From the Guy that Brought You Totoro and Yubaba: Howl's Moving Castle

     In 2004, another creation of Hayao Mayazaki was released to the public: Howl's Moving Castle, based on the book by Diana Wynne Jones, which was published in 1986.

     Once upon a time, a young woman named Sophie was working diligently in her late father's hat shop. Sophie is very reserved, but she is dedicated, zealous, and caring. She lives a quiet and unexciting life. But now that she's met a young wizard named Howl, her life will change forever. Jealous of Sophie's interaction with Howl, the Witch of the Waste visits the hat shop and places a curse on her, instantly turning Sophie into an old woman. She can't hide what's happened for long, so Sophie leaves her home and stumbles upon Howl's magic castle. It's a walking house with legs, and she enters, becoming Howl's "cleaning lady," while calling herself Grandma Sophie. With a war going on in Sophie's country, Howl and his many aliases have been ordered to the palace to give aid in the war. With the help of the burning fire called Calcifer, Howl's apprentice named Markl, and the scarecrow nicknamed "Turnip Head," will Sophie be able to break the curse she's under as well as help Howl find his heart, or are they both headed for an unhappy fate?

     The thing about anime films is that they sometimes come across as art more than other forms of animation. After all, anime is an art form from Japan, even before film was invented. 
     In Howl's Moving Castle, Hayao Miyazaki demonstrates a creative use of color. Most of our settings in the film are very colorful: The Royal city, Sophie's hometown, the meadow that Howl gives to Sophie. The one thing that is not colorful is Howl's castle. Inside and out, the castle tends to look dark and gray, except for Howl's bedroom. Even Markl contrasts the look of the castle. As for Howl's bedroom, it looks a little bit like a gypsy's office. The rest of the castle doesn't look like that, thus making Howl all the more mysterious. A nearly colorless castle doesn't add to Howl's true self, it hides it. Those who have watched the film know that is takes a while for Sophie to make sense of why Howl is the way he is, and the difference between the general surroundings of Howl's castle and his personal quarters, (and even his hair color), makes the audience want to know more about Howl himself. 

     Howl's Moving Castle is a love story as well as a story about overcoming fear and insecurities. Sophie tends to believe that she isn't beautiful: "...even though I'm not pretty and all I'm good at is cleaning," she says to Howl at one point. Throughout the film, Sophie says other things like this to reflect her lack of physical self-worth 
    Howl also struggles with self-worth. At one moment of the film when Howl was in despair he said that, "I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful." Not only that, but Howl does not want to face things. "I'm such a big coward, all I do is hide. All of this magic is to keep everybody away. I can't stand how scared I am," he confides in Sophie. 
    But Howl and Sophie manage to help change each other. Sophie's own bravery and determination teaches Howl how to be brave, and her love for Howl also motivates him to be selfless. As his love for Sophie grows, Howl chooses to face danger rather than run from it in order to protect her. In turn, Howl's love, as well as all the things that she has to go through for Howl, helps Sophie to see her own beauty and grow her confidence. In the end, Howl and Sophie have brought each other to a better happiness.

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