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Howl's Moving Castle | 
| Directors: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey, Pete Docter
Actors: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy Used: $17.85
You Save: $12.14 (40%)
New (48) Used (18) from $17.85
Rating:  228 reviews
Sales Rank: 966
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 04139900
UPC: 786936296662
EAN: 0786936296662
ASIN: B000CDGVOE
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Release Date: March 7, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Discs are in excellent condition! Includes artwork! Ships next day!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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)
Product Description
Acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki adapts British writer Diana Wynne Jones's popular fantasy tale for this animated feature adding his own unique and celebrated dreamlike spin. A young hat-maker named Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer) is turned into an old woman by the dreaded Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) when she attracts the notice of Howl (Christian Bale) a young wizard whom the witch desires for herself. As the old woman (voiced by Jean Simmons) Sophie finds refuge as a cleaning lady in Howl's magical castle an impressively realized mishmash of anthropomorphic shafts and gears where she meets among other wonders a cantankerous fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal). Howl's courage inspires her to seek a cure for her curse and vice versa and the two work together to prevent a major war as the castle roams the countryside on its mechanical legs. There's lots of magic afoot as well including travel through barriers of space and time and shape-shifting requiring full viewer attention to keep track of who where and when but this how dreams really are and the film engages on that same subconscious level. As with Miyazaki's previous work (SPIRITED AWAY KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE) the emphasis here is on creating a beautiful alternate reality where anything can happen and every frame is a breathtaking work of art. See it on the big screen if the chance presents itself; the elaborate intricacies and patiently realized alternate realities of Miyazaki's work makes him a true treasure.System Requirements:Running Time 119 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 786936296662 Manufacturer No: 04139900
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| Customer Reviews: Read 223 more reviews...
 Difficult, difficult February 25, 2006
L. Gutierrez (Mexico City, Mexico)
23 out of 32 found this review helpful
This is a difficult movie to review, at least for those of us who have read Diane Wynne Jones' original novel.
The problem, you see, is that both the original book and this film are beautiful, but also completely different. Besides the title and some of the character's names they share nothing else.
Wynne's novel is charming and lighthearted, a mixture of soft romance and mystery, with even some adventure thrown into it.
Miyazaki's adaptation tries to be much more serious, touches difficult subjects (such as the terrors of war) and, unfortunately, gets lost in the proccess.
While Wynne's book offers a near-perfect (if simple) plot, Miyazaki's own is full of holes - some of you might not notice them while watching the film, but once it's over you'll end up wondering many things...
Which kingdoms were fighting? Over what?
Why did the Witch decide to curse Sophie? What was it that she wanted in the first place?
Why was Howl involved in the war in the first place? Why does Sophie's hair remain silver?
Where did the air-machines and bombers came from? What are those frog-like things supposed to be? Why does Howl transform into that... thing?
Some are minor details, some aren't so easy to over-look.
However, this film is beautiful. Beautiful. The visuals are amazing, the interaction between characters heartwarming and the music has a bohemian touch that fits the mood all too well.
I would go as far as to say that this film has ephimeral moments - the scene with the stars running over the lake, for instance, is too beautiful for words, even. Howl coming back, exhausted, almost invisible and falling onto a chair is, as simple as it sounds, artistic, and his all-feathered body, and all the scene during which he protects his house and Sophie will make 95% of the female audience sigh.
So, should you watch this movie? Yes, if you haven't seen it yet, then yes! Try not to think too hard about the many "whys" and just enjoy the ride. Enchanting visuals, lovely music and an over-all feel-good feeling (redundant, I know) will accompany you, I promise. You won't regret it.
If you are a fan of Wynne's book, however - be wary. You just need to understand they're not the same thing. This movie isn't trying to be a faithful adaptation; it's something very different and very unique. Don't expect Wynne's lighthearted romantic humor, but you'll get something really good in its own way.
 Something to Howl about October 8, 2006
Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana)
19 out of 32 found this review helpful
A different kind of anime
This one was first a book
And although very different
The movie's worth a look
A wizard's castle moves about
A demon's in the ashes
A young woman's under a spell
And now she's past hot flashes
Working in a hatter's shop
Avoiding all the hassle
Until the spell changes her life
and lands her in the castle
The castle is a wondrous heap
Of bolts and gears and springs
It takes them here and everywhere
and hides from evil things
The outside world is hard at war
With guns and bombs and fire
At first Howl wants no part of it
This wizard's not for hire
A meeting with the wicked witch
A cunning wizard trick
The demon and a falling star
All make this movie tick
It may not follow to a tee
The book from which it came
And though it's done in anime
At heart it's still the same
Amanda Richards, October 7, 2006
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