Howl's Moving Castle (film)
Studio Ghibli announced the production of two films in September 2001. The second project was an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' novel Howl's Moving Castle. Producer Toshio Suzuki stated that director Hayao Miyazaki read the book and became inspired by the image of a castle moving through the countryside. The original novel did not explain how such a structure could move, which led Miyazaki to imagine it walking on chicken legs. Mamoru Hosoda of Toei Animation was initially selected to direct the film but quit after executives rejected many of his concept ideas. The project was shelved until Miyazaki took over the role himself. Production resumed in February 2003 with a target completion date of spring 2004 for a summer release. Miyazaki traveled to Colmar and Riquewihr in Alsace, France, to study local architecture for the setting. He also drew inspiration from Albert Robida's concepts of futuristic technology. The film was produced digitally, yet the original backgrounds were drawn by hand before being digitized. Characters were similarly sketched by hand and then scanned into computers. The 1400 storyboard cuts were completed on the 16th of January 2004. In-between animation finished on the 25th of June, and checking concluded on the 26th of June.
A young milliner named Sophie encounters a wizard called Howl while visiting her sister Lettie. Upon returning home she meets the Witch of the Waste who transforms her into a ninety-year-old woman. Seeking to break the curse Sophie leaves her hometown and travels through the countryside. She meets a living scarecrow whom she calls Turnip Head. This figure leads her to Howl's moving castle which she enters without invitation. Inside she meets Markl, a young apprentice, and Calcifer, a fire demon who powers the castle. Calcifer makes a deal with Sophie agreeing to lift her curse if she breaks his link with Howl. When Howl appears Sophie announces that she has hired herself as a cleaning lady. Her nation is caught up in a war with a neighboring kingdom searching for its missing prince. The King summons Howl to fight but he refuses. He sends Sophie to the King under the pretense of being his mother to declare Howl too much of a coward to fight. A charmed ring given by Howl leads Sophie to Calcifer and guarantees her safety. She meets Suliman, the king's head sorceress, and the Witch of the Waste who is punished by having all power drained from her body.
Hayao Miyazaki stated that he had great rage about the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003. This feeling influenced the strong anti-war themes present in the film. On the eve of the war he decided to make a movie that would likely be poorly received in the United States. The brutality and futility of warfare are graphically depicted throughout the story. Entire cities are set aflame and the titular castle eventually falls apart. Animation scholar Susan J. Napier writes that Howl is placed under a spiritual form of curse. His horror and fury grow as he witnesses the fighting. Film critics Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc note that people are exploited and turned into something they are not in service of political agendas. A scene where Sophie stands in a beautiful field of flowers is interrupted by a war machine described as a finger accusing empire as the destroyer of peace. Andrew Osmond states that Howl's pure-hearted anti-war stance is presented as nihilism with no alternative. He fights forces from each side and becomes the worst terror of all in the form of a monstrous bird. By transforming into this bird Howl risks losing his humanity forever. Calcifer comments at one point that he will soon not be able to return to human form.
Miyazaki traveled to Alsace, France, to study architecture for the setting of the film. Additional inspiration came from Albert Robida's concepts of futuristic technology. Commentators state that Miyazaki's imagery was influenced by 19th-century European illusion art. The film was produced digitally but original backgrounds were drawn by hand before being digitized. Characters were also drawn by hand before scanning them into computers. The castle itself is a rotund collage of chimneys roofs steam pipes and other odd appendages borne along on mechanized bird legs. It resembles Baba Yaga's hut from popular fairy tales and is vaguely organic like a life-form. Suzuki stated that unlike many Western films which go from general to specific images Miyazaki employed a uniquely Japanese approach. He frequently began with a very specific image and moved from there. The battleships seen moving over the landscape are depicted as gleaming with modernity and parading righteousness. They are then shown to be highly destructive. In contrast the semi-organic castle demonstrates a Taoist presentation of industrialism needing to be aligned with nature. Miyazaki often depicts beautiful scenes in contrast to those containing symbols of modernity such as war machines.
The novel has a very large cast of characters and several plot threads too complex for the film. Sophie's second sister Martha is left out entirely along with the plot thread involving Markl courting her. Jones discussed the film with Studio Ghibli representatives but had no input or involvement in production. Miyazaki traveled to England in summer 2004 to give Jones a private viewing of the finished film. She said it was fantastic but noted she wrote books not films so differences were expected. The novel depicts Howl's castle as a tall dark and sinister wizard tower very different from the film version. The film's castle may be seen as a parody of machines driven by steam engines and magic. It is vaguely organic and almost depicted as a life-form. Calcifer is a demonic figure in the book compared to the endearing persona he has in the film. Both versions try to render fantastic elements as mundane things like cooking breakfast or washing up. In the novel Jones disrupts the fantasy setting by including travel to real-world Wales which the movie avoids. Miyazaki's biggest addition was using war as a large part of the plot since it only appears tangentially in the book. The Witch of the Waste is the chief antagonist in the book whereas in the film she becomes an ultimately harmless old woman.
The film opened at the 61st Venice Film Festival on the 5th of September 2004 before releasing in Japan on the 20th of November. It grossed $190 million in Japan and $46 million outside Japan for a worldwide total of $236 million. It became one of the most commercially successful Japanese films ever made. Soon after release it ranked third in financial success behind Titanic and Spirited Away. The film was later dubbed into English under Pete Docter's supervision and released in the United States on the 10th of June 2005. On home video Howl's Moving Castle sold 2.7 million DVD units in Japan. It grossed over unspecified amounts from Blu-ray and DVD sales in the United States where it was released on the 7th of March 2006. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an 88% approval rating based on 184 reviews with an average score of 7.5 out of 10. Critics praised its ability to blend childlike wonder with sophisticated emotions. Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars calling it a disappointment compared to other recent works. Jonathan Trout noted opaque plotting and a tendency to mope let momentum vanish into thin air. Stephen Hunter criticized the plot as meandering almost casually without force yet said the movie empowered young women.
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Common questions
When was the production of Howl's Moving Castle announced by Studio Ghibli?
Studio Ghibli announced the production of two films in September 2001. The second project was an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' novel Howl's Moving Castle.
Who directed the film Howl's Moving Castle after Mamoru Hosoda quit?
Hayao Miyazaki took over the role himself when Mamoru Hosoda quit after executives rejected many of his concept ideas. Production resumed in February 2003 with a target completion date of spring 2004 for a summer release.
Where did Hayao Miyazaki travel to study architecture for the setting of Howl's Moving Castle?
Miyazaki traveled to Colmar and Riquewihr in Alsace, France, to study local architecture for the setting. Additional inspiration came from Albert Robida's concepts of futuristic technology.
What year did the United States invasion of Iraq influence the anti-war themes in Howl's Moving Castle?
Hayao Miyazaki stated that he had great rage about the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003. This feeling influenced the strong anti-war themes present in the film.
When did the film Howl's Moving Castle open at the Venice Film Festival?
The film opened at the 61st Venice Film Festival on the 5th of September 2004 before releasing in Japan on the 20th of November.