Howl’s Moving Castle
Composite Score: 83.69
Starring: Chieko Baisho/Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons, Yakuya Kimura/Christian Bale, Akihiro Miwa/Lauren Bacall, Tatsuya Gashûin/Billy Crystal, Ryunosuke Kamiki/Josh Hutcherson, and Haruko Katô/Blythe Danner
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Genres: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Romance
MPAA Rating: PG for frightening images and brief mild language
Box Office: $237.54 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Howl’s Moving Castle is Hayao Miyazaki’s film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. It follows the story of Sophie, a young hatmaker who lives in a nation on the brink of war and finds herself cursed by a witch after refusing her service. In her quest to undo the curse, she seeks out Howl, a wizard who lives in “the Waste” in a moving castle, to see if he can right her life. As the film progresses, the audience learns about the backstory of Howl and his connection to the Witch of the Waste and his old mentor who is now the head magician to the king, seeking to capture Howl because of his great power and lack of a heart. Miyazaki’s fantastical adaptation focuses on appearances vs. reality and the healing power of love, crafting an enthralling story in the process with the help of his customary gorgeous animation. It’s one of the director’s best and one of the best animated films ever made.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Like virtually every Miyazaki film, Howl does not sit easily in any specific genre, containing elements of fantasy, romance, drama, and war without ever fully living in a single one of them. On the one hand, this means that the film has something to offer most types of fans, but at the same time, it will never make it to the top of any of those genre’s lists of greatest films because of its refusal to pick one. This won’t frustrate or surprise most viewers who are familiar with Miyazaki – indeed, it’s probably part of the reason why his films are so widely loved. However, new viewers might have a bit of difficulty adjusting to and processing the many levels of genre and storytelling going on in this film. Films like The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke, or Porco Rosso might be more immediately accessible Miyazaki films to ease into the director’s filmography.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
I sometimes feel like a broken record when I talk about the excellence of the animation in Miyazaki films, but he doesn’t miss. Howl’s Moving Castle is full of the director’s iconic creations – skyships, old women, jumping scarecrows, a beautiful blend of cottagecore and steampunk, you know what I’m talking about. Rarely have I ever seen animation of such believable fantasy creations, grounded in a reality that is familiar but not quite our own. Miyazaki captures the darkness and destruction of war, the wonder of a busy market, the beauty of a mountain field of flowers, and the fantastical nature of flight alongside his fantasy as well, truly drawing the audience into his world with that blend of familiar feelings and unique aesthetics. All told, I think Howl might contain some of the darkest animation and the brightest animation that the director has ever produced, and it all works together to further the film’s themes and story.
By basing the film around the story of a wizard and a girl under a spell, Miyazaki manages to immediately set up his theme of appearances vs. reality. Sophie seems very plain but has a beauty inside of her because of her compassion for others and later takes on the form of an old woman while still being young inside. The Witch of the Waste travels around in a litter and dresses as a wealthy aristocrat, yet seems to actually be a homeless and bitter wanderer. Howl intentionally makes himself as beautiful and garish as he can while in actuality he is a monster and a coward who wants to avoid human interaction as much as possible. These three serve as the central focus of the film’s story and conflict, allowing the audience to bask in the inconsistencies of what they are seeing versus what they know to be true. As the story plays with the ways that each character reacts to the way things look and eventually comes to understand the way things are, the audience is brought along as well, being invited to look past the surface of the film – a fantasy romance – and see the deeper story underneath – a critique of warfare and absolutism and a condemnation of the pursuit of knowledge/power over the pursuit of love and compassion. Yet again, by the film’s end, Miyazaki brings the audience to a place of deeper self-realization and a greater appreciation for the world they live in and the people in it, leaving the audience happy with the story of Sophie and Howl and with plenty more to ponder as well.
Miyazaki’s consistently creative and stunning animation helps sell the film’s theme of appearance vs. reality, which is at the heart of its message about knowing the people in your life well and what makes Howl’s Moving Castle one of the Greatest Films of All Time. Audiences unfamiliar with Miyazaki’s work and style might find this one less approachable than some of his more grounded titles, but this one elevates itself to greatness by blending genres artfully and telling a compelling story. It is currently available to stream on HBO Max for anyone looking to give it a watch or rewatch in the near future.
