A MAGICIAN, A WITCH, A CASTLE THAT HAS LIFE. A FANTASTIC JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF IMAGINATION.

A young hatter called Sophie encounters a witch who turns her into an old woman; she finds an ally in a wizard called Howl.

Hayao Miyazaki found inspiration in both a British novel and his own anger at the senseless Iraq War for this elaborate animated adventure that relies more on peace as a theme than the novel did. Impressive right from the start, with ideas and visuals that tickle one’s imagination, including that living, moving castle. Amusing supporting figures include a nervous fire demon, a living scarecrow, and the witch who faces an unexpected fate.

The story is a little hard to follow at times, but still very much worthwhile.

2004-Japan. Animated. 119 min. Color. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Novel: Diana Wynne Jones. Music: Joe Hisaishi. Voices of Chieko Baisho (Sophie Hatter), Takuya Kimura (Howl), Akihiro Miwa (Witch of the Waste), Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kimiki, Haruko Kato. 

Trivia: Original title: Hauru no ugoku shiro. Co-executive produced by Miyazaki and John Lasseter. In the English-language version, Emily Mortimer, Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Josh Hutcherson, Blythe Danner and Jena Malone provided voices.

Last word: “I did not deliberately try to deliver any educational ideologies or messages to the audience. If they really exist in my works, they are only revealing themselves naturally. Many people think that I am telling a very deep truth. Actually what I like is simplicity. The reason that we made Howl’s Moving Castle is that there are too many unhappy matters in the world, such as wars and economic crises. We hope that, through the movie, people can keep up their courage and see the hope. The future world is still nice and beautiful. It is worthy for us to survive and explore it.” (Miyazaki, Nausicaa.net)