History Anime / HowlsMovingCastle

* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** Due to phonetic translation from English to Japanese and back, the character known as Michael in the books became "Markl" in the film. To make matters worse, whenever his name is spoken, it sounds more like "Marco" than anything else.
** The Swedish and Norwegian dub doesn't only have the same mistranslation, they also call Howl "Hauru", for the same reasons. Slightly justified in that they were trying to [[LipLock lip sync]] the movie, but it still comes off a bit awkward.
** Howl's called "Hauro" in the German dub and the mistranslation of Markl also took place.
** This is justified, as in Japanese (the original language of the film), Howl is written (and pronounced) "Hauru" (ハウル). Neither "Hauru" nor "Howl" have a meaning of their own in German, anyway, and the original book is all but unknown there. The German title just translates to "The Strolling Castle".
*** The same thing happens with the name of Sophie's (step)mother. In the book her name was "Fanny". While she is never called by name in the movie, her name is written as "Honey" in the art book. The romaji for both words is different (Fanny = ファニー, Honey = ハニー), but the pronunciation is nearly identical ("Fanī" and "Hanī", respectively).

* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: The Witch of the Waste certainly enjoys a good stogie. She even warns Howl not to deny an old woman her simple pleasures.

[-[[caption-width-right:350:'''Sophie:''' "[[WhatAPieceOfJunk What a dump]]. When I think of castles, it's not what I picture."\\

''Howl's Moving Castle'' (ハウルの動く城 ''Hauru no Ugoku Shiro'') is a 2004 AnimatedAdaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' novel ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle''. It was directed by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki and made at Creator/StudioGhibli, which accounts for the many lovely visuals in the movie. Now, instead of a MedievalEuropeanFantasy, the land of Ingary is a {{Steampunk}}[=/=]{{Gaslamp Fantasy}} world filled with both technology and magic.

* ForcedTransformation: [[spoiler:Prince Justin, being cursed into the shape of a scarecrow.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:'''Sophie:''' "[[WhatAPieceOfJunk What a dump]]. When I think of castles, it's not what I picture."\\
[[labelnote:Characters]]From left to right: Markl, Turnip-Head, Heen, Calcifer, Howl, and Sophie.[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[WhatAPieceOfJunk What a dump]]. When I think of castles, it's not what I picture."''\\

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the book, Sophie is described as having reddish blonde hair, but in the anime film she has brown hair. [[spoiler:At the end, even after getting her youth back, she still has gray hair, though Howl describes it as looking like starlight.]]

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Some of Howl's more prevalent flaws in the books such as his womanizing behavior and chronic irresponsibility are omitted or downplayed. His anti-war attitude is original to the movie, as book Howl had no problem supplying the King of Ingary with magical devices for his troops, although no war actually occurs in the book.

* TheBaroness: The Witch of the Waste is very much like this during the first half of the movie.

* GreyAndGrayMorality / WhiteAndGreyMorality: Like most Miyazaki films, antagonists are grey at worst. Suliman is actually a WellIntentionedExtremist at worst. The Wicked Witch of the Waste turns out to not be nearly as bad and actually joins the heroes halfway through the movie.

* HeartTrauma: Howl is literally heartless because of a DealWithTheDevil. He gets better eventually.

* TheLoad: The Witch of the Waste is this for Sophie and Howl after she gets depowered.

* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent[=/=]FreezeFrameBonus: When Sophie and Howl are escaping the capitol on the airplane, a group of soldiers and tanks are seen in the street below shooting at what looks like townspeople or protesters. This is never mentioned again, so it's possible it was just background filler. Or it could be the reason why, at the end, Suliman asks for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense [[LaResistance rather than the King]].

* MysticalWhiteHair: Sophie towards the end. Howl even provides the quote for the main page.

* NeverMessWithGranny: [[LadyOfBlackMagic Madame Suliman, the Witch of the Waste]], and [[CoolOldLady old Sophie]].

* PartialTransformation: Howl into a winged bird monster thing.

* RingOfPower: Howl hands one to Sophie. It later leads her to the door in the rocks.

* ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines: Many beautiful SteamPunk and MagiTek examples.

* {{Uptown G|uy}}irl: Howl, a SelfMadeMan, is this to Sophie, a hat shop worker.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Suliman is often this more than an outright villain.

* BreakTheHaughty: Madame Suliman does this to the Witch of the Waste.

* CanineCompanion: Heen.

[[labelnote:Characters]]From left to right: Markl, Turnip Head, Heen, Calcifer, Howl, and Sophie.[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"What a dump. When I think of castles, it's not what I picture."''\\

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0ce5ebf9_e148_4d0e_a57f_f3cce9f87a74.png]]

** The explanation of why Sophie shifts back and forth at points was left out, rendering it confusing as to why this happens to her in the film.