Howl's Moving Castle: Romance, Fantasy, and Anti-War Messaging

In 2004 Hayao Miyazaki released his next film after the incredible success of Spirited Away. By the time he released Spirited Away he was already a household name in Japan and was slowly gaining popularity in America. but Spirited Away was dubbed by Disney and a lot of effort was put into selling it to American audiences. It marked a rather large shift for how the general American public received anime and the relative popularity of Japanese animation moving forward to the western world – I hear every anime fan grumbling now, you were not the target demographic for the campaign push, people like me with limited to no experience with anime were – After the success of Spirited Away a lot of people were anticipating what would be next, and Howl’s Moving Castle it was. Based on a book of the same name where as Spirited Away was about a girl overcoming the odds and finding strength in herself, Howl’s Moving Castle is more of a love story but with several underlying themes. Like Spirited Away it received a strong push to be dubbed as well for American audiences and released in America in 2005.

Howl’s Moving Castle opens with the quiet and meek Sophie making hats in her hat shop. We are given a lot of information about her in a rather quick glimpse. While the other women around her are chatting and laughing she is completely silent and sad looking. When they leave for the day she just keeps working. And when Sophie does go out into the world she is confronted by two men who are being rather aggressive in their advances toward her and not accepting her shy nos. Then she meets Howl. We don’t know for sure it is him, but he manages to magic away the two men and then asks Sophie to help him escape those who are following. Sophie is swept away by his handsomeness and magic, but as soon as the interlude ends she is right back to shy and seemingly unhappy.

That night she is confronted by the Witch of the Wastes and cursed to turn old, before the witch departs she warns Sophie that she won’t actually be able to share what happened to her. Sophie panics but hopes that it is a bad dream. The next morning she is forced to face reality though, and she runs away. While in the wastes she finds Howl’s castle… well castle like thing? It’s a steampunk walking amalgamation of what seems to be various different buildings. Oh and it has a mouth, you know, for fun?

She enters the castle and meets its residents one by one. Starting with Calcifer, the fire demon who lives in the hearth and says that Howl has cursed him. They agree to help each other as he is able to recognize that Sophie is cursed even if she can’t talk about it. Oh, and he just happens to be voiced by the incomparable Billy Crystal in the American dub. Markl, Howl’s apprentice, and eventually Howl himself (who she realizes was the man from before).

Sophie then begins her life with them, bonding with Markl, cleaning up after the frankly disgusting men/boys, trying to get to know Calcifer and how he might be cursed. And importantly dealing with Howl’s over the top dramatics, his frankly cowardly nature, and his missing heart. This is all happening while a war wages in the background, one we have limited information on other than the toll that it is taking on the people on both sides. As the movie progresses Howl slowly starts to develop into a more assured man and less of an emotional boy. Sophie’s compassion and bravery when faced with standing up to those that would harm Howl occasionally break through her curse and even have the benefit (questionable) of leading her to bring more into their little family. But the war keeps encroaching on their happiness and soon they cannot ignore it.

I don’t want to give much more away in terms of the plot. If you haven’t seen this movie it is worth the watch and worth getting to experience what all is going on with this ragtag group and their war torn world. I will however say that much like Miyazaki’s other works this movie is filled with a lot of themes, and again like with his other works, they cross different cultures and experiences. Sophie suddenly being “cursed” with old age is not simply played as a gag. It is scary for her and hard for her to adjust to this new life and the realization she may be stuck that way forever. However, it also opens up wisdom and other things in her that she hadn’t realized before. As she falls in and out of the curse throughout the movie we will see both sides of who Sophie is and how ultimately she would naturally develop into the older version of herself. She is kind in both versions, deeply compassionate, and she finds bravery in her older form that she was never able to tap into as a young woman.

Most importantly however is the strong anti-war theme. Miyazaki adapted Howl’s Moving Castle in the wake of America’s war with Iraq. Miyazaki is a self described pacifist and is rather strong in those beliefs. The war scenes are a shock in comparison to the rest of the movie. Most of Howl’s takes place in rather idealistic settings, a nice coastal town, a beautiful bustling city, the “wastes” are not an apt description as they are open fields filled with flowers and beautiful scenery. Howl’s Moving Castle is a gorgeous movie that every once in a while is suddenly filled with screams, explosions, and fire. Any time we as the audience are given a chance to fully enjoy the loveliness, romance, and beauty of this movie it is violently interrupted before too long. And the movie does not hold back, the war scenes might not be bloody in the traditional sense but they show utter destruction.

Beyond how profound the use of these scenes in between more beautiful moments, there is also the plot itself about the war, or rather lack thereof. We are told about a missing prince but this is in the background, and we can tell tensions were already high. So the audience is left never knowing which side is good or bad because there isn’t one. People are being slaughtered, towns are being burnt, many are giving their lives, and there is no “it is for this good cause.” Because it’s not. The war is only described in negative terms and we are only giving a view of the destruction and pointlessness.

If you are going to make an anti-war movie this is a pretty solid way to do it. I feel that message is lost to a lot of people – I can’t blame them, Sophie and Howl’s love story is one of my all time favorites – but it is incredibly important and needs to be remembered as well as the loveliness of this movie.

And much like compassion and love help our characters on an individual level, it is what is ultimately the key to helping on a grander scale.

I am going to make people in the know gasp with this, but I like Howl’s Moving Castle more than Spirited Away. Anybody without a deep love of Studio Ghibli is probably thinking… and??? But that is a solid recommendation. Even if you don’t like animated movies I would highly recommend considering at least one from Miyazaki’s library, and this one is rather approachable. It is funny, magical, romantic, beautiful, and at times so serene. It is also sad and destructive and makes you long for the best in the people and the best in the real world. It is just a wonderful movie all around. If I can’t sell you on this maybe a WW1 movie about a pig who is pilot who fights with the antifascists (Porco Rosso) or the much darker Princess Mononoke. But really if you like romance and magic give Howl’s Moving Castle a go. And for the romance fans specifically, prepare to gush A LOT.

(This was previously published on my blog and has been edited and updated)