Howl's Moving Castle- My favourite movie of all the time by Hayou Miyazaki

Amid the rolling hills, a noisy contraption emerges through the swirling mists. The castle of the wizard Howl is on the move.

In the town below, a quiet girl works diligently within a milliner's shop. While the rest of the girls are going out, she stays behind. They spot the castle in the distance as it disappears into the mists to conceal itself from a flying military patrol, and giggle about rumours of Howl taking the heart of a young girl from another town. Finally Sophie finishes up, putting on her own hat which is much plainer than any creation to be sold to her customers.

Sophie heads out into the town, which is oozing with the pomp and circumstance of military displays. She quietly slips into a back street, but there she is accosted by a couple of soldiers, out to have some fun with the local ladies. However, a passing stranger backs her up and seems to send the soldiers marching on their way with merely a few gestures of his finger. As he escorts her along the narrow lanes, sinister black blobs sporting jaunty boaters emerge from the walls of the buildings and give chase. Finally, there is only one way out - upwards! They leap high into the air and find themselves walking on air above the town square. Lightly tripping from spire to spire, Sophie is delivered to the safety of the veranda of the luxurious hotel where her younger sister Lettie works as a shophand, and Howl takes his leave to avoid attracting the blobs to that place.

The stunningly beautiful young Lettie is surrounded by various besotted male customers and hotel staff, but immediately tears herself away when told of her sister's unusual arrival. In a sisterly chat, Lettie can't really believe that this man who appears to have stolen Sophie's heart in the traditional way really was Howl, who by rights should have eaten it instead, according to the rumours. Despite Sophie's protestations that her plainness is unworthy of such attention, Lettie hopes for better things for her older sister, even amid the troubled times and rumours of the return of the Witch of the Waste.

When Sophie returns to the empty shop that evening, an elegant woman arrives straight after her. After deriding the appearance of both Sophie and the shop, she is shown the door in no uncertain terms. As she passes outside to her waiting blob footmen, the Witch of the Waste leaves Sophie with a spell that cannot be revealed to anyone else. Seeing her wrinkled hands, Sophie realises that the Witch has turned her into an old woman! In a mild panic, she rushes distractedly from the mirror, which confirms her shocking appearance, to the courtyard and back again...

The next morning, Sophie shuts herself inside her room and feigns illness, obviously unable to show herself to the rest of the shop, and especially not to her fashionable and beautiful mother, returning from the town of Kingsbury. Putting on a brave face, Sophie concedes that her plain clothes finally suit her physical appearance, although the creaking joints of an aged body are less easily ignored. Gathering some provisions, she sneaks out of town, which is all a-murmur of the impending war. She hitches a lift on a hay cart to the edge of the Waste outside the town, and despite warnings from the farmers, heads off up the hill to seek the wizard Howl. Spotting a stout branch poking out from a bush, she tries to claim it for a walking stick, using all her strength and determination to extract it. However, it turns out to be the support for a turnip-headed scarecrow, who seems to somehow be able to stand on his own once righted. Despite Sophie's proclaimed dislike of turnips, at least he does not appear to be in cahoots with the Witch.

As she struggles up the hill, she hears the scarecrow hopping along behind. While she tries to dissuade him and all his magical hoo-ha from following, she sees that he has brought a walking stick for her. Jokingly, she wonders out loud if he might bring a house for her to shelter in as well - and realises that she is getting more cunning with age. Near exhaustion, she carries on, towards the smell of smoke that promises nearby shelter. However, it is Howl's Castle that looms over the hill, with Turnip-Head gleefully hopping along before it. Sophie's shock that she has indeed been delivered the house that she requested, is not assuaged when close inspection shows the castle to be a rather ramshackle collection of nearly-alive parts. Nevertheless, with Turnip-Head pointing out the inviting back door, Sophie realises that she must run after her only available hope of shelter. Once again summoning all her strength, she leaps after the passing doorway and peeks inside. Turnip-Head chases after the receding castle to return Sophie's shawl, but the warmth inside is inviting and she farewells her new friend fondly, realising that there is some good even in a turnip.

Making her way into the gloomy edifice, Sophie finds a seat in front of the glowing embers of a fireplace. As she tosses a few more logs in the fire, she realises her new surroundings are very run-down, lined with cobwebs and junk overflowing in piles on the furniture. But there are more surprises in store - the fire talks to her and reveals himself to be the demon Calcifer! Sophie wonders whether this magical being can break the spell that she is under - but he wants the spell on himself to be broken in return. Bargaining with a demon is not the sort of thing Sophie feels like doing, and poor Calcifer bemoans his sorry lot, working for Howl under the terms of his curse, which of course also cannot be revealed. As the old lady drifts off to sleep, Calcifer wonders whether this bargain is really going to work out...

The next day, warships proudly steam their way out of another city with an unfamiliar flag, nevertheless accompanied by the same old jingoism and festivities seen all over the land. The Mayor of Porthaven knocks on the door at the shopfront of 'The Great Wizard Jenkins', which seems to now be a front for the Castle. A young boy goes to answer the door, disguising himself with a magical beard. He has little time to wonder at the sudden appearance of Sophie within the Castle overnight - the Mayor is there to summon the wizard to fight in the war for his King, but when he has departed, Sophie's new housemates realise that she is no witch, despite her joking with a young customer who has come to collect an order. As Sophie looks out the window to the seaside and realises that the Castle has moved from the Wastes, the doorbell rings again and Calcifer announces that they are now in Kingsbury. The indicator by the door rotates from Blue to Red, and the door opens to reveal a bustling city scene instead of a peaceful seaside town. This time, the Royal summons is for the Wizard Pendragon. When Sophie decides to turn the door handle from Red to Green, she opens the door to find herself looking out onto the desolate Wastes once again. Another turn of the handle to Blue returns the door's opening to Porthaven, at which point the young boy becomes irritated, and despite Sophie's interest in the Black door, tells her that only Howl knows where that leads.

The young boy scampers around to clear a spot amongst the debris to eat his breakfast of bread and cheese, but Sophie spots bacon and eggs and decides that something better is in order. Both the boy and Calcifer protest that only Howl may use the fire, but Sophie quietly threatens to reveal Calcifer's attempt to break his contract, and he unwillingly goes along with her cooking, much to the boy's surprise. The Black Door opens to reveal Howl, who Sophie recognises from the outfit that he was wearing on the day they escaped from the Witch's blobs. He seems amused, rather than surprised, to see Calcifer so obedient to this stranger, and Sophie tries to pass herself off as the new cleaning lady. Howl assumes the cooking duties, and the boy Markl invites Sophie to eat with them, although the chipped crockery and lack of clean cutlery speaks to the already-apparent general chaos of the household. Markl's boyish enthusiasm for the hot meal shows just how long it's been since he ate properly, but Sophie's observations about his slovenly manner within this slovenly manor are interrupted by Howl's sensing of an interesting artefact in Sophie's pocket.

Surprised by this revelation, Sophie pulls out a previously-undetected piece of paper, which disintegrates as she attempt to hand it to Howl, and burns a mystical mark into the table. This ancient spell carries a threat to Howl from the Witch, saying that just as he caught a falling star, so shall the heart of this heartless man be hers. Howl disappears upstairs for a bath, and Markl's suspicion that Sophie was sent by the Witch are not alleviated when she discovers that she really is unable to tell anyone about the curse!

Sophie takes out her frustration by manically launching into her role as cleaning lady, sending entire families of bugs and vermin scattering. Even prospective customers are made to wait outside as the frenzied activity sends clouds of dust into the street. Almost forgotten in the activity are the dying embers of Calcifer, whose life hangs on replenishing the wood to sustain his fire. As Calcifer clings to life (literally), Sophie goes outside to empty the ashes when the fire suddenly goes out. Howl breathes life back into Calcifer, although he does not seem overly disturbed that Sophie left him unattended. Sporting a fresh change of clothes, Howl jauntily opens the Black Door to reveal a fiery, hellish scene into which he disappears, leaving Calcifer to warn Sophie that his death also means Howl's death.

Having seen the havoc wreaked upon the lower level, Markl rushes to save his room upstairs from total devastation by Sophie's cleaning before she gets there. Fortunately for him, she is given pause halfway up by the horri

However, when the litter passes the palace gates, a guard spell robs her blob-servants of all mobility, forcing the Witch to climb the huge staircase in the same way as Sophie - on foot. Sophie is hindered by having to carry the little dog, but the Witch appears to be totally unfit and has an even harder time. As the 2 old ladies struggle up the stairs, the Witch dramatically starts to lose her youthful look, deteriorating into a sweating wreck while Sophie refuses to help, getting a little bit of revenge for being left in an old body. Still, the Witch herself has a certain determination to continue, as she is returning for the first time in 50 years since being driven out. The staff note that they are forbidden to assist, which seems to be a bit hard on what are supposed to be invited guests.

As the now quite worn-out Witch and the comparatively elegant 'Mrs. Pendragon' are announced to the Palace, the witch collapses into the only available chair in the middle of the room. As she rests there, Sophie is led off to a side alcove by the little dog, where she is met by a pageboy with startling blonde hair and a rather familiar face. Meanwhile, an unseen hand throws a switch and an unholy, dancing glow begins to spin an ominous web around the witch...

Sophie is led into a lush conservatory, appearing before Madame Suliman, the Royal Witch, who greets her as 'Mrs. Pendragon', and Sophie plays the role, saying she is Howl's mother. Sophie spots the dog at Suliman's feet, and is told that Heen is Suliman's dog, sent to keep an eye on her. Madame Suliman hears out Howl's apologies with obvious regret, noting that he was a very talented wizard, her last pupil and worthy to be her heir. However, after a demon stole Howl's heart, he abandoned Suliman and used his magic only for selfish reasons - she warns Sophie that Howl's heartlessness makes him dangerous, and he will only end up like the Witch of the Waste. The latter is brought in, now a feeble wreck whose magical powers and youth have been stripped away by Suliman's spells. She too, had bargained with a demon, and given her powers over. Suliman now appears to offer Howl a difficult choice - return and serve her, or have his powers taken just like the Witch. Sophie bristles at this flagrant abuse of power, and as she angrily confronts Suliman, her loving defence of Howl's innocence brings the youth back to her face, much to Suliman's amusement, who can now see plainly Sophie's love for Howl, and Suliman is sure that she has now found Howl's weak point.

The King arrives to see Suliman, and notes that while bombs may be deflected from the palace by magic, they still end up falling on the neighbouring towns, so the war must be won by other means. Suddenly, the true King appears from the wings, gleefully predicting victory in the coming battle. He laughs at the presence of the double, and leaves Suliman to acknowledge Howl's disguise, which of course she had detected from the beginning. Suliman unleashes a magical torrent of water to engulf her guests, and then a dizzying suspension from a great height. But as Howl quietly protects Sophie, Suliman surrounds Howl with the dancing demons that enfeebled the Witch. Transforming into his birdlike demon form, Howl is about to attack Suliman, but Sophie restrains him and they barely escape when Howl instead leaps from the greenhouse to the awaiting winged conveyance.

Heen and the Witch manage to tag along for the ride, much to Howl's consternation, although Sophie cannot throw them from the plane now. Now the power of Howl's 'lucky charm' is revealed, as it lights the way back to Calcifer. Howl gratefully acknowledges the way Sophie saved him from himself and Suliman, and leaves her at the controls as he diverts the pursuing troops.

Throughout the land, the troops of both warring lands attempt to forcibly break into the houses of the wizards Pendragon and Jenkins, but find only empty shells behind the shop facades. The magical Castle has kept itself well hidden. Sophie and the gang pass aboAve her home town as she heads toward the Wastes, when she suddenly realises that she does not know how to stop the vehicle. Crashing through the wall of the Castle, Sophie is welcomed home by Markl. Later that night, Calcifer is appalled by the oozing dark form of Howl, who moves like a ghost as he returns, dripping blood yet almost without any substance at all. Sophie steels herself to follow this horrific trail up to his room. No longer is it a comforting space, but a forboding tunnel running away into the darkness. Sophie finds Howl cowering at the end of the tunnel, but although she tries to help Howl, he mutters that she cannot even break her own curse, and flees.

In the morning, Sophie is woken by the running bath, and Calcifer tells her that time is running out. Sophie realises that Suliman has given her the clue to Howl's curse - the bargain he made with Calcifer in exchange for his heart. Nevertheless, Calcifer's reticence cannot be overcome and threats are useless, as his extinguishment will also lead to Howl's demise. In the quiet of the morning, Sophie steels herself for whatever is to come.

fying condition of the bathroom, which is totally bespattered by evidence of Howl's previous hair colourings. Opening a window, she finds herself overlooking a majestic vista as Calcifer transports the Castle across the countryside. Finding a side balcony from which to enjoy the pastoral beauty of the approaching Star Lake, Markl and Sophie find Turnip-Head stuck upside-down yet again in a niche in the Castle. He seems to have taken a liking to Sophie and followed her into the Castle.

The Castle sets itself gingerly down by the shore of Star Lake, then Sophie, Markl and Turnip-Head turn to domestic duties such as hanging out the laundry. As they take tea beside the lake, Sophie mentions to Markl that Turnip-Head seems to be not so much a demon as a helpful spirit, who managed to lead her to the wonderful place where she now sits.

The peaceful, serene shore of Star Lake is a huge contrast to where Howl currently finds himself - flying in feathered form over a burning city being bombed by squadrons of warplanes. Howl himself is beset by monstrous bowler-wearing flying blobs, and their battle is fierce. Exhausted, he creeps back into the Castle just before daybreak, and Calcifer notes the effort that Howl must use to return to human form, warning him that one day, he might not be able to do so. Howl replies that his opponents were indeed transformed wizards who had lost their humanity to their monstrous ways. Perhaps this is why Howl had not reported to the King for battle duty.

Before heading upstairs for his bath, he looks in gently on the sleeping Sophie who seems to appear young again in the moonlight still of the night. Startled by the running bath, Sophie wakes in fright, appearing old once again?

Sophie and Markl head out shopping in Porthaven, with Sophie keen to see the seaside for the first time, and Markl grumbling with childlike disdain for healthy foods such as potatoes and fish. The horrors of war are brought starkly home as a smoking wreck of a battleship limps into port. In the hubbub, Sophie spies one of the Witch's top-hatted blob-servants, although the general populace appears not to notice the monsters in their midst. They manage to sneak home in the confusion when an enemy airship drops a mass of propaganda leaflets all over town.

However, the apparent peace inside the Castle is shattered by an explosion and an unearthly cry from the bathroom. Sophie's cleanup has apparently confused Howl and his latest hair colouring mixture is not at all what he expected - his hair has changed from a dazzling blonde to a vibrant orange! He rushes downstairs in a panic, complaining about Sophie's cleanup and falling into a sulk about his appearance as his hair starts to spontaneously change to purple, followed by black. A Darkness starts to engulf the place, and he even starts to drip green goo from his skin. Sophie, never one to have ever been praised for her beauty, can't take such self-indulgence any more and runs crying out into the rain. The considerate Turnip-Head kindly brings her an umbrella. Markl fetches her back inside to save Calcifer from Howl's liquid oozing, and Sophie finds she has yet another mess to clean up.

The cleaned-up Howl is resting inside his room, a stately pleasure dome full of magical baubles and gaudy trinkets. Sophie brings him something hot to drink, and he calls her to his bedside, noting that he has detected that the Witch is searching him out. He tells Sophie that he once met the Witch, but fled her in his cowardice, which comes as no surprise to Sophie, having witnessed his immaturity about mere hair colouring. He says that his unwillingness to meet the King in any form is also a form of cowardice, although he cannot totally deny the oath he took when at the Royal Academy. Sophie's naïve proposal that Howl simply refuse to support the King's war that causes suffering for his people is met with another outlandish idea from Howl - that Sophie make apologies on Howl's behalf by impersonating the Wizard Pendragon's mother! And who is this mysterious Madame Suliman who Howl appears also keen to avoid?

Sophie sets off for the palace, wearing her plain old hat, despite Howl magicking up a nice dress for her. Before she leaves, Howl places a ring on her finger, telling her that it is a charm to assure her safe return, and reassuring her that he will follow in disguise. All along the way, she wonders in what form Howl has chosen to disguise himself, and when a wheezy little dog patters along behind her, such flamboyance seems to betray the point of a disguise. But Sophie has more to worry about when the Witch pulls alongside in her litter, admiring her own handiwork and gloating that she too has been called to the palace to lend her powers to Madame Suliman.

Markl and Turnip-Head combine forces to help Sophie extract the twitching wreck of the plane from the Castle, and they all pile back inside for breakfast. Even Calcifer is suspicious of the new housemates, as the Witch takes an unusual interest in him. Howl seems less concerned though, finding the spell on Turnip-Head quite in keeping with all the others in the household, although Howl must leave him behind as it is too risky to take him in, with Suliman in pursuit. Calcifer finally gets to put on a splendid display of his powers, as the Castle is magically transported in moments not only to a different place, but reconfigures itself with far more comforts of home. As Markl rushes around his clean new surroundings, Sophie realises that one of the Castle doors now faces her own home town, and Howl shows off all the new additions - especially the presents waiting for her in her own little room, and the outside remade in the fashion of her old shop.

But Howl saves the most spectacular addition for last - he leads Sophie out through a new colour of door, into a meadow shimmering with flowers and ponds. It is Howl's private garden, yet oddly familiar to Sophie. Howl leads her to a small mill-house where he used to spend his childhood summers alone. Sophie feels a foreboding about being left alone in this place, but Howl's reassurances only talk of providing in a material sense, and the youthful vigour she has found shrinks back into an old lady's shell.

The peaceful scene is disturbed by passing battleships, and Howl is outraged at the intrusion. He disables one with a wave, although his demonic nature begins to show through as he can hardly contain his transformation. Chased by blobs from the crippled airship, Howl dumps Sophie back through the Castle door and flees.

That evening, as Sophie frets for the missing Howl, Markl reassures her, while even the old Witch can detect her lovesickness. And even the Witch can still love, lusting after the hearts of young men. The air raid sirens outside warn of a danger less sinister than the blob-men searching the night for Howl, who is soaring over the ugly battlefields.

Just as Markl and Sophie are going out the next morning, Sophie's mother arrives, and spotting her old daughter, announces that she has remarried a rich man and has come to take her away. But Sophie is content to stay, so her mother rushes away again. The cunning old Witch inspects a package left behind, and finds a spying bug sent from Suliman, which she tosses into the fire to thwart her rival for Howl. As she leaves, Sophie's mother angrily reports her duty done to her escort, hoping that her actions were not too high a price to pay for her ransomed husband.

Markl and Sophie watch the procession of townspeople fleeing the raids, and the little boy suddenly clings on to Sophie, hoping she won't leave him as well. He feels that she completes his new family, and she agrees. Markl opens a window to let out the smoke from the cigar that the Witch found in Suliman's package, but Calcifer, weakened by his constant defence of the Castle and the ingestion of Suliman's nasty bug, cannot stop the effects of a bombing raid from rattling the building. Sophie rushes to observe the nearby damage, but the blob-men finally spot her and chase her to the house, slowed only by the remains of the Castle's magical protections. Howl personally cushions a bomb from landing on the shop-house, and gently gets her to safety within. The Witch finds time in all the commotion to flirt with Howl as he revives Calcifer, but he must quickly leave - this time not to run away, but to face the next bombing raid and protect the one girl he has finally found to love.

As Howl rises to face his foes, the shop-house is surrounded by blob-men attempting to find a way in. Sophie changes the door to the Wastes, from where she can see her town being devastated by the battle, and a truly monstrous Howl fighting a horrifying battle. Turnip-Head has been waiting in the Wastes for her return, but it is Calcifer's magic that she needs now, to move the Castle so that Howl need not put himself in danger to protect them. She decides to take the drastic step of removing Calcifer from the Castle, removing its magical presence in the town and hopefully giving Suliman one fewer target to attack, and Howl one fewer target to defend.

As Calcifer passes the Castle's threshold, it implodes upon itself spectacularly as its magical strength dissipates. However, in the rain, Calcifer starts to go out, so Turnip-Head leads them back into the ruined building, no longer a target for Suliman's blobs.

Concerned for Howl, she wants Calcifer to move the Castle physically to town. The cunning that she seems to have gained is put to use wheedling Calcifer into helping, but he does demand a bargain - perhaps her eyes. She offers a grey braid instead, which Calcifer willingly feeds on. Rejuvenated, Calcifer manages to animate a small part of the Castle, which clanks its way down the hill towards the town. Sophie is impressed by this display of power, but Calcifer thinks he could have done even more with her heart. Suddenly realising the meaning of this, the Witch greedily reaches for Calcifer's glowing centre - Howl's lost heart, which he bargained away so long ago.

Although Howl is in mortal combat, the Witch thinks only of the heart that she covets, and grabs Calcifer, causing him to lose control of the Castle. Despite burning almost to death, she cannot overcome her greed and let go of the flaming talisman. In desperation, Sophie throws a bucket of water over the Witch to put her out - but Calcifer is now reduced to a barely-glowing ember. The building starts to disintegrate around them, and Sophie falls into a ravine as the Castle splits in half. Wailing, the Witch selfishly mourns the once-vibrant heart she still holds, and which Sophie only doused in order to save the Witch's life.

Dazed, Sophie realises that she may have killed both Calcifer and Howl, who she so desperately loved and wanted to save. Suddenly, a weak glow from the charm on her finger gives her hope that perhaps Calcifer is still alive, and she follows its glow to the door that fell from the Castle, which now leads into an inky black nothingness. Steeling herself, she enters...

...and finds herself emerging into Howl's mill-house hideaway. In the moonlight, she sees a sky full of shooting stars. Their spirits slowly dissipate as they come crashing to earth, but Sophie spots a young Howl passing in the meadow, observing without fear. Sophie's ring vibrates in sympathy for its dying comrades, and she realises this is the moment in Howl's childhood when he made a fateful bargain - but she can do nothing to intervene as she starts to sink into the soft ground. She sees Howl catch a brilliant, falling star. He swallows it, and he clutches at his chest. Calcifer emerges from within, carrying Howl's heart which now binds them both together. Finally, Sophie's ring cracks with stress, and she is sucked back through time to the present, only having a chance to call out a promise to Howl and Calcifer that she would one day return to save them both.

When she returns to the door, she finds Howl waiting for her, as she now realises he had done for his whole life from that moment in the garden. The door finally closes behind her forever, its purpose fulfilled. Now barely human, he flies her back to Calcifer, just managing to animate a tottering platform with the Witch and Markl, and Turnip-Head looking out for them. Howl collapses and Sophie pleads with the Witch for his heart. Even the Witch realises the power of Sophie's love is more deserving of Howl's heart than her own selfishness, and finally gives it up. Calcifer too is worn out by his lifetime of servitude, but even so fears what might happen to him when Howl's heart is returned. Still, he survived a splashing from Sophie so she decides to go ahead.

As Sophie places the fluttering, childlike heart back on Howl's chest, Calcifer suddenly bursts forth like the shooting star he once was, proclaiming his freedom. Howl stirs, but Calcifer's departure sends the now inert platform toppling towards the mountain's edge. Only by throwing himself in the way does Turnip-Head save the family, at the cost of being ground down to almost nothing.

Sophie gratefully kisses the Turnip for his sacrifice. But as in all the best fairy tales, Turnip-head suddenly transforms into a handsome prince! He reveals that his disappearance was the reason the war was being fought. His love, who had rescued him from the barren Waste, had finally restored him to his true form with a kiss. Unfortunately, the object of his affections is in love with another, so he can only gallantly return home. Howl happily bears the burden of his restored heart, together with his new family. Spying on this scene, Madame Suliman decides to call off the war, which no longer has any believable pretext. And even Calcifer returns - after all, he misses them and might need somewhere to stay when it rains?

Over the closing song, we see a scene of Howl's Castle flying serenely through blue skies. The rebuilt Castle is now a true home to Howl's family, including Calcifer, Markl and the girl for whom he'd waited all his life - Sophie.

by: Nausicaa.net