Howl's Moving Castle

It's Tuesday, and I have come prepared with popcorn yay :D whats your Favorite flavor ?

As it is movie night there is obviously no other place you should go for anime movies other than Studio Ghibli, lets start with a classic - Howl's Moving Castle

As I have a fond love for Studio Ghibli (Meaning I have them all on DVD) I thought we would start with one of my favorite, Howl's Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film. Scripted and directed by the one and only Hayao Miyazaki, the film is based on the novel of the same name by British writer Diana Wynne Jones. 

Here's our characters:

Sophie Hatter:

Sophie is the eldest of her sisters and works in her fathers hat shop where she makes hats. She has long brown hair and although she is inclined to believe it because of her shy timid nature she is rather beautiful. She soon finds herself cursed by the witch of the waste and seeks out Howl to remove the curse.



Howl Jenkins Pendragon:

The charming handsome wizard that all girls fall for, he likes to keep to himself and spreads rumors about himself to keep his privacy.
He lives in his moving castle that roams the wastelands with a small boy named Markl and Calcifer the talking fire demon.

Calcifer: 
Calcifer is a fire demon in a magical contract with howl, and powers the castle to move throughout the wastes. He is also the main source of humor throughout the movie.



Now i'm not going to lie, I don't read books so I cant tell you how it compares to the book but this film is just amazing, nothing bring books alive more than when they are films and they're even better when they are anime films.

Lets begin, we meet Sophie working in her fathers hat shop and as the day finishes she goes to visit her sister. On her way she gets a little bit lost and ends up being harassed by some soldiers... 
Que the hero
Howl comes to her rescue and soon sends them away with a spell , but in solving Sophie's problem he has included her in his own. As the Witch of the Waste's henchmen descend down the alleyway, Howl and Sophie escape into the sky, and walk through the sky and land on the balcony of the bakery.

The artwork is second to none as always with Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, the music that plays just accentuates the feel of magic.

As he leaves her you can tell that her heart has fluttered and she has fallen just as every girl has before her.

Speaking with her sister she warns her that Howl might try to steal her heart, but i think it has already been stolen.

As she returns home to the shop she is confronted by the Witch of the Waste, now she has one hell of a chin that lady!! like how many chins can one person have.

Before leaving she curses Sophie to turn into an old lady because she wants Howl all for herself and doesn't want any competition, i'm sorry honey but i don't think any man is going to love you with that any chins! Bye Felicia.

Sophie being herself thinks that she is befitting of being an old lady as she already dresses like one anyway, but the next morning she leaves home and heads towards the waste in hopes to find the witch to undo the curse.

On her journey she meets a magic scarecrow that has a nasty curse placed upon him, and he helps her to find somewhere to stay the night... Howl's castle, not exactly the inn she had in mind but it'll do.

So as the elderly lady breaks into his house, she meets Howl's young apprentice Markl and Sophie announces that Calcifer has hired her as a cleaning lady after seeing the awful mess of the castle.

Cleaning lady! that thing needs like knocking down ans rebuilding.

May all your bacon burn!

At the present time Sophie's country is caught in a war with its neighboring country, following the disappearance of their Prince. The king then summons Howl, under two different names that he is also know by as the king wants all the witches and wizards to fight in the war.

However Howl has another idea, he sends Sophie to see the King as Howl's mother as she leaves her offers her a magic ring that is connected to Calcifer and will guide her back to the castle no matter what. She meets the Witch of the Waste on her way to the castle, as the Witch literally melts into her chair Suliman (the King's magic adviser) begins her plan plan and punishes the Witch of the Waste by taking away her powers causing her to turn into a harmless old lady. Oh the Irony !

Suliman realizes Sophie's true relation to Howl and her deep romantic feelings for him, Howl can sense that he's been rumbled and swiftly makes his move to rescue Sophie disguised as the king. Suliman tries to trap Howl, but with Sophie's help they manage to escape taking Heen (Sulimans dog) and the former Witch of the Waste with them.

She also learns that Howl can transform into a bird-like creature and has been using this ti interfere in the war, but each time he transforms it makes it more difficult to return to human. Sophie fears that his remaining time as a human is limited and in her worries Howl leaves to go back to the war.

Shortly after Sophie's new flower shop that Howl made for her is attacked by a carpet bomb, and although Howl manages to save the shop Sullimans henchman are hot on their tails. After protecting them all Howl tells Sophie that hes not going to run away anymore as he has something he wants to protect.

Awwww is it love? or is Howl just into Granny's :P

Concluding that Howl is trying to protect the castle and everyone in it, Sophie moves everyone out... even Calcifer. Uh Oh!

And thus destroys his castle so that no one else has to, she offers Calcifer her braid to allow him to power a portion of the remaining castle.

As they head towards Howl to let him know that everything is ok the Witch of the Waste realizes that Howl as given his heart o Calcifer, just like Sophie did with her hair. She takes Calcifer and refuses to let go of him even though he is engulfing her in flames, as Sophie panics she pours water onto the Witch of the Waste which also douses Calcifer, making him lose his magic.

As the castle falls apart all that is left is the door, as Sophie enters into the "black region" she discovers how Howl and Calcifer met and because Howl gave his heart up as a boy he is emotionally stuck in adolescence,

Sophie finds howl in a bad state, now having lost human consciousness. They head back and Sophie places Howls heart back into his chest, returning him to life and freeing Calcifer.

And so it goes on to a happy ending.

I would 100% recommend this, it is a great adaptation from the book, the art work is amazing, the music is befitting in every way and ever drawing you closer.

I would rate this 5 angry fire demons out of 5 :D

If you enjoy Studio Ghibli then stay tuned next week for another movie night. :D


*All writing in blue is taken from Wikipedia and all images belong to their perspective owners