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Howl's Moving Castle
(2004)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Chieko Baishô | ... |
Sofî
(voice)
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Takuya Kimura | ... |
Hauru
(voice)
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Akihiro Miwa | ... |
Arechi no Majo
(voice)
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Tatsuya Gashûin | ... |
Karushifâ
(voice)
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Ryûnosuke Kamiki | ... |
Marukuru
(voice)
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Mitsunori Isaki | ... |
Koshô
(voice)
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Yô Oizumi | ... |
Kakashi no Kabu
(voice)
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Akio Ôtsuka | ... |
Kokuô
(voice)
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Daijiro Harada | ... |
Hin
(voice)
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Haruko Kato | ... |
Sariman
(voice)
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| Jean Simmons | ... |
Grandma Sophie
(voice)
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| Christian Bale | ... |
Howl
(voice)
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| Lauren Bacall | ... |
Witch of the Waste
(voice)
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| Blythe Danner | ... |
Madame Suliman
(voice)
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| Emily Mortimer | ... |
Young Sophie
(voice)
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A love story between an 18-year-old girl named Sofî, cursed by a witch into an old woman's body, and a magician named Hauru. Under the curse, Sofî sets out to seek her fortune, which takes her to Hauru's strange moving castle. In the castle, Sophie meets Hauru's fire demon, named Karishifâ. Seeing that she is under a curse, the demon makes a deal with Sophie--if she breaks the contract he is under with Hauru, then Karushifâ will lift the curse that Sophie is under, and she will return to her 18-year-old shape. Written by Sophie Ball
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG for frightening images and brief mild language | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
JapanLanguage:
JapaneseRelease Date:
17 June 2005 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Howl's Moving Castle See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
$29,133 (Chile) (19 May 2006)Gross:
$82,187 (Chile) (2 June 2006)Company Credits
Production Co:
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, DENTSU Music And Entertainment, Mitsubishi See more »
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
In the Japanese version Chieko Baishô plays both Young and Grandma Sophie, while in the English dub it is split between Emily Mortimer as Young Sophie and Jean Simmons as Grandma Sophie. See more »Goofs
When Howl gives Sophie the ring, right before his line "Don't worry, I will follow behind in disguise," Howl's eyes are brown, not his normal blue. See more »Quotes
Young Sophie: It's all so familiar yet I know I've never been here before. I feel so at home.See more »
"Howl's Moving Castle" opened here in France on Jan. 12th (as "Le Château Ambulant," natch), and I saw it at an avant-première. As a raving fan of Miyazaki and of Diana Wynne Jones, I feel lucky to be an American living in France -- I see there's no release date announced yet for the U.S. Sorry, folks, and blame Disney!
I understand the feelings of viewers who have criticized the movie as trite. I find it's less imaginative, in terms of character development and emotional profundity, than Miyazaki's best masterpieces. However, even a pedestrian Miyazaki movie is infinitely more rich, frightening, imaginative and humane than any six Disney films put together, and there's a lot to love in "Howl's Moving Castle."
I am glad I didn't reread Jones' book before seeing the film; even going on my six-year-old memory of the novel, I can see the movie's a very loose adaptation, and I think Jones fans would do best to try to take the movie on its own merits instead of looking for a faithful adaptation. That said, Miyazaki is surprisingly successful, at moments, in capturing the richness of the novel's characters: the peculiar co-habitation of charm and terror in Howl the sorcerer and his demon companion Calcifer, and the pragmatic strength of will that makes us love Sophie, the protagonist, who embodies both the fairy-tale archetypes of the young girl and the old woman at once.
Miyazaki's directorial trademarks are here in spades. Most of them lend strength and power to the film: his passion for open landscapes, his vision of the power and horror of war, the uncompromised way his movies work to empower children, and especially girls. A few of them are just Miyazaki quirks that fans will recognize with amusement (walrus mustaches, cobbled European squares, and flying machines for everyone!) Richer and stranger, though, are the very successful integration of two things that Disney animation never even approaches: the way even a children's story can blur lines between an enemy and a friend, and the cohabitation of the monstrous and the sublime. Enemy, ally, monster, beloved: Miyazaki gives both visual and moral weight to these disturbing contradictions, and certain scenes in "Howl's Moving Castle" evoke a frightening sublimity I have never seen elsewhere than in "Princess Mononoke."
I think the film suffers from a slightly hurried pace, especially with respect to the protagonists' character development, and the result is a loss of the subtlety that makes Jones' book such a gripping fairy tale. Her Howl is more ambivalent, and her story is a more complex investigation of adolescent heartlessness and the growth of the heart. The ending, which falls back too much on clichéd imagery and deus-ex-machina, also could have been better handled. All that said, "Howl's Moving Castle" contains lots of treasures and will, I think, stand up to repeated viewings. Miyazaki fans will be delighted, and kids around the world should be given the chance to taste this latest rich, respectful children's tale. (Be warned, though: there are moments as terrifying as those in "Princess Mononoke," and younger kids will need their parents with them.)
On a final note, as few hardcore fans of Japanese anime will need to be reminded, the movie is doubtless best seen in its original version with subtitles. The Japanese voice acting is terrific -- although the voice of "young Sophie" doesn't strike me as anything special, the actors playing the aged Sophie, Howl, and especially Calcifer are fantastic. Calcifer is a magnificent creation and should delight even the most conservative fan of the novel. I have serious doubts that the inevitable English-language dub will do the nuances justice.