Howl's Moving Castle (Steelbook)

I am new to Miyazaki and to anime, and don't usually watch many animated films, although I have enjoyed some titles like Persepolis, Waltz with Bashir, and Secret of Kells in the last couple of years. I had heard some great recommendations for Miyazaki, so thought I would start with Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, as both are recent titles that I knew had been strong at the UK Box Office and had been an Oscar winner/nominee. They were both great films, but for me HMC has the edge. I think it's a good choice if you are new to Miyazaki and Japanese films, as it has a British/European feel to it, particularly in terms of the character Sophie and the locations. (Also while HMC does feature a few bizarre language-less blobby monsters and creatures, there are fewer of these than in Spirited Away, perhaps this is what makes it seem like it has a better flow and sharper pacing) Visually this film is very beautiful and very striking - both when it is portraying the fantastical (Howl as a bird, the ramshackle moving castle) and when it is portraying the more mundane (the elderly drooping face of Sophie, or the rolling fat of the obese Witch of the Waste). The colours are vibrant and the sense of movement in the film feels very strong. At the centre of the story is the young girl Sophie who is transformed into a 90-year-old by an evil curse, and in the English-dubbed version Sophie is voiced by two actresses - Emily Mortimer as young Sophie and Jean Simmons as elderly Sophie (I think it's a lovely detail explained in the Extras on the DVD, that the producers listened to the voice of Jean Simmons as a young woman, and then chose Emily Mortimer because her voice matched the young Jean). One thing in the film that I found especially imaginative and striking was the moments (particularly towards the end of the film) when the images and voice of Sophie moved between young/old. For example, a frame in which Sophie feels hope and love for Howl might show Sophie as visually old but with the young Sophie's voice. There were also several times that visually she was at some in-between stage moving between young and old (indicated by variations in the greyness of hair, length of hair and posture which were all subtly altered). Very imaginatively done. There are some dark themes in the film (war planes in the night sky, Howl's depression/difficulty adjusting when coming back from the dark side to 'normal' life, the threat of death). However there is also a great deal of humour - for example the character of Calcifer (voiced by the always-funny Billy Crystal, although perhaps a little under-used), and there's a particularly funny scene where the obese Witch of the Waste and the elderly Sophie (carrying a dog) are struggling to climb an extremely long flight of stairs while trying to maintain some dignity! ***** One thing to note: I wish I had know before purchasing from Amazon, that this product was the English dubbed version, as I usually prefer to watch foreign language films in their original language with sub-titles. However I found that it really wasn't distracting (in the way it can be on a 'live action' movie), and it didn't jar with the context of the film (British/European style settings). Apparently in the original Japanese version they only used one voice for Sophie throughout, and as I noted above I felt that the use of two voices for the young/elderly Sophie added to the strengths of the film, so there are advantages to getting the English dubbed version after all!

Based loosely on the book by british author diana wynne jones, Howl's moving castle is a dazzling and spectacular, make-believe fantasy directed by the legend Hayao miyazaki. It has all the Miyazaki brilliance and charm, it has amazing characters trapped in circumstances beyond one's imagination, it has breathtakingly beautiful landscapes and open spaces, it has its hearfelt uplifting moments, it has Joe hisaishi's heavenly score, capable enough of transporting the viewer into a magical, mystical world on its own, it has everything else one ever expects from a Miyazaki or a Studio Ghibli film....and above all it has a message! Howl's moving castle is Studio Ghibli's strongest anti-war statement after "Grave of the fireflies". The story of Howl's moving castle revolves around a young girl sophie who works in a hat shop. After she is saved by a wizard, Howl, from the dark forces, Sophie is turned into a 90 year old wrinkled old woman by the witch of the waste, out of jealousy. In the wilderness, Sophie comes across this strange moving castle wherein she takes refuge. Howl happens to be the master of the castle. While howl fights demons and dark forces in the war torn land, Sophie is left alone alongwith a fire demon Calcifer to take care of the magical moving castle which seems to posses supernatural powers in itself. Even its doors lead to different worlds! The plot gets deeper and complex as Sophie and Howl, alongwith few other amazing characters such as a scarecrow and a very strange dog, try finding resolutions to all the problems surrounding them. Due to its interwoven sub-plots and complexities, Howl's moving castle easily calls for multiple viewings. Only Miyazaki could have told a story as complex as this one with such a grace and charm! Even the most unbelievable and wierdest characters come alive amidst gorgeous settings in a Miyazaki film!! Howl is an unforgettable experience which certainly leaves the viewer spellbound, craving for more. Miyazaki's attention to details in the film is, as usual, stunning. Character animation looks absolutely flawless and is certainly more complex and richer than in any other ghibli film. Animation on the castle alone is jawdropping. Each and every frame of the film is lush, detailed, a true piece of art, putting to shame anyone who thinks traditional animation is a thing of the past. The hand drawn beauty and feel of the film Howl's moving castle easily surpasses any of the recent digitally animated films by leaps and bounds. With Howl's moving castle, Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have once again successfully proved that they work only for the projects they believe in. Without succumbing to the market needs or giving a damn to the ongoing trend or formulas in the industry, they rather follow their own hearts and minds, exploring new horizons in art and cinema with their unusual storylines and experimental subjects. Howl's moving castle is a grand film with a soul, a meaning and a purpose.

Great film

I watched this film before reading the original book, and now that I have done both i must say I much preferred the film. Although the book is wonderful, the way the world of 'Howls Moving Castle' is portrayed in this beautiful animation is so much better. in a way I find anime films comforting as they have the perfect amount of beauty, fantasy, childlike imagination, intriguing story and of course breathtaking artwork and music. I definitely found that 'Howl's Moving Castle' had this in abundance. The main character is Sophie, a lovely girl who gets taken for granted by her step mother. One day Sophie unintentionally annoys a witch and a curse is put on her which turns her into an old woman. Sophie is thrust into a world she has never known, and with her new found age comes a certain level of confidence. She no longer cares what people think of her so much, and forgets to be scared of the wizard Howl who lives in a moving castle. In fact she pushes her way into his household like only an old nosey woman can. With entrance into his magic home Sophie meets new people and finds she is pulled into Howls magical battles. My favourite character in this film apart from Sophie who i think is best when she's an old woman and very funny. Is Calcifer, the magical flame that resides in Howls castle, he's very funny and endearing, and I must say when i watched the English dubbed version of the film Billy crystal who plays Calcifer makes the character even better. All in all a must watch for anyone who just loves to be swept up in a magical tale.

My opinion of howl's moving castle brings me to fight with myself over what i really believe. There are many things i love and many things i feel could have been better in this presentation. I will explain as follows in my review: I think the first thing i will mention, the single most important thing that made Howl's moving castle a success. Fans of Miyazaki will know his name and most probably have shrines of him on your bedroom walls. This is one of the things that made Miyazaki's animations brilliance. This is Joe Hisaishi. The soundtrack for this film is Hisaishi's best work for Miyazaki yet. The classical waltz, the fanfares and the chases are pure classic works of passionate genious. The most memorable moment in the film for myself is the scene where Howl takes a stroll through the sky with Sophie. The song for this scene convieniently named "stroll through the sky". Beautiful, genuinly beautiful. Strings with typical european piano to back it up joining together with fan fares and drums to create this memorable and literally almost tear drawing peice of music! You all know what i mean. Another thing i noticed about this film was the characterisation, i think it is spot on. We feel sorry for sophie the whole way through and genuinly admire her confidence and bright atitude towards all her hardships. A pretty young girl standing up for what she beleives in throughout with only the best intentions, well most of the time! And then there is howl, for me not Christian Bale, for obvious reasons. The vain, stoppy, romantic typical teenager with nothing more on his mind than to be great and come across as the best thing since sliced water. I think we've all been there, (i'm still there). And we have the scarecrow. A somewhat very Miyazaki idea, but nessacerry to drum into you that this place, is FULL of magical surprises. That's enough about the characters i think, you've all seen it anyway! Another thing that makes this great is of course the animation, Miyazaki is renound for his elegance in animation, bright colours, not cutting corners anywhere! Moving Castle is full of colour and humor, it draws you in and doesnt let go. It's like being in another world, and i certainly did'nt want to come out. Some of the not so good points i felt about this film was perhaps, (Very vuage.. i just cant pin point it) the story was not as perfectly adapted as many others, or perhaps too adapted? that we lost focus on the main point of the movie Sophie.Forgetting what was going on. Perhaps there was just too much to worry about compared to Spirited away and other works of wonderbrill. All in all Moving Castle is stunning, funny, charming and true to Miyazaki's ethics. Perhaps not so much to my taste, but no doubt a cirtain classic.

This film is perhaps the most beautiful, most amazingly scripted Studio Ghibli film yet but still we are getting people complaining that it "isnt like the book". I ask you, since when has ANY film been exactly like a book?!! How can you pick on this film when it has been made so amazingly and when its storylines are so intricate anyway that it does not matter that its not the same. How can you take 2 artforms and expect them to give you the same overview or feeling even if one is based on the other. Secondly people who are saying they didnt understand the storyline have to watch it a few more times. Its not a film where everything becomes clear on the first viewing, therefore making it amazing to watch over and over! Its not a film you watch once and then put it in the case, never to be opened again. And please dont complain that you dont understand why things happen, its well known that anyone with a bit of common sense would realise that it is the most beautiful thing to do by leaving some parts open to interpretation and letting your mind roam free over the subjects that this film is portraying to you. It is the beauty of so many of these films that it lets you do this without ruining your viewing and by giving you small clues as to what is actually happening each time you see it. This film is a MUST BUY for any lover of studio ghibli animated films. And will not let you down as long as you can think a little beyond having to have all the information spoonfed to you like a disney would do.

This movie is one of the most beautiful and fascinating animation that I've ever seen not like anything else. Just the first scene, where a dashing charming wizard grabs Sophie and fly away, sweeps you off your feet as an audience and takes your breath away. The scene puts a spell on you to continue watching with strong feelings. The work of Art is magnificently portrayed as well as for the characters and actions. Hayao Miyazaki is a great master film maker and this movie is a great masterpiece of his. His vision of it was far too wonderful than the novel. It is like he adapted the original story and transferred it to a better plot and image. He arranged and invented some actions in the Novel, which is not quite charming as the movie, and made it perfect. However, there are few takes on the movie. I couldn't understand some parts until I read the novel, like why did Howl make a contract with the demon, how did Sophie break off her spell and why there was war and between whom. Also, I'd have loved to see Howl kills the witch of the waste like the original story but I guess Miyazaki wanted to explain the theme of goodness wins over evil. I also loved the war theme and how Howl handled it. Over all: A fascinating masterpiece.

I've never read anything by Dianna Wynne Jones, but even so, this is a definite film to partner all of your other Studio Ghibli DVDs. It has a lovely storyline, memorable characters, brilliantly animated special effects and enough action to keep you going. Sophie Hatter (a particularly good name for a hatmaker!) is a bored teenage girl, uncertain about what she really wants from life and is swept off her feet by a more than handsome wizard named Howl, who she later discovers to be less than clever and quite selfish. After a mysterious curse takes away her youth and turns her old, she has to figure out how she can break the spell over her. To do that, she travels to the Wastes, meets a scarecrow who also seems to be cursed because he can walk on his one leg, and seeks refuge in Howl's Moving Castle which looks like it will collapse at any moment. Her relationship with Howl becomes stronger since the day on which her sister warned her about him whilst she's in the castle, and she has to put up with his tantrums and commands for her to do exactly what he says. Whilst she works as his cleaning lady, though she never intended to become a worker, she learns from Calcifer, a fire demon voiced by hilarious actor Billy Crystal in the English script for the film, that Howl is missing a heart, the only thing that will give him the chance to do heartfelt things and save him from flying around as a giant bird, and later growing enough feathers to stuff a duvet. As a blonde up until the scene when his hair changes from beautiful bronze to blue black, he's a dishy fellow, and one to outshine Batman. Sophie is pretty as a young girl, with or without brown hair, and is a considerate, respectable old lady whilst she searches for a remedy to her curse, and later, Howl's. Next to "Spirited Away" and "Laputa: Castle In The Sky", it's got the feel good factor and a few beautifully emotional scenes in which one can really feel for the characters.

Magnifique film d’animation

Molto originale la storia, bellissimi i disegni, stupendi i fondali ed i colori brillanti. Un’opera che vale la pena possedere e conservare per sempre. Un autentico gioiello d’animazione del grande regista giapponese Hayao Miyazaki.

中古-非常に良いを購入しました。 ケースも中身もとても綺麗で、誤作動に今のところ不備はありません。 ハウルの動く城は、うちの子供達に大人気です(^^)

Gran producción y muy bonita. Otra espectacular película de Studio Ghibli, así que con estas dos palabras digo todo lo necesario para saber que vale la pena.

Auf dem Weg zu ihrer Schwester wird die junge Hutmacherin Sophie von zwei Soldaten in einer Gasse belästigt. Aus dem Nichts taucht ein Mann auf, der sie aus der Situation befreit, indem er vorgibt, ihr Begleiter zu sein. Doch die Rettungsmission ist nicht ganz uneigennützig, denn der Mann wird verfolgt und möchte sich in Sophies Begleitung verbergen. Für Sophie bleibt die Begegnung nicht ohne schwerwiegende Folgen, denn eine eifersüchtige Hexe belegt Sophie mit einem Fluch und verwandelt sie kurzerhand in eine alte Frau. Auf äußerst humorvolle Weise zeigt der Film Sophies relativ nüchterne Reaktion auf die veränderte Situation und ihre beinahe fröhliche Akzeptanz der Tatsache, eine steinalte Frau geworden zu sein. Da sie ihren Zustand jedoch vor ihrer Familie geheim halten will, macht sich Sophie auf in das Tal der Furchen, wo bekanntermaßen nur Zauberer und Hexen hausen, doch als alte Dame (die bereits verflucht ist) fürchtet sie nichts mehr. So kommt es, dass Sophie eine sehr lebendige Vogelscheuche trifft und ein wandelndes Schloss entert, in dem Feuerdämon Calcifer, der vorlaute Zauberlehrling Markl und Zauberer Hauro hausen, der die Herzen schöner Mädchen verspeist. Sie quartiert sich dort eigenmächtig als Putzfrau ein und sorgt für mehr Wirbel und Sauberkeit, als das Schloss und seine bequemen Bewohner vertragen. Das alles bildet den Nährboden für viel Witz, Wortgefechte zum Tränen lachen und Abenteuer – vor allem, da die alte Dame mehr Elan an den Tag legt, als sie es als junge Frau je gewagt hätte. Doch der näher rückende Krieg lässt auch Grund zur Sorge aufkommen. Obwohl man die Details des Krieges nicht kennt und auch nicht so richtig erfährt, wer da mit wem warum im Streit steht (der Strang wirkt insgesamt auch etwas notdürftig in die Handlung hineingezwängt), bietet er die Möglichkeit, sich mit der tragischen Natur des Krieges auseinander zu setzen. Hauro, der sein Möglichstes versucht, um den Krieg zu beenden, büßt dabei immer mehr seiner magischen Kräfte und seiner Menschlichkeit ein, bis nur noch Sophie ihn retten kann. Doch dazu gilt es mehr als nur den eigenen Fluch zu brechen und die miteinander verwobenen Geheimnisse mehrerer Beteiligter zu lüften. Fachwerkhäuser, Dampfmaschinen, ein französisch anmutendes Stadtbild samt musikalischer Untermalung und eine bunte Vielfalt bei der Ausarbeitung der Kulissen zeichnen das Bild einer kunstvollen Industrielandschaft des ausklingenden 19. Jahrhunderts, die sich im Umbruch befindet. Wie man es von Regisseur und Studio gewohnt ist, trumpft Das wandelnde Schloss mit surrealen Ideen, einer zauberhaften Farbwelt und vielen liebevollen Details auf. Auch die Charakterzeichnung ist optisch wie inhaltlich ein herrlicher Genuss. Der Zuschauer beobachtet nicht nur, wie auf zauberhafte Weise aus der unscheinbaren Sophie eine selbstbewusste und mutige Persönlichkeit wird, sondern auch den Meister Hayao Miyazaki einmal mehr bei seinem schöpferischen Talent. Wenig überraschend hat sich aber leider auch bei diesem Film die deutsche Synchronisation einmal mehr nicht mit Ruhm bekleckert. Neben den ewig gleichen, teils schläfrig anmutenden Stimmen die einem in scheinbar jedem eingedeutschten Anime begegnen, zieht vor allem die junge Sophie ein bitteres Los. Die 1958 geborene Sprecherin Sunnyi Melles schafft es ganz hervorragend, die alte Sophie zu präsentieren und ihrer Figur Leben einzuhauchen, doch so gut wie ihr das hier gelingt, so unsagbar schlecht funktioniert die Stimme bei einer jungen Frau von etwa 18 Jahren. Es schüttelt mich immer wieder, wenn ich den Film einlege und die junge Sophie zu sprechen beginnt. Ganz schön wäre es außerdem gewesen, wenn man sich bei den Namen der Figuren mehr ans englische Original gehalten und die durch die japanische “Silbensprache” bedingten Namensänderungen (aus Howl wird Hauro, aus Michael wird Markl, etc.) wieder ausgeglichen hätte. Buchvorlage: Das wandelnde Schloss ist die Verfilmung des Romans Howl’s Moving Castle (Sophie im Schloss des Zauberers) von Diana Wynne Jones. Die Autorin führte neben Hayao Miyazaki ebenfalls Regie bei der Umsetzung des Films. Inhaltlich unterscheiden sich Buch und Film in verschiedenen Punkten, doch die wichtigsten und lustigsten Inhalte wurden übernommen, sodass Fans des Buches den Film durchaus genießen und gleichzeitig neu entdecken können.