re:mote voices

Title: Howl’s Moving Castle [Hauru No Ugoku Shiro]
Cast: Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Blythe Danner, Emily Mortimer
Director: Hayao Miyazaki

One day on her way to visit her sister, Sophie is accosted by a couple of soldiers. A man steps into help her out, but it quickly becomes cleat that he is using her as a diversion against those that are after him. Creatures are coming out the walls, and they only escape through the use of magic.

Unfortunately for Sophie, this wizard is the notorious Howl. Having unwittingly become involved with Howl, she attracts the attention of the wicked witch of the waste, who is pursuing Howl. As such she puts a curse on Sophie, so that the young woman becomes instantly old.

Rather than show her current state to her family, Sophie flees into the waste. There she stumbles upon Howl’s moving castle – a ramshackle, shambling construction. Somehow getting inside, she pretends to be a housemaid for Howl, in the hope that some how she will find a way to break the curse.

However, war has broken out, two kinds and their wizards clashing flying ships and demons. So things become chaotic, each kind has a call on Howl’s loyalty and the witch of the waste is still out there. Sophie getting drawn in deeper and deeper.

Howl’s Moving Castle is the latest film from Studio Ghibli, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the man behind Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. In terms of core plot, themes, style, Howl’s takes a setting like that in Porco Rosso or Kiki’s Delivery Service, with the creature design/influence of Spirited Away, mixing in the environment/darkness of Princess Mononoke.

Despite the fact that Princess Monoke was the big crossover for Ghibli, the first the Japanese studio’s films to be picked up by Disney, it is my least favourite Ghibli film. So I am pleased to say that while there is a similar kind of darkness, Howl’s Moving Castle is a better film. But it is definitely a dark film, filled with flaming war ships crash landing, war torn skies and demon transformations – making it hard to compare to the likes of Spirited Away, which is a more uplifting and brilliant film.