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List Price: $29.99 | | Label: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 435
Released: March 7, 2006 |
| Our Price: $21.38 |
| Used Price: $19.95 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated masterpiece, journey beyond imagination and enter a "breathtaking fantasy world" (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) filled with adventure, humor and heart. Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl's magnificent flying castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell. Featuring the voice talents of Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, and Billy Crystal, Miyazaki's artistry comes to life on DVD with inventive characters, unique storytelling and richly detailed animation. (c) 2004 Nibariki • GNDDDT
Description of Howl's Moving Castle:
Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle. --Charles Solomon
The Many Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki
The works of Miyazaki | 
The Book | 
The Art of Howls' Moving Castle (book) |
Stills from Howl's Moving Castle (click for larger image)
Howl's Moving Castle Reviews:
Miyazaki has done it again 
2009-12-04 - When I found Howl's Moving Castle at Costco, I had never heard of the movie before and as such knew nothing about it. The reasons I picked it up were a) It was ten bucks b) It was another movie by Hayao Miyazaki and I had only seen one other film by him (Spirited Away) and c) It won the coin toss. I can easily say that my decision to pick it up was one of the best I have ever made. Howl's Moving Castle in two words is pure genius. The animation in this movie is top notch for being drawn by hand. The level of detail is just stunning. Pair that with a fantastic storyline and you've got yourself one movie you will never forget. The plot is - while guessable if you pick up on the hints in the movie - original, heartwarming, and at times also dark. Featuring the perfect amounts of action and suspense, this is one movie you should not pass up. There are hardly any dry spots. Rent it first if you want, but I'll bet you'll wish you had bought it when you finish watching it.
Best Hayazaki movie EVER!!!!!!
2009-11-07 - I love Hayazaki animations.
Recently, I had a chance to watch the english version and I fell in love with this. Actually, I love the english version more than the japanese version. I love the fact that the main charactor isn't the prettiest thing in the world.... ha ha
You should watch this... You won't regrate it!!!!!
Howl's Moving Castle: A masterpiece
2009-10-20 - Probably one of Miyazaki's best pieces of all time, Howl's Moving Castle is a tale for the young and old alike. This is a story of action and romance, as well as the joys of getting older. OK, don't want to ruin the story for you, but if you like anime (even only a little) and enjoy Billy Crystal's humour (yes, he's one of the voices in this one), then this one is definately for you. If you really like anime then you'll just love what Disney did with Howl's Moving Castle!
one of moms fav movies
2009-09-30 - this is a pretty story good for the kids where good triumphs over evil the boy loves the girl no matter what she looks like its aa very pretty story
You can't run away from life
2009-09-27 - A world where witches may be wicked but they aren't the threat, and where situation can settle the most intense of differences. Where magic and a bombed-out war clash. That's the setting of Howl's Moving Castle in a nutshell; a town where a war is starting, with all the celebrations that are mistakenly attributed to such an event. In the midst of this is Sophie, an insecure girl who whiles away her days working in her father's hat shop. But life has no intention of letting her waste her life there. A quick visit from the Witch of the Waste leaves Sophie cursed in the form of an aged woman. She has no choice but to leave the town unseen and happens upon the moving, dangerously-unstably-constructed castle of the renowned but vain magician Howl. Adopting the role of his maid, Sophie becomes a permanent fixture in his household. With the help of her friends - including Howl's apprentice Markl and the silent but enthusiastic Scarecrow - Sophie sets out to find a way to break the curse on her. However, her quest takes a quite unexpected direction when she discovers more about Howl and just how he got the fire demon Calcifer to move the castle in the first place.
This is Myazaki's first film based on another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service and he stays faithful to the setting, which has a local charm that takes you back to 1880s Europe. The CG castle in the title is such a random structure, it's a wonder it doesn't collapse. Beautiful vistas are everywhere and the use of colour is high as is the trademark of the Ghibli films. The characters are also very entertaining, especially the fire demon Calcifer, whom only Sophie seems to be able to manipulate apart from Howl.
It may not be an original Myazaki concept, but in his hands the world of Howl and his moving castle is fascinating. Like Spirited Away, the story takes an unexpected but satisfactory turn for the audience and the resolve is never 'go from point A to point B'. It's deeper and more profound, and this difficult feat is well-presented to the audience. Howl's Moving Castle is a riot.
