Howl’s Moving Castle: The Best Animated Romance Film Ever
Howl’s Moving Castle is one of the most iconic films to ever come out of Studio Ghibli. This movie influenced a whole generation, honey. And, it is available for streaming on HBO MAX. You can sign up for a free seven day trial and watch it in high quality for FREE. You can also watch Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and much more. You’re welcome, by the way.
Howl’s Movie Castle is one of the only films that I’ve actually been able to watch more than once. I am literally obsessed with absolutely everything about this film. The film is about a young woman named Sophie who finds herself involved with a wizard named Howl. They meet at a time where there is a war brewing and tensions are high. Sophie works in her family’s hat shop and can be seen a as being quite reserved and hard working. Unfortunately, after an encounter with Howl, her world turns upside down and she is left with a curse that is almost impossible to break.
One of the things that I love about this film is that you can see the amount of hard work it took to make it. Just look at the picture above. You can tell that the creators spent so much time making this film look as realistic as possible despite it being an animated film.
If you don’t want me to spoil the movie, I suggest you scroll back up. As explained above, Sophie is a young woman that seems to spend the majority of her time working at a hat shop and idly letting her time pass by almost as though she is not living. Not only that, but she doesn’t see herself as being beautiful at all. She is mature and responsible, the opposite of her sister. Due to her insecurity, you can tell that she, at times, hinders herself. Throughout this film, you can see her slowly become a stronger character. The curse of old age helps her speak more boldly and do things that she might have not done in the body of her actual age. I also believe that this curse was fitting and taught her, and everyone that watched this film, a lesson about letting time slip by until it is too late to turn back. Having Howl not be a character that is meant to rescue her, despite helping her earlier in the film, and instead being someone that encourages her is something that you don’t see in films most of the time. There is a balance in this relationship and both characters have their own strengths and weaknesses. They help bring out the best in each other, despite their shortcomings, and teach each other through kindness and love. All of the characters in this film had their own little touch of magic and introduced us to a world that is both realistic yet fictional. Events, like a war that occurs due to a missing prince, show us how easy it is for humans to put lives at risks for their own selfishness and how this selfishness can cause pain and horror to the innocent. This film allows you to see things from a different perspective and really makes you think about the way you are living your life, and whether there are changes that need to be made.
