Howl’s Moving Castle

After reading Howl’s Moving Castle last month, I finally got around to watching the Ghibli movie. Of course, it’s not totally accurate but damn that studio is amazing in creating such a beautiful world that is inspiring and magical and whimsical. I mean that opening scene where Howl suavely steps up to those guards bothering Sophie and flies her over the buildings was just full of wonderment. I literally gasped at the same time as Sophie.

The beginning is pretty accurate minus the Howl floating Sophie scene but I enjoyed it as it added a great meet cute moment I suppose whereas in the book Sophie’s romantic feelings towards Howl feel so muted that I thought she was more of a mom than a romantic interest to him.

But after Sophie meets the turnip scarecrow and gets Howl’s castle, the moving rushes through the story and changes it up focusing on the war the king has wrought on the waste to find his son and the terrible effects of it on the rest of town. Makes sense as that is Miyazaki’s calling card. Creating beautiful moments of natural solitude with the horrors of war so the triumph of peace at the end will be so much sweeter.

Not that it completely cuts out the book. It adds some of the most memorable moments like Sophie meeting Howl’s mentor, Sulliman, and Howl’s breakdown over his dyed hair. The latter was very effective in depicting the slimy ooze Howl emits during his temper tantrum. In the book it was a funny mess, but the movie made it eerie yet amusing.

Howl in the movie is much more sophiscated and put together. Honestly the dyed hair temper tantrum was the only time he reminded me of the book as Jones depicts him as an flirtatious, flighty, dramatic wizard full of bravado to cover his cowardice. The movie adds some more poignancy (no, it doesn’t include Howl’s family) by having Howl be somewhat cursed by his lack of heart. The scene where he transforms into a nightmarish bird that Sophie tries to comfort gave me major Beauty and the Beast vibes.

Sophie is a bit more emotional than her no-nonsense, crochety grandmother self. That still forms a majority of her personality, but she is more likely to tear up as her feelings for Howl are more prominant and a major focus of their deepening relationship. I thought it was too fast but I didn’t mind as it was necessary for the plot to go forward.

I totally did not expect Merkle to be a little boy but as the movie cut out most of the family plot involving Sophie and Howl’s family, there was no reason for Merkle to be a young adult. Honestly, I wish they kept that plot in as the loving yet chaotic family would have provided some humorous scenes and would have continued the themes of looking beyond one’s external presentation to find their desires, and feelings are completely different from what is assumed.

I totally didn’t expect for the Witch of the Waste to be redeemed but I liked the message it was trying to convey in understanding your enemies and befriending them to break the cycle of violence.

So while it is not completely true to text, I enjoyed the more linear, focused message the movie presents. The book is like a fun adventure of seemingly disconnected friends that are nicely woven together while the movie is a quieter, more poignant narrative.

What do you think of movie vs book? Comment below!