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Howl's Moving Castle

DVD - 2006 None on shelf No requests on this item Community Rating: 4.7 out of 5

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Based on the novel: Howl's moving castle / by Diana Wynne Jones.
Originally produced as a motion picture in 2004.
Voices (English): Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Emily Mortimer, Josh Hutcherson, Billy Crystal.
A young woman named Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman who is unable to tell anyone of her plight. Unable to continue her job at her mother's hat shop, she goes to the ambulatory castle of the notorious wizard Howl and insinuates herself into his household. Sophie befriends Calcifer, the fire demon who powers the castle and who is bound to Howl by a contract, the terms of which Calcifer cannot reveal. They promise to help each other with their problems. Like Calcifer, Howl can also see through the Witch's spell, and he and Sophie fall in love. Sophie helps Howl confront his former teacher, and the Witch of the Waste.
DVD, widescreen (1.85:1), region 1; Dolby digital 5.1 surround.
Contents: Howl's moving castle.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Howl's moving castle submitted by lkrienke on September 26, 2009, 11:26am I LOVE THIS MOVIE IT IS SO AWESOME!!!!!!

Heart-Warming submitted by Daniel Saltzman on January 4, 2010, 12:28pm Despite the dire undertones of the terrible costs of war, this film still makes you feel warm and happy every time.

Very, very good submitted by 0liviap0pp on July 4, 2011, 8:03am A good manga movie.

One of Studio Ghibli's best submitted by cherylo on July 15, 2011, 7:05am Inspired by, but different from, the Dianna Wynne Jones' book of the same name. Each character must come to terms with constraints (whether imposed by spells or by the secrets they keep) and find a way through to a freer future. The glimpses of the world in which the story is set are fascinating all by themselves, but the story is a true gem. The voice acting is worth watching this film for, especially Billy Crystal's performance as a fire demon.

remembering submitted by Bookbird on August 13, 2011, 5:38pm I saw this movie long ago, liked it, and still like it!

Great! submitted by ashflowtuff on August 14, 2011, 5:47pm Great movie - highly recommended!

Howl's Moving Castle submitted by marisal on August 15, 2011, 10:24am Like all other Miyazaki movies I loved this!

One of his best submitted by johnsoem on August 15, 2011, 8:43pm integrating fantasy, magic, Japanese culture and storytelling, Miyazaki creates incredible stories with stunning animation. This is a true classic, it's still great, even if it's not his best.

Like submitted by fka83111 on August 25, 2011, 7:46pm twas alright

AWESOME! submitted by Blackberry Elf-Glitter on November 24, 2011, 5:02pm This is a beautiful movie and I loved it a lot.

Howl's Moving Castle submitted by SBNB on June 25, 2012, 7:06pm I loved this movie from the moment I started watching it. The story is just so unique.

Magical! submitted by DBJC on July 13, 2012, 8:38pm I love Miyazaki's movies so much because he tells stories in animation like no other person I know. The stories are very heartwarming and Howl's Moving Castle was one of the most amazing movies I 've ever seen. I usually don't care much about animation, but this a movie for all ages. I usually don't like watching movies dubbed, but the voice acting in this movie is great. The characters are easy to fall in love with and the music is GREAT. I would recommend this movie to anyone I meet who wants to watch a good, heartwarming film.

Loved It!! <3 <3 submitted by gxl on July 17, 2012, 2:29pm I love this movie, it is so good!!

The book is even better submitted by kathscot on July 18, 2012, 9:07am A beautiful movie, very enjoyable. But the strength of plot comes from the book by Diana Wynne Jones which is FABULOUS. Give it a read!

another miyazaki submitted by jszchen on July 28, 2012, 7:42pm Great movie draws you in

Amazing movie submitted by Morgsush on August 6, 2012, 2:08pm I loved every single minute of it! :D

Excellent submitted by kittenkat101 on August 12, 2012, 9:26pm Great--for both adults and children. Interesting story. I would recommend it!

Miyazaki's Howl's moving castle submitted by anclark on November 24, 2012, 12:38pm A typical Miyazaki/studio ghibli film. Beautiful animation, a good story (thank you, Mrs.Jones), characters that, despite being different from the original characters, are unique and amazing. The music is beautiful. I have watched this movie at least three times and read the book at least twice, and with every view and reread it has only enchanted me more. Definitely worth the time.

Perfect submitted by waffoo2 on August 6, 2013, 9:06pm This movie is the one time I will say that the movie did the book justice because of the beautiful drawings and perfect music. :)

fine submitted by karinnet on August 7, 2013, 6:54pm alright

undeniably awesome submitted by iamnotonfire on February 6, 2014, 3:08pm undeniably awesome

Howl submitted by hcf on July 28, 2014, 10:50am My kids and I really enjoyed this movie.

Great movie submitted by happySeed78910 on June 17, 2015, 3:06pm I like all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies.

One of my Favorites submitted by amelnik on June 28, 2015, 8:37pm I love this movie. It's one of my favorites by Studio Ghibli. Quite different in many ways from the wonderful book it is based on, but is excellent itself as well.

Another review,,, submitted by Kikumatsu97 on August 22, 2015, 4:00pm This movie doesn't really need another review, we can all see it's great. But just for those of you looking to be sure this movie is okay for your kids, I would definitely say it's a movie that involves war, explosions, and could be a bit scary for kids under 5. The story of Sophie as a determined young woman who experiences life from the perspective of an old woman provides a lot of insight into the character itself.

Great Movie submitted by lec.dank on July 7, 2016, 9:58am Absolutely crazy. Loved it.

Wonderful Film submitted by ishhewitt on July 11, 2016, 7:11pm This is my favorite Miyazaki film. It's a wonderful romance story filled with some adventure and quality humor.

Awesome Movie submitted by kantaroinoki on July 14, 2016, 4:47pm I have watched it in Japanese and now I watched english, they are both good.

Favorite submitted by Duckling on July 29, 2017, 3:48pm Right now, I believe this is my favorite Studio Ghibli movie. I love the story line, the characters and the artwork. I think the reason I love this studio's work so much is because of the underlying themes that give the movie meaning and help kids understand how to live their lives to the fullest.

So amazing submitted by Zaneeba on June 21, 2018, 9:52am This movie was verry well done i thought it was extremily good

The best Miyazaki movie by far! submitted by kbahleda on July 3, 2018, 6:31pm This one is my favorite by Miyazaki. The story teaches you something and its great to follow the character's. Beautifully animated.

amazing! submitted by ella lorenz on July 8, 2018, 9:58am this movie is my favorite movies right now!!!
i love it sooooo much!

Hmm submitted by anacoluthon on August 1, 2018, 5:57pm Beautifully animated, like all Miyazaki films, but a poor adaption of Diana Wynne Jones' novel.

beautiful movie submitted by WiseRaven on August 15, 2018, 2:03pm although there are a few reviews saying that it is a poor adaption, i think that miyazaki merely focused on the more important plot line throughout and really no one could adapt that book as well as studio ghibli did. breathtaking shots, amazing voice acting, and funny dialogue. i would and have recommended this movie to anyone interested. if you are further interested try the book!

Not the Book submitted by majean on August 17, 2018, 1:31pm I enjoyed this as its own entity, and I tried not to compare it to the book too much.

super duper good submitted by Fozzie_da_bear on August 18, 2018, 7:33pm the secuil is good to

An adaptation... submitted by lstorc on August 27, 2018, 4:33pm This was an interesting adaptation of the original story. While beautiful artistically, the actual representation fell short of the book.

My Favorite Animated Film submitted by dntanzer on August 31, 2018, 9:25am I'll start by saying the book is one of my favorite books of all time. This movie adaptation takes the magic and love from the book and translates it into a gorgeous film full of interesting, lovable characters and an engaging plot. The art, of course, is absolutely stunning. It is definitely not an exact interpretation of the book, but I think there's room to love and appreciate both in different ways!

Gorgeous submitted by ekrieger on July 4, 2019, 2:21pm Many of the reviews complain about how this is not a good adaptation of the book. This is pretty fair, but it is a wonderful movie nonetheless. The scenery is gorgeous and the movie has some interesting and complex messages about inner beauty as well as war. The soundtrack is wonderful, and this is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies.

I like this movie. submitted by KazueKawakami on August 27, 2020, 10:08pm This movie is my favorite movie.
Also book too.

Cover image for Howl's moving castle

LANGUAGE OPTIONS
In Japanese, dubbed English, or dubbed French with optional English subtitles; closed-captioned in English.

PUBLISHED
Burbank, CA : Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, [2006]
Year Published: 2006
Description: 1 videodisc (ca. 119 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Format: DVD

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
078886145X
9780788861451

ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Miyazaki, Hayao, 1941-
Dempsey, Rick.
Docter, Pete.
Lott, Ned.
Suzuki, Toshio, 1948 August 19-
Bale, Christian, 1974-
Simmons, Jean, 1929-2010.
Bacall, Lauren, 1924-2014.
Danner, Blythe.
Crystal, Billy.
Mortimer, Emily.
Hutcherson, Josh.
Okui, Atsushi.
Hisaishi, Joe.
Jones, Diana Wynne.
Walt Disney Productions.
Sutajio Jiburi, Kabushiki Kaisha.
Tokuma Shoten.
Walt Disney Home Entertainment (Firm)
Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Firm)

SUBJECTS
Witches -- Drama.
Wizards -- Drama.
Animated films.
Steampunk films.
Fantasy films.
Feature films.