Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Coming Out at 20 November 2004 in theaters.

“Hauru no ugoku shiro”

Animation, Adventure, Family

Howl’s Moving Castle is fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and it won the Phoenix Award twenty years later, recognising its rise from relative obscurity. It was adapted into a 2004 animated film of the same name, which was critically acclaimed and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Howl’s Moving Castle is the first novel in the series of books called the Howl Series. This series also includes Castle in the Air, published in 1990, and House of Many Ways, published in 2008. WorldCat reports that Howl’s Moving Castle is the author’s work most widely held in participating libraries, followed by its first sequel Castle in the Air.

18-year-old Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three sisters living in Market Chipping, a town in the magical kingdom of Ingary, where fairytale tropes are accepted ways of life, including that the eldest of three will never be successful. As the eldest, Sophie is resigned to a dull future running the family hat shop. Unknown to her, she is able to talk life into objects.

Things change however when the powerful Witch of the Waste turns her into an old crone. Sophie leaves the shop and finds work as a cleaning lady for the notorious Wizard Howl. She strikes a bargain with Howl’s fire-demon, Calcifer: if she can break the contract between Howl and Calcifer, then Calcifer will return her to her original youthful form. Part of the contract, however, stipulates that neither Howl nor Calcifer can disclose the main clause, leaving Sophie to figure it out on her own.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writers: Hayao Miyazaki, Diana Wynne Jones (novel)

Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashûin, Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Mitsunori Isaki, Yô Ôizumi

Cast:

Chieko Baishô	…	Sofî (voice)
Takuya Kimura	…	Hauru (voice)
Akihiro Miwa	…	Arechi no Majo (voice)
Tatsuya Gashûin	…	Karushifâ (voice)
Ryûnosuke Kamiki	…	Marukuru (voice)
Mitsunori Isaki	…	Koshô (voice)
Yô Ôizumi	…	Kakashi no Kabu (voice)
Akio Ôtsuka	…	Kokuô (voice)
Daijirô Harada	…	Hin (voice)
Haruko Katô	…	Sariman (voice)
Jean Simmons	…	Grandma Sophie (voice)
Christian Bale	…	Howl (voice)
Lauren Bacall	…	Witch of the Waste (voice)
Blythe Danner	…	Madame Suliman (voice)
Emily Mortimer	…	Young Sophie (voice)
Josh Hutcherson	…	Markl (voice)
Billy Crystal	…	Calcifer (voice)
Jena Malone	…	Lettie (voice)
Crispin Freeman	…	Prince Turnip (voice)
Mark Silverman	…	King (voice)
Mari Devon	…	Honey (voice)
Liliana Mumy	…	Madge (voice)
Carlos Alazraqui	…	(voice)
Newell Alexander	…	(voice)
Rosemary Alexander	…	(voice)
Julia Barnett	…	(voice)
Susanne Blakeslee	…	(voice)
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph	…	(voice)
Mitch Carter	…	(voice)
David Cowgill	…	(voice)
Holly Dorff	…	(voice)
Moosie Drier	…	(voice)
Ike Eisenmann	…	(voice)
Will Friedle	…	(voice)
Bridget Hoffman	…	(voice)
Richard Steven Horvitz	…	(voice)
Sherry Hursey	…	(voice)
Hope Levy	…	(voice)
Christina MacGregor	…	(voice)
Joel McCrary	…	(voice)
Edie Mirman	…	(voice)
Peter Renaday	…	(voice)
Kristen Rutherford	…	(voice)
Warren Sroka	…	(voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	…	Heen (voice)
São José Correia	…	Madame Suliman (voice)
Cornelia Dahlgren	…	Lettie (voice)
Rui de Sá	…	Bruxa do Nada (voice)
Victor Emanuel	…	Calcifer (voice)
Albano Jerónimo	…	Howl (voice)
Yayoi Kazuki	…	Lettie (voice)
Márcia Leal	…	Sophie (voice)
Scott McAfee	…	Student (voice)
Manabu Muraji	…	(voice)
João Secundino	…	Markl (voice)
Joana Seixas	…	Cabeça de Nabo (voice)
Shigeyuki Totsugi	…	(voice)
Mayuno Yasokawa	…	Honey (voice)
Ken Yasuda	…	Soldier (voice)
Daran Norris	…	(voice)