There is magic to be found in Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films and Howl’s Moving Castle is no exception. If a film comes out of Studio Ghibli you are guaranteed an incredible experience filled with beauty and emotion and I only wish I could afford to have all their films. The discontinued DVD’s go for a premium, so get these while you can. Yes, I am recommending buying this even before starting the review.
In 2004, Miyazaki’s loose adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel hit the Japanese theaters and quickly became the third highest grossing film in Japanese history. With only limited releases of Studio Ghibli films in the United States, I had to wait for the DVD to be released in 2006. It was worth the wait.
The Movie
The film begins with the title structure striding on screen, a belching steam powered monstrosity on mechanical legs lurching through the mist of an European countryside. It is a beautiful view of an ugly thing, something that only Miyazaki could pull off. Shortly after seeing the castle ambulate into the mist, the heroine of the movie is introduced.
Young Miss Sophie Hatter is a hat maker closing up business for the day at the family’s shop near a railroad track. As she exits the shop, we are treated to a panorama of busy city life. Flying machines buzz overhead, pulling a royal banner while steam powered cars and buses roam the streets. It is all classic steampunk that Miyazaki designs so well and is something of a trademark of his.
It is quickly apparent that this is war time and troops can be seen marching through the city. While taking a shortcut through a back street, Sophie runs afoul of two soldiers who begin hitting on her. A sudden rescue by a blond young man dressed in noble’s clothing leads to magic when he casts a spell on the randy soldiers -- making them march off like something from The Nutcracker ballet. But there is a hint of danger around the charming stranger as he insists that she walk with him as he is being pursued.
That walk is pure movie magic as they ascend to walk the air itself, floating over the crowded streets. Eventually, he deposits Sophie on the second floor balcony of the bakery where Lettie, her sister, works. There we learn more about the mysterious young man from a conversation between the sisters. Lettie is worried that the dangerous wizard Howl is after Sophie. Notorious for literally taking the hearts from beautiful young women, Howl is someone to be feared. But Sophie dismisses it because the wizard is only interested in beautiful girls – which precludes her.
The young hat maker returns to her late father’s shop, which she is determined to keep in business. A visit by a corpulent customer at this late hour introduces us to the Witch of the Waste, a vile woman with a grudge against Howl. One curse later and Sophie finds herself to be a shriveled old woman. Horrified by her reflection, she hides in her room before deciding to accept her fate. Leaving the city behind she travels into the hills.
In the countryside, old Sophie accidently rescues an animated scarecrow whom she dubs Turnip. Asking it to help her find shelter, it leads her to Howl’s Moving Castle. The ominous specter of flying battleships in the skies and the cold weather drive her inside, where she finds quite the mess.
There she meets Calcifer, a fire demon, living in the fireplace. He promised to break the spell she is under if Sophie will help break the one enslaving him. Shortly after that, a bearded dwarf enters the castle and is revealed to be a young boy in disguise. Markl doesn’t approve of granny Sophie being there but caves in quickly.
It isn’t long before Howl finally reappears through the magic door that leads to other places selected by a dial. Accepting of the newcomer right away, a strange kind of family begins forming. From there the adventure really begins.
Many memorable scenes fill the rest of the movie, including nightmarish images of flying ships burning down villages while Howl flies through in a strange humanoid bird form. The war is a constant backdrop with a feeling that is all out of control. The wizard is up to something and despises the war going on, but is commissioned to serve the King.
There is a marvelous subtheme about beauty, with Sophie believing herself to be of average looks and Howl thinking life isn’t worth living if he isn’t beautiful. A cleaning of the filthy castle leads to temper tantrum from the wizard when he uses the wrong rearranged potion to dye his hair. Convince his looks are ruined, Howl falls into a deep depression causing the room to darken and slime to ooze from his body.
“What's the point of living if you aren’t beautiful?” sobs the young man. Trapped in an aged body, Sophie hits her breaking point and angrily shouts, “I’ve never been beautiful!” before storming outside. There the buried pain of her curse and her life finally emerges in uncontrolled tears.
After putting him in his place, Sophie finds herself drawn into political and supernatural intrigue. Another victim of the pursuit of power turns out to be the Witch of the Waste. Once beautiful, her use of dark magic destroyed her. Howl is in similar danger, having sacrificed his heart to a demon for power years before. For some time he has been searching for the right girl and breaking hearts in his quest, including the Witch’s.
Will Sophie be able to save Howl and break her curse?
Howl’s Moving Castle is a beautiful film, filled with gorgeous imagery, deep emotion, and most of all – heart. At the core of the story are lessons on what really matters in life and what doesn’t. I very highly recommend this movie for families and adults. Little kids won’t get as much out of it and there are some scenes that will frighten small children.
The DVD
Disney did a really good job with the double DVD edition. The widescreen picture is clear and the 5.1 sound is excellent, adding much to the atmosphere. Another wonderful soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi graces the movie and is a work of beauty in its own right.
I watched the movie in the original Japanese with subtitles as I try to do with all foreign films. However, I did listen to the English soundtrack in a rather unique experience offered on the second disc. The only bonus on the second DVD is the complete storyboards of the movie set to the English dub. This turned out to be fascinating and I ended up watching the whole thing again that way.
The English dub is good, not as good as the original voice work, but better than just about any dub I’ve ever seen. Christian Bale voice Howl the same year as being in Batman Begins, so some of his voice work unintentionally made me envision the caped crusader. As the movie goes on, his performance improves. Lauren Bacall is terrific fun as the Witch of the Waste. While nothing like the original Bacall makes the character hers. Emily Mortimer is serviceable as young Sophie and Jean Simmons is better as old Sophie with a shining performance. Billy Crystal is fine as Calcifer, but lacks some of the nuance of the original, playing more for comedy. Blythe Danner does well with her small part. The rest of the voice cast tend to overplay their lines and sound like a mix of stage acting and high school plays.
On Disc 1, there is a fun documentary on the voice acting and English dub process. They had quite a challenge in translating and trying to fit the existing animation. Also in the extras is an interview with Pete Docter on the dub direction and a surprise visit by Miyazaki to Pixar Studios. The usual trailers and TV spots are included. All in all, this is quite a well rounded DVD edition and explains the extra cost. Miyazaki films are never cheap in the States.
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