Howl's moving castle

Howl’s moving castle

After the huge success of “Spirited Away”, I think “Howl’s moving castle” is another great piece done by Hayao Miyazaki. Again it is full filled with weird imagination and very impressive characters.

Howl was a handsome, intelligent and ambitious wizard but traded his heart with demon. Calcifer, the little fire demon and the servant of Howl, gained power from his heart and supplied engine to the moving castle (it walks with four steel legs, can you imagine that?). Sophie was an ordinary girl working in a hat shop but with very kind heart. She was brave, independent and hardworking. Though she was cursed and turned to a 90-year-old by the Witch of the waste, she didn’t despair. In stead after she found out Howl’s deep fear and loneliness, she tried her best to encourage and help him. Finally, the two broke all spells and saved people from the war.

Howl is a very self-contradictory character. He always appears strong in front of others, dressed smart and behaves as a gentleman. However, deep inside he is still a boy who fills his bedroom up with toys and amulets. Although he can make a very clean house with his magic in a few seconds, he would let dirt and dust cover ceiling and floor, and lives with bugs, spiders and mice as if he never sees them. If Sophie didn’t enter this castle in accident, I suppose he might live there and eat the same junk food all his life like that… Howl is very capricious with Sophie only, while I think he just wants more care (or more attention?). He showed Sophie his beautiful secret garden and little summer house where he spent his childhood, but hided the horrible story where he sold his heart to demon behind the screen. Though he liked Sophie very much, he could not face or admit his own feeling. When Sophie told him her true heart, he fled away… until finally, before he lost all his strength, he opened his fragile heart with all secrets to Sophie and asked her for help…

Sophie is another big character. If every girl likes her, this world will be very clean, peaceful and harmonious. Man will enjoy comfortable house and delicious food and lose interest in conquering. Is that the original thinking of God when he made the first woman?? Haha… There are also other interesting characters such as freedom restrained Calcifer, cute apprentice Markl, horrible looking the Witch of the waste… and many more! Check it out yourself ~

Maybe everyone has his/her own moving castle with hidden past, buring heart and hope moving alone, looking for or simply waiting for a miracle to come...