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Howl's Moving Castle
ハウルの動く城
2004 · Film · 119 min
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
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23 comments on Hacker News
A movie theater in my city (northern europe) shown both Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle. It was just pure joy to watch them in big screen.
I wish they were remastered in 4K, though.
I rewatch many movies quite often. But the ones that really stand out, in no particular order...
Wargames Jurassic Park Evolution Unstoppable Lord of the Rings Die Hard 1, 2 and 3 Alien 1, 2 and 3 Back to the Future Ghost in the Shell (basically all of it, mostly seasons 1 and 2) The Martian Tron 1 and 2 Anything by Miyazaki, but Howl's Moving Castle even more so
I asked a frAInd what famous actors dubbed miyzazki movies:
"Spirited Away" (2001) - Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, and Susan Egan.
"Princess Mononoke" (1997) - Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, and Billy Bob Thornton.
"My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) - Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning.
"Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) - Christian Bale, Emily Mortimer, Jean Simmons, and Billy Crystal.
"Ponyo" (2008) - Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, and Liam Neeson.
"The Wind Rises" (2013) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.
"Porco Rosso" (1992) - Michael Keaton and Cary Elwes.
"Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989) - Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, and Janeane Garofalo.
My children have found most of the Studio Ghibli films unsettling and slightly scary. They watched them I guess when they were in the 6-10 age range and saw My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle etc. They refuse to watch Studio Ghibli films these days! I'd much rather watch them than Disney but they somehow couldn't cope with them.
I would add though, that if you aren't into subtitled movies the dubs are still perfectly serviceable and I'd still strongly recommend watching them. In the case of Howl's Moving Castle, I actually prefer the dub.
Yup. Even if you only look within a relatively small category of films one per year can miss a bunch. For example, consider the category of animated feature length films released after 2000 in the US, and pick one per year by picking the winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
In 2001 you'd miss Monsters, Inc. because of Shrek.
In 2002 you'd miss Lilo & Stitch because of Spirited Away.
In 2004 you'd miss Shrek 2 because of The Incredibles.
In 2005 you'd miss Howl's Moving Castle and Corpse Bride because of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
In 2008, no Kung Fu Panda because of WALL-E.
In 2009, no Coraline or Fantastic Mr. Fox because of Up.
In 2010 you'd miss How to Train Your Dragon because of Toy Story 3.
In 2011 no Kung Fu Panda 2 because of Rango.
In 2012 no Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, or Wreck-it Ralph because of Brave.
In 2014 no How to Train Your Dragon 2 because of Big Hero 6.
2015 no Shaun the Sheep Movie because of Inside Out.
2016 you miss Kubo and the Two Strings and Moana because of Zootopia.
2019 No How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World because of Toy Story 4.
2021 you'd miss Raya and the Last Dragon and Luca because of Encanto.
Most of the winners are good...but if you just put all the above mentioned films in a pool and asked most people to pick their top 14, most would have a lot of films on their list that were not among the winners of the aforementioned years.
it's certainly better in term of storytelling than some of the worst Ghibli's like Howl's moving castle, Tales from Earthsea (to be fair Hayao wasn't involved with the second). In general, I'd place it in the middle, not as good as the greatest movies but still quite good.
spirited away is amazing because of the chihiro's journey through the fantastical world of the kami, where she has to contend with not only her own present but generations past and all their virtue and vice. it's about the ever-present struggle to place oneself in a world built upon tradition and deference. this is a common theme in east asian tv and film, but miyazaki explores it in such an enveloping and actually rather gentle way, filled with symbolism and mysticism. the film's representation of coming of age seems to be external (overcoming spirits), but it's all about the girl's coming to terms with herself in relation to her parents and everyone who came before them. it's a blip in her life externally but internally, everything has changed. chihiro transforms in that little blip.
i haven't seen nausicaä yet, but all the ghibli films are great (except perhaps arrietty, as noted in a nearby comment). porco rosso was fun and more action oriented than most ghibli films. it's been a while since i've seen castle in the sky but it sits storywise between mononoke and howl's moving castle in my head.
yes, spirited away is hands down the best ghibli film, for that ability to grab your spirit and transform it alongside chihiro's (the young protagonist). it's probably one of my top 5 or top 10 films of all time.
i liked mononoke, but it felt heavy-handed in comparison, so it doesn't rate as highly in my book. it would have rated way worse had disney gotten its way with it.
edit: totoro would be #2, kaguya and grave of the fireflies would be tied for #3/4, then howl's moving castle at #5, then ponyo, mononoke, and kiki's delivery service would be among the remaining top 10 spots for me.
I've seen every Ghibli film except the Earthsea film, and I'd say the best are Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Princess Kaguya, and Totoro.
That said, I've liked pretty much every film they've made except Kiki's Delivery Service (I found it a bit dull) and Howl's Moving Castle (it just didn't work for me). They're pretty much all worth watching at least once.
Howl's Moving Castle really falls apart at the end, and it's a shame.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky are the most similar in feeling to Princess Mononoke. High fantasy, adventure, against all odds. (This is my favorite batch of Ghibli / Miyazaki / Takahata films.)
Spirited Away is an otherworldly coming of age treasure that cannot be missed. Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service feel similar. Whisper of the Heart is this too, just aimed a little older. (And if you like that, check out Your Name by Shinkai or Wolf Children by Hosoda - not Ghibli films, but very deserving of a watch if you like this sort of film.)
Grave of the Fireflies is a very poignant anti-war film.
FWIW, I bought the old Miramax domain name for Princess Mononoke and kept the website online [1]. It's one of my favorite films. I wish Miyazaki made more films like Mononoke and Nausicaa - they're sublime.
[1] http://princess-mononoke.com
Movies: - 12 angry men - Whiplash - Prestige - American Beauty - The Thing - V for Vendetta - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Gone Girl - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Parasite - ... Tarantino or Scorsese movies
Anime: - Howl's Moving Castle - Spirited Away
Not a movie but both great series: - Love, Death & Robots - Black Mirror
(minor spoilers for Deepness follow)
When I read Deepness I actually imagined in my head a Studio Ghibli like aesthetic for the spider world chapters. I thought if it were ever adapted into film or TV, it would be essential to display the spider world as the humans listening to their radio broadcasts imagined it, as a playful, colorful, animated world populated by anthropomorphized cartoon spiders. Given the level of technology and political environment, it would feel very similar to the city backdrops of Kiki's Delivery Service or Howl's Moving Castle.
It would also make the reveal at the end when the spiders and humans finally meet all the much more dramatic, as humans land on the planet to find not the cute lovable anime world we'd been watching, but the primordially scary reality of spiders with human-level intelligence.
>Anime is not the dominant form of media in Japan, and is largely targeted at a relatively narrow age band
But it seems very popular, out of the top ten highest grossing films in Japan, 5 are anime (Spirited Away, Demon Slayer, Your Name, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle), and the top two are Spirited Away and Demon Slayer.
In North America's top ten you will only find one animated feature, Incredibles 2, and it is at position ten.
By the way, if you loved Howl's Moving Castle, take a listen to the original novel on Audible. https://www.audible.com/pd/Howls-Moving-Castle-Audiobook/B002V5BB5U
An absolutely lovely performance and charming story...I may actually like it better than the film, though the film has a special place in my heart.
Oh man, you have got to watch some Studio Ghibli. Try Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle.
(edit: based on another of your comments you seem to be fully aware that there is great non-sexist non-objectifying anime out there, so your "almost any" comment is confusing. I don't know much about anime, but I've been watching some of the highest-recommended and rated films and they've all been great about this in my opinion.)
Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke are good. In fact, they're arguably some of his best.
But my favorites will always be Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and Whisper of the Heart. They may not be Miyzaki at his best, but they were the films that I loved the most.
The Wind Rises may also join the latter category. Either way, it's a really good film.
Finally, it should be noted that Kaze Ni Naru from The Cat Returns is possibly one of my favorite songs from any anime, ever. And I watch a lot of anime.
Suffice to say it's up on the list with A Cruel Angel's Thesis, and Tank. For you anime fans who know what that means, yes, it's that good, IMHO. YMMV.
I was essentially raised on Miyazaki. Some kids grew up with Toy Story and Finding Nemo, I grew up with Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Cat Returns. I mean, I watched other films to (a lot of other films), but Miyazaki had a huge influence me: without him, I would have likely never gotten into anime. To this day, his films are still some of my favorites.
Whoever made this tribute, you have my salute: The 3D CG, while quite obvious, blends very well with the rotoscoped animation, something that doesn't always happen (just look at some of Cowboy Bebop). It also captures the feel of Ghibli's animation amazingly well.
I salute the animator, and I also, of course, salute Hayao Miyazaki: Farewell, and may your legacy live on.
I haven't seen the Howl's Moving Castle film, but I haven't liked any book by DWJ, including that one.
Oddly, DWJ really liked the Howl's Moving Castle film, apparently.
As a Miyazaki/Ghibli fan, I got into the film more than the book.
I still need to read The Never Ending Story. But yeah, the movie of Rats of NIMH was super disappointing to me.
I have the audio book, but haven't listened to it yet. This just bumped it up to the top of my queue.
I felt the same way with Never Ending Story. And, as a kid, I loved that movie. Book was so much more, though.
Howl's Moving Castle was one where I actually had a hard time liking more than one or two scenes of the movie, because of how much I liked the book.
The Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away (2001) overtook Titanic and is still the highest grossing film in Japan.[1] Another Ghibli film, Howl's Moving Castle, also passed Mononoke on that list.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films_in_Japan
I never really liked Nausicaä, but I loved Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo.
Which Dune are you referring to? Film, Mini-Series, original or extended?