Love, Magic, and Self-Discovery: Howl's Moving Castle A Video Essay

I just saw this film in theatres. I can honestly say, that several things were lost in translation. There are also some loose ends and quick resolutions that made the storytelling underwhelming.

Just came in from my local AMC after watching this movie as part of the studio Ghibli fest, and I have to say your explanations and insight about the film really cleared some confusing issues I had. I originally saw the movie as some sort of time loop, as Sophie saw and communicated with a young Howl swallowing the shooting star (was that Calcifer?) and in turn the older Howl knowing about Sophie since the beginning of the movie and also being privy to the fact that she was the key to breaking his curse. But the other themes about love, Miyazki's purposeful obfuscation storytelling, and connections to an original book were all surprises to me. I plan on adding this film to my collection, thank you for the edification!

If true love has to be reciprocated then wouldn't Sophie's kiss not work on Turnip head?

lol the music while she’s talking about the symbolism of crows for death. I am definitely shaking my head no and disagreeing with your opinions but I am enjoying it a lot. good job 👍🏻

Wow I really love this movie and happy to know more about it and miyazaki through ur video ♥

As an iraqi this brings me so much joy that he would protest for peace ❤❤

One of my most vivid memories from childhood is howl & sophie strolling in the sky while merry-go-round-of-life kicks in and the rest is history.

Sophie is still one of my favorite protagonist of all time, she still inspires me to this day.

I watched other Howl’s analyses and yours is one of the best deep dives, i love your take & interpretations.

I understand the movie isn’t very clear-cut which dissuaded others’ enjoyment of the film. But I firmly believe HMC is something very special that it can touch hearts without us fully knowing why.
I’m very grateful i grew up with this film, it never fails to bring me comfort through the worst times and i’m very happy to see others have the same magical experience as mine.

around 10 minutes in i chuckled at the connor meme thrown in there XD so funny how much trash taste has evolved into regular internet culture

I saw your thumbnail and thought you looked familiar, we went to highschool together. 🥹💕 This was so beautifully done, one of my favorite movies.

When I learned about Miyazaki is what happen when I studied Einstein, they both WAY bigger person than their famous work because of how their moral stances and how they conduct themselves.

I do not agree with the hypothesis that sofie becomes younger when she is feeling in love. When she sleeps she is back to her Young age, she is not feeling in love in sleep.

I always thought Howl was an artificially created being like the clone kids Sullivan had with her.

An infinite love story

Why was Sophie made an old woman by the Witch of the wastes?

This was so well done. Thank you for putting it up.

watching this after watching the movie again...
It surprises me with new messages every time i watch it.
I remember the first time i watched it i was sobbing and crying the whole time, this movie comforted me greatly.
This time after watching it, I resonated with Sofie's character more than ever. The amount of care and love she gives for others is so greatttt from her step mom, step sister, markl, tunip, calcifer, and howl... she has all that loveeee for everyone but she had so little for her self...

There's so many interpretations as to why why sofie's curse goes on and off, but for me it's not just her love for Howl, or for herself, but her level of maturity, where in the beginning she was matured, poised, headstrong, courageous, yet she sees herself as below standard in terms of looks. Hence the appearance of an old wrinkly lady. Remember in the beginning of the film where Lettie entices Sofie to go out and explore... but she was dead set on running the hat shop... all that duty related maturity was mirrored in physical form. That's why when she finally begins to go on an adventure, act and feel her age, her youthful self appears briefly. All the decisions she did towards the end wouldn't be the "right mature" decision I would make.

OR beside maturity, maybe when Sofie gets so passionate she turns back to her young form. Like after she cleaned up when she slept she was normal, when she was passionately protecting Howl every single time, she would be in younger form.

Thats just me. But what bothers me now is why her hair didn't change back to the black color... hmmmm, is it because she gave her hair to calcifer?
or because the symbolism of the hair in this movie is far more complex like for example, what does the color grey mean?
I searched google and one interesting definition can best fit Sofie's character in the film
"gray is the color of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. It is perceived as classic, refined, dignified, and conservative. Gray is perfect neutral that lives between the extremes of black and white."

In any case before I bore you with my own essay here hahaha

I love this film so much and even with all the research you did and all the information I now know of, the whole film still intrigues me no matter how many times I watch it.

It is definitely a masterpiece ahead of its time.

Thank you for this video essay!
Keep it up!!!

Great video! You clearly put a lot of research into it. Can't wait to look at the rest of your videos :)

I have been waiting for a explanation video exactly like this, no other video was worth the watch because they didn't really explain it the way I could digest like you did. Thank you for making this video, Howl's Moving Castle is and will always be one of my favorite movies. The feelings and imagination you get while watching Studio Ghibli movies is like no other, I feel like a kid again when I watch them and they bring so much hopefulness to my heart. Thank you again, I thoroughly enjoyed this video it really brought to light some of the important themes I didn't fully understand ❤

I just finished seeing howls moving castle just to see this video, amazing movie and amazing video

Howls moving castle is my favourite Ghiblie movie for a reason. It's why I picked up book too and despite many differences I love both it's my comfort series (I still think Howl should have kept blonde hair in movie but I prefer movie version Howl to book version slightly more since he's bit nicer there bit book story is definitely superior. Otc it still.doesnt mean movie isn't beautiful in it's own way and I still cherish it as one of my favourite movies

I first found you on Instagram, your videos were suggested to me. From the short reels I was already so impressed that I have now watched the video of you to Howls moving castle and I must say WOW!
I really like your way of explaining things and I love that you go into so much detail!
I really like this Video, thank you 😊🔥

This essay is packed with rare background info and creative takes. If only the thumbnail and title of the video precisely reflected that, so that more people would click on it.

I totally agree with the Hollywood cuts negative effects on the integrity of the story.

Keep up the good work!

I re-read the 3 book series every year with my kids. They love the movie & the books & we enjoy Diana Wynne Jones' stunning storytelling.

amazin vid

Love this type of content!!!! ❤❤❤

This was the deep dive I didn’t know I needed ❤

We just covered this movie over on our podcast. This movie is TRULY magical.

The fact that you've put connor gifs
🤣🤣🤣

what a great video thank you

I always thought that Sofies age was a reflection of how she was feeling about herself her self image. But these explanations are cool too!

Very insightful. I always suspected that Sophie's love affected her curse and aging, just havent seen it stated so clearly before. Thank you.

This was the first Studio Ghibli film that I'd watched (my sister had watched Kiki's Delivery Service and I had only caught clips of it, so I don't count it). It led me to the book. It was after Howl's Moving Castle that I found Spirited Away and other movies.
I loved the movie from the moment I saw it. I loved the anti-war message of it (then again, I can be considered a pacifist). I loved the subtle magical elements in the movie.
I always interpreted Sophie's curse waxing and waning as a reflection of her insecurities. laughs The more comfortable and secure she felt in herself or something she was talking about, the more of her youth she regained. And the curse breaking, I always interpreted as something she did when she took control to protect everyone she'd loved.
I love the fact that it can be interpreted in so many ways. I think that is something that makes the movie extra special.
Thinking of the book (although I'd reread it recently) brings back bittersweet memories. I used to read it to my pet cockatiel when he was alive.

I wish if ghibli would make more magical animes like howels moving castle and spirited away

What's nuts is that while I didn't "get" the movie at the time I watched it, I still enjoyed the ride. I don't get people, sometimes
Having said that, watching it again recently with my mom, I got it a little better, though I interpreted the aging as her feeling more confident in herself (which I guess fits in with the "self love/loving others" theme to an extent anyway). That's what I told Mom when she asked why she kept changing (she loved the movie, btw)

I read the book a long time ago myself, but I forgot she had powers of her own in it. Guess my memory's not so good anymore 😅

Anyway, nice video. Didn't know about the protest and that he (essentially) told Weinstein to eff off right to his face. Might I suggest either Tales from Earthsea or Spirited Away at some point in the future? Those would probably be an interesting dive.

such a fantastic vid !! howl's moving castle is my fave out of all the ghibli films i've watched :D 💗

This video had me so engaged the entire time, im so excited for when you get the attention u deserve!!

This is one of first japanese movies i ever saw, meaby even first, saw it first time around 5 or 6 yo. This movie and its music wake up lot of childhood memories and feelings.

Wonderful video, I love Howl’s Moving Castle! It’s such a beautiful movie.

Howl's Moving Castle is a very interesting and beautiful movie to me. It is the first Studio Ghibli movie that I have seen. I originally watched this movie after unexpectedly spending a girls night in an old friend's dorm room. Watching it the first time, the movie was very pretty and funny to me but didn't leave a lasting impact. The parts I remembered were primarily Sophie and Calciifer interacting and her crying in the rain with Turnip Head. The romance itself between her and Howl didn't stick and when discussing the movie with anyone I always found myself relating back to Sophie's journey specifically and her finding a home.

To watch this review, I sat down and watched the movie again alone. I tried to really focus on all the characters and the dynamics. Yet, I found myself focusing on the same aspect, Sophie's transformation and interaction with characters. I agree heavily with your review that love and vanity play as the central part to the movie. However, rather than romantic love I think many of the curses shown are based on self love. After my rewatch, I noticed that Sophie gets younger majority of the time when she finds beauty in the environment, feels appreciated, or finds a sense of self-worth in what she is achieving. Even in moments where she keeps her old voice but has a young appearance, I noticed that her words relent to the beauty of being old and being able to see the world in a different perspective. Her words and her thoughts are what change her curse and are her magic, as you said. And I honestly love that detail and realize why I always remembered only Sophie and her banter scenes rather than the growing romantic plot of her and Howl.

Her romance with Howl I believe is only another stem of the blooming flower for her self love. My favorite anime quote has always been "Sometimes, we need someone to accept and love us first. Then, we would learn to see ourselves through that person's eyes and learn to love ourselves." This quote is from Yuki Sohma in Fruits Basket. His entire story surrounds the same views of vanity, self worth and love. Rather than following the perception of beauty by others Sophie and Yuki find themselves being appreciated, called beautiful/pretty by people they care about and through that discover that they are worthy enough to be loved and are beautiful. Through Howl, Markl and Calcifer's love for Sophie, she finds a worth and love for herself and that helps her realize that Howl has to find that love too. He is unable to feel the love of other's, love her, or himself without the entirety of his heart. He's fallen so far into being a crow, admiring the shiny, pretty things that he's lost sight of the people who find the beauty in his magic, in him and who love him beyond his own demons.

This analysis is all the thoughts I had stemming after my rewatch and watch of this video. Perhaps it is a bit jumbled but there's also beauty in the honest thoughts and words that come from ourselves, which Howl's Moving Castle teaches us.

This is hugely underrated. I think this is one of the best analysis videos of HMC I've seen so far! As someone who originally saw the film when I was around 7/8 and rewatched it a couple of years ago (and has been obsessed ever since), I think it's always been one of my absolute favorite Ghibli films. I ended up reading the book, and like most other people, I definitely saw the differences between the two mediums. That being said, I still think they're both incredible in their own way, and it seems like Miyazaki is more so inspired by the book instead of wanting to adapt it word for word (though most book-to-movie adaptations can never do that lol). I never knew the backstory behind why he didn't want his movies to be as popular in the U.S., so I'm happy to learn about it. Most of my friends who've seen HMC don't really like it as a movie, but honestly, it's so much deeper than people give it credit for. Again, amazing video 😭♡♡ !!

I think Sophie's "speaking things into existence magic" is really fascinating, and it made me think about the power of self talk and manifesting feelings/perceived realities in our own lives. If we all just recognized our own magic like Sophie, maybe we would be kinder to ourselves and express more love! ♡

But I really loved this video! It made me want to properly dive back into the books to find all of the little similarities between them and the movie. The Wales thing always gets me though, LOL~ Learning that fact never ceases to amaze and amuse me ^o^

Not just her love for Howl…but the love she has for herself. Having Howl’s love didn’t just break the curse, but the true love she has for herself was the moment her curse broke.

Great video!!

She also speaks to the flying machine after the crash, telling it to "work, damn you" and it sparks to life and flies out of the wall

Great breakdown!

This is so well made! Super interesting!

I have read the book and watched the movie, they start on the same lines but diverge to some extent but this in no way spoil the enjoyment of both. This is a rare thing in western adaptations of books these days, where a catchy title is used as the inspiration for a while new plot.