate Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 86% of critics gave positive reviews, based on 148 reviews, certifying it "Fresh". USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
critic Claudia Puig praised it for its ability to blend "a childlike sense of wonder with sophisticated emotions and motives" while Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
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
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, gave it two and a half out of four stars, and felt that it was one of Miyazaki's "weakest" films.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2005.- 2nd – Ella TaylorElla TaylorElla Taylor is a film critic who was a staff writer for the LA Weekly and Village Voice Media, writing film and book reviews, interviews, profiles, and cultural and political commentary from 1989 to 2009, when she and much of the staff were laid off....
LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
(tie) - 4th – Kenneth TuranKenneth TuranKenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country.... - 5th – Tasha Robinson The OnionThe OnionThe Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
- 6th – Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte ObserverThe Charlotte ObserverThe Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte, North Carolina and its metro area, is the largest newspaper, in terms of circulation, in North Carolina and South Carolina...
- 6th – Jonathan RosenbaumJonathan RosenbaumJonathan Rosenbaum is an American film critic. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for the Chicago Reader from 1987 until 2008, when he retired at the age of 65...
, The Chicago ReaderThe Chicago ReaderThe Chicago Reader is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded in 1971 by a group of friends from Carleton College...
(tie) - 8th – Michael SragowMichael SragowMichael Sragow is a film critic and columnist who has written for The Baltimore Sun, The New Times, The New Yorker , The Atlantic and salon.com...
, The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.... - 8th – Michael Wilmington The Chicago Tribune
- NA – Peter Rainer The Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
(Listed alphabetically)
Awards
- Osella Awards for Technical Achievement; 61st Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
- Best Japanese Movie Overall; 2004 Mainichi Film AwardsMainichi Film AwardsThe Mainichi Film Awards are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun , one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946.-Animation awards:...
- Excellence Prize, Animation; 2004 Japan Media Arts FestivalJapan Media Arts FestivalThe Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...
- Animation of the Year; 2005 Tokyo International Anime FairTokyo International Anime FairThe Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair is one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event is held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and...
- Best Director (Hayao Miyazaki); 2005 Tokyo Anime Awards
- Best Voice Actor/Actress (Chieko Baisho); 2005 Tokyo Anime Awards
- Best Music (Joe Hisaishi); 2005 Tokyo Anime Awards
- Audience Award; 2005 Maui Film Festival
- 1st Runner Up, Golden Space Needle Award; 2005 Seattle International Film FestivalSeattle International Film FestivalThe Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
- Nomination, Best Animated FeatureAcademy Award for Best Animated FeatureThe Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
; 78th Academy Awards78th Academy AwardsThe 78th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2005 and were held on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, with Tom Kane making his first appearance as the show's announcer...
External links
- Studioghibli.tv: STUDIO GHIBLI TV (trailers and other related anime works)