Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)
Diana Wynne Jones (novel)

Release Date:

20 November 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking home.

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Witch | Demon | Wizard | Fire

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Chieko Baisho	...	Sofî (voice: Japanese version)
Takuya Kimura	...	Hauru (voice: Japanese version)
Akihiro Miwa	...	Arechi no Majo (voice: Japanese version)
Tatsuya Gashuin	...	Karushifâ (voice: Japanese version)
Ryûnosuke Kamiki	...	Marukuru (voice: Japanese version)
Mitsunori Isaki	...	Koshô (voice: Japanese version)
Yô Ôizumi	...	Kakashi no Kabu (voice: Japanese version)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Kokuô (voice: Japanese version)
Daijiro Harada	...	Hin (voice: Japanese version)
Haruko Kato	...	Sariman (voice: Japanese version)
Jean Simmons	...	Grandma Sophie (voice: English version)
Christian Bale	...	Howl (voice: English version)
Lauren Bacall	...	Witch of the Waste (voice: English version)
Blythe Danner	...	Madame Suliman (voice: English version)
Emily Mortimer	...	Young Sophie (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Howl's Moving Castle (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for frightening images and brief mild language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | Dolby Digital EX (English-language version) | SDDS (English-language version) | DTS-ES (English-language version) | DTS-ES

Certification:

Mexico:A | Finland:K-7 | Australia:PG | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Zurich) | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 | Netherlands:MG6 (DVD rating) | Peru:PT | South Korea:All | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | New Zealand:PG | USA:TV-PG (cable rating) | France:U | Singapore:G | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:PG | Ireland:G | Brazil:Livre | Germany:6 (bw)

Company:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Trivia:

The character Pazu, from Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky, can be seen running in front of the Wizard Jenkins' door.

Quotes:

Howl: I can give you five minutes of invisibility so use it wisely.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Sekai no Yakusoku

This is art

Howl's Moving Castle is as marvelous and magical as Miyazaki's other great work. Something in Disney's advertising or the description I read gave the false impression that it was going to be sub-standard work meaning it was still going to be better than anything DreamWorks Animation was doing (Madagascar was sooo pedestrian).

While not as awe-inspiring as Spirited Away or action-packed as Mononoke, it does work on the level of Kiki's Delivery Service as a girl is forced to be better than she thinks she can be (well, that's not a big surprise, that's all his films). And as with all Miyazaki stories, the story teaches without being preachy. And the lessons learned are represented in character changes and in the character's physical appearance as well. It's that same attention to detail that has made Pixar so great.

The animation is wonderful. The castle is itself is a mesh-mash of so many haphazardly arranged pieces that an engineer would have an aneurysm just sorting them all out and yet it works. Through magic, of course. The magic being Howl's and the authoritative hand of Miyazaki's direction. The airships (wow, airships in a Miyazaki film? Who would have thunk?) are great variations of one's he's used before and there are some rather dark and beautiful scenes of a world at war.

Most of the voice work was very strong including Christian Bale (Howl) and Emily Mortimer (as the young version of the heroine, Sophie). The voice that surprised me was Billy Crystal as Calcifer, the little flame that could. He's the heart of the castle and only annoyed at his first few scenes then becomes a very likable character.

There a few clunky moments in the plot line where transitions between story points weren't very strong, but overall it's another outstanding film from Studio Ghibli. Even my 40 year old partner, who had spent the day mountain biking, was dead tired and had never seen a Miyazaki film stayed awake for the entire 2 hours. When we left at 3:30 in the morning still jabbering away about all the imagery and meaning, we realized we had seen true art.