History Anime / HowlsMovingCastle

The film focuses on both Sophie and Howl's romance as well as the war plaguing their nation. Unlike the original, which was an AffectionateParody of fairy tales, the film is a straight-as-the-monster-crow-wizard-flies fairy tale itself. The writer of the original book, Dianne Wynne Jones, was granted a private viewing of the movie by Miyazaki. She stated that she enjoyed it, but found it a very different (and complimentary) experience from her book.

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!!''Howl's Moving Castle'' (as distinct from the book) provides examples of:

'''''Howl's Moving Castle''''' is a StudioGhibli film, directed by HayaoMiyazaki, very loosely based on [[Literature/HowlsMovingCastle the novel by Diana Wynne Jones]]. Now, instead of a MedievalEuropeanFantasy, the land of Ingary is a {{Steam Punk}}/{{Gaslamp Fantasy}} world filled with both technology and magic.

The story starts in much the same way as the book: Sophie is cursed after offending the (rather petty) Witch of the Waste, and sets out to find a way to break the spell. A scarecrow she calls "Turnip Head" leads her to Howl's Castle after she stands him up, and she makes a deal with Calcifer to break each other's curses under the guise of becoming Howl's cleaning lady. But now, there's a raging war going on in the background, over a missing Prince. Howl's teenage apprentice Michael is now a cute young kid named [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Markl]], and Howl, a rogue wizard, is doing his best to try and halt both sides of the war, but the transformations that he uses in order to fight (into an enormous birdlike figure) are bringing him closer and closer to losing his humanity.

The film focuses on both Sophie and Howl's romance as well as the war plaguing their nation. Unlike the original, which was an AffectionateParody of fairy tales, the film is a straight-as-the-monster-crow-wizard-flies fairy tale itself.

* BodyHorror: Wizards who fight in the war end up remaining as bat-like ''things'', forgetting who they really are.

** Sophie's is a bit subtle. At first when she's turned into an old woman, she hunches while she walks, uses a cane and is very slow, needing a break every so often. As the film moves along, she begins standing up straighter with her stamina increasing until eventually she doesn't need it anymore. This is also symbolic of her low sense of self worth as the film begins. [[spoiler: This is also highlighted by how she turns younger whenever she feels confident. She ends up breaking the curse completely by the end of the film and transforms back into her younger self]].

* KickTheDog: Sophie's mother [[spoiler: just flat out sells out her own daughter for her own selfish reasons]].
** [[spoiler: The reason is that Suliman is holding her new husband hostage-and Suliman isn't after Sophie, she's after Howl. A case of [[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Husband]] that her mother didn't have to resources (or courage) to resolve in Sophie's favor.]]

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Don't let the fact that [[spoiler:the Witch of the Waste]] is now powerless fool you. [[spoiler:She]] is still a crafty person with all knowledge of magic intact. [[spoiler:Many times she is looking intently at Calcifer as though trying to see what he has of Howl's while pretending to be senile and benign. It is only when Howl is gone from the premises does she drop the act.]]
** Not entirely true; the reason [[spoiler:the witch]] is allowed to stay with her new family is precisely because [[spoiler:she has grown senile and has underwent somewhat of a genuine HeelFaceTurn. Her obsession with capturing Howl's heart is logical once you realize that like Howl, she gave her heart away to a demon and thus has no heart herself. In the end though, she realistically resembles an old lady with dementia.]]

* TrueBlueFemininity: Sophie wears her blue dress throughout most of the film.
** It wasn't even blue to start with, but green. Howl turned it blue before sending her off to meet Suliman.

** Vain Sorcerer: Early on, Howl cared so much about his appearance that he freaked out and then became depressed after an accident caused his hair to change color in the wash. The DVD release plays this up by calling that scene "Drama Queen". To quote the man himself, "I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful." {{Lampshaded}} by Sophie: "Such drama!"

* ParentalNeglect: Sophie's mother [[spoiler: just flat out sells out her own daughter for her own selfish reasons]].

* SchizoTech: Generic 19th Century clothing and locations, but with [[ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld giant airships]], and of course [[MundaneFantastic magic]].

* IAmNotPretty: Sophie insists she isn't beautiful, through the film she gains more confidence in herself.

* CoolOldLady
** Sophie's pretty tough even when aged.
** Arguably also the Witch of the Waste.

* {{Forshadowing}}: Watch the scene where Sophie is cleaning out the ashes, and Calcifer falls into the metal cup and almost goes out. When Howl is breathing on Calcifer to get him going again, you can see [[spoiler:Howl's heart beating in Calcifer's flames.]]

* AdaptationalVillainy: Suliman is a more benevolent and less antagonistic character in the book, and was also cursed by the Witch of the Waste. His film counterpart inherits her role as Howl's mentor from another character, Mrs. Pentstemmon, a kindly figure in the book who the Witch murdered.

* {{Bishonen}}: Howl [[spoiler:and later Turniphead]].

* PimpedOutDress: Nothing too elaborate, despite the era, but Madame Suliman shows off with the gold trimmings, [[EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry jewelry]], and [[PrettyInMink fur collar]].

* WhiteHairedPrettyGirl: Sophie, differing from the book. Considering how Howl's hair is ''black'' at the end, the change is probably supposed to evoke yin yang and be symbolic of how they've found a balance in their relationship, or how they both change. Sophie starts off with her hair dark and it turning silverish shows how she's matured and grown self-confident. Howl starts off dying his hair blonde and lets it stay dark after he gets over his vanity.

** Sophie's is a bit subtle. At first when she's turned into an old woman, she hunches while she walks, uses a cane and is very slow, needing a break every so often. As the film moves along, she begins standing up straighter with her stamina increasing until eventually she doesn't need it anymore. This is also symbolic of her low sense of self worth as the film begins.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Don't let the fact that [[spoiler:the Witch of the Waste]] is now powerless fool you. [[spoiler:She]] is still a crafty person with all knowledge of magic intact. [[spoiler:Many times she is looking intently at Calcifer as though trying to see what he has of Howl's while pretending to be senile and benign. It is only when Howl is gone from the premise does she drop the act.]]

* OminousLatinChanting: When Madame Suliman tries to capture Howl, there are a few seconds of very creepy singing from the sprites that encircle him. Might overlap with IronicNurseryRhyme.