Movie Melting Pot … ‘Howls Moving Castle’ (Japan, 2004)

‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ is Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece.   Many think that ‘Spirited Away’ is the Japanese anime animator’s work of a lifetime.   However, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’s epic nature and beautiful storytelling puts it just above ‘Spirited Away’.

The film is based on the 1986 novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones and tells the tale of Sophie, a normal, teenage girl working in a hat shop who is transformed by the wicked Witch of the Waste into a 90-year-old woman.   Leaving her home, she finds refuge in a moving castle owned by a young wizard named Howl.   Inside the castle, Sophie meets Markl, Howl’s assistant, and a fire demon named Calcifer.   Calcifer can see Sophie’s true form, and the demon makes a deal with Sophie.   If she can break the contract binding Calcifer to Howl, than the fire demon will remove the aging curse from her.

This is the just the beginning of the epic tale.   The story branches off into so many directions, yet none of them are difficult to follow.   Miyazaki’s ability to adapt convoluted stories into epic screen adaptations is astounding.   It is only topped by his beautiful animation.   What is amazing about Miyazaki’s animation is the idea that he hardly ever uses computer generated imagery.   When it is used, it is only to “give a little boost of elegance” to the scene.   His film’s are all hand-drawn, 2D animation, something hardly anyone else can utilize to perfection in this day and age.

‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ is a film that holds all of Miyazaki’s themes firm in its grasp.   It touches on good versus evil, the anti-war idea that he almost always incorporates, and the idea of human flight, something Miyazaki is fascinated by.

Production on the film was completed in July of 2004.   Miyazaki had been retired, but departed from retirement when the original director of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, Mamoru Hosoda, suddenly left the project.   The film premiered at the 2004 Venice International Film Festival and won the Golden Osella award for animation technology. On November 20, 2004, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ opened to general audiences in Japan where it earned  ¥1.4 billion in its first two days.

The English language version was later released in the US by Walt Disney and featured the voices of Christan Bale as Howl, Emily Mortimer as Sophie, Billy Crystal as Calcifer, and Lauren Bacall as the Witch of the Waste.   This version was released in theaters on June 10, 2005, never made it to more than just a little over 200 screens, and earned $4.7 million.   This was a drop in the bucket in regards to how much the film earned worldwide.   It earned over $235 million internationally.

‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ is a work of art, a masterpiece by a true master of his respective craft.   Miyazaki is still making movies, and every one of them are incredible films, but none has reached the true grandeur and beauty that ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ achieved.