But it was not to be. While the movie contains delights and inventions without pause and has undeniable charm, while it is always wonderful to watch, while it has the Miyazaki visual wonderment, it's a disappointment, compared to his recent work. Adapted from a British novel by Diana Wynne Jones, it resides halfway between the Brothers Grimm and 'The Wizard of Oz,' with shape-shifting that includes not merely beings but also objects and places.
May 30, 2019 Howl’s Moving Castle has enough metamorphoses to make Ovid’s head spin. The mercurial Howl goes through numerous mutations. He turns into a hawklike creature in order to do battle with dirigibles, but each alteration leaves him closer to being permanently trapped as a monster. He begins the film with bangs as blond as the front man in a boy. The movie starts with Sophie Hatter, a timid girl of 18, decorating hats in the hat shop of her late father. Some of the other girls exclaim as they see Howl's Moving Castle near the city. Sophie leaves the shop, and is walking home when two soldiers harass her. It is then that she has a lucky encounter with the notorious Wizard Howl. He escorts her to the bakery of her sister, Lettie Hatter.
Chief among the shape-shifters is the castle itself, which can swell with power and then shrivel in defeat. Inside the castle are spaces that can change on a whim, and a room with a door that opens to -- well, wherever it needs to open. The Castle roams the Waste Lands outside two warring kingdoms, which seem vaguely 19th-century European; it is controlled by Howl himself, a young wizard much in demand but bedeviled with personal issues.
The story opens with Sophie (voice by Emily Mortimer), a hatmaker who sits patiently at her workbench while smoke-belching trains roar past her window. When she ventures out, she's attacked by obnoxious soldiers but saved by Howl (voice by Christian Bale), who is himself being chased by inky globs of shapeless hostility. This event calls Sophie's existence to the attention of Howl's enemy, the Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall), who fancies Howl for herself, and in a fit of jealousy, turns Sophie into a wrinkled old woman, bent double, and voiced now by Jean Simmons. For most of the rest of the movie, the heroine will be this ancient crone; we can remind ourselves that young Sophie is trapped inside, but the shape-switch slows things down, as if Grandmother were creeping through the woods to Red Riding Hood's house.
Leaving town in shame and confusion, Sophie meets a scarecrow (Crispin Freeman) who bounces around on his single wooden leg and leads her to Howl's castle. Sophie names the scarecrow Turniphead, and we think perhaps a lion and a tin man will be turning up before long, but no. Nor is the castle run by a fraudulent wizard behind a curtain. Howl is the real thing, a shape-shifter who sometimes becomes a winged bird of prey. So is his key assistant Calcifer (Billy Crystal), a fiery being whose job is to supply the castle's energy. Sophie also meets Markl (Josh Hutcherson), Howl's aide-de-camp, and sets about appointing herself the castle's housekeeper and maid of all work.
Howl’s Moving Castle is a 2004 fantasy film by Studio Ghibli, adapted from the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The film, like the novel, is set in a world where magic is a common phenomenon and used by many magicians. Howl’s Moving Castle revolves around Sophie, a young hat-maker who encounters the titular wizard, Howl. Because of this encounter, Sophie gains the ire of the Witch of the Wastes and is cursed into a 90-year-old by the Witch. Sophie then finds herself working for Howl as a cleaner in hopes of finding a way to undo this curse.
The central focus of the film is Sophie’s metamorphosis from a shy and unmotivated person to someone who is more confident and loving. However, the film also makes a point in developing its other characters, especially Howl. Kathryn Hansen’s analysis, “Physical Metamorphosis in Howl’s Moving Castle” argues that the physical transformations the characters undergo in the film reflect the character development. Sophie’s transformation into an old lady is the best evidence for this.
Throughout the film, Sophie gradually changes from a hunched ld lady to a more dignified and younger self whenever she experiences moments of self-confidence and assurance because of her growing relationship with her new companions. In the end, she is able to break the curse by herself, signifying this newfound self and her love for Howl. Meanwhile, Howl is also changed by Sophie’s acts of love and becomes more selfless and courageous, as opposed to the vain wizard who was trying to run away from his responsibilities in the beginning of the film.
Another focus of the film is the war that is already happening when the film begins. In Devon Gordon’s interview with Miyazaki, “A Positive Pessimist”, Miyazaki expresses his disdain over U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq, further noting that his version of Howl’s Moving Castle is affected by this war.
In the film, the kingdom that Howl works for is currently in war with another country and is recruiting all the magicians it could find to bolster its forces. This is a contrast to America and its rallying of flags whenever the war with Iraq first broke out. Furthermore, the steampunk-inspired technology present in the film is there to emphasize the militaristic nature of the kingdom.
Howl's Moving Castle Movie Poster
At the center of this conflict is Howl. Howl works against his former teacher, who practically has more power than the king, by sabotaging the kingdom’s forces in order to avoid this war. His efforts can be seen as a commentary of a world that doesn’t want this senseless war that could claim many innocent lives.
Howl’s Moving Castle is a film that emphasizes change. All the characters change for the better, ending the film in an optimistic note, especially regarding its anti-war subtext. The main antagonist’s decision to end the war after seeing her former pupil’s and Sophie’s efforts encourages change through pacifistic methods and reflects Miyazaki’s pacifistic stance towards war.
Howl's Moving Castle Movie Free
References
Physical Metamorphosis in Howl’s Moving Castle. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2014, from
Gordon, D. (Interviewer) & Miyazaki, H. (Interviewee). (2005). A ‘Positive Pessimist’ [Interview Transcript]. Retrieved from The Daily Beast Web Site: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2005/06/19/a-positive-pessimist.html
Howl's Moving Castle Movie Watch
Miyazaki, H. (Director). (2004). Howl’s Moving Castle [Motion Picture]. Japan: Studio Ghibli