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Book vs. Movie: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

7/15/2012

96 Comments

 
Howl's Moving Castle cover

Book vs. Movie
Howl's Moving Castle

Written by Diana Wynne Jones and published in 1986

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released in 2004 
Howl's Moving Castle movie poster
Hayao Miyazaki’s production of Howl’s Moving Castle is the movie that I most frequently list as my favorite movie of all time.  So, I admit that I was terribly nervous to read this book.  There’s a reason our six star rating is subtitled “Inconceivable!” – how often does a movie production actually surpass the book?  No, more often than not, the book will blow any film attempt out of the water.  And I admit that I really didn’t want this movie to be ruined for me, even by a book that I would probably love. 

Well, guess what?  That’s exactly what happened.  And I can’t even be sorry about it because Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is now one of my favorite books of all time.  Sorry movie; I still adore you and all but you’re just not the same.  While the movie does a great job with some aspects of the book and does, in my opinion, capture the overall flavor of the story, it really misses the mark in some key areas.  
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As the book opens, we are introduced to Sophie and her family.  Sophie is the eldest of three, which in this universe means that she will be doomed to poor prospects.  All of her parents’ (her father and not-so-wicked stepmother's) hopes are placed on the shoulders of the youngest sister, Martha.  The middle sister, Lettie, is a strong-willed girl who likes to get her own way.  

When Sophie’s father dies unexpectedly, her stepmother realizes that she will not be able to support them all.  Sophie’s sisters are sent out to apprentice at a bakery (Lettie) and with a witch (Martha).  Sophie is left to apprentice in the hat shop.  Resigned to her fate, she works day and night designing and building hats, becoming more and more isolated and fretful.  It gets so bad that she’s afraid to even visit her sister down the street.  She also develops a rather kooky habit of speaking to the hats she’s building.

The movie condenses Sophie’s sisters down to one – Lettie – who works in a bakery.  Sophie’s mother runs the hat shop and Sophie’s father is simply not present.  While I think the movie excellently portrays Sophie’s isolation and dreariness, it fails to capture the extent of her fear and she’s never, not once, shown speaking to a hat.  Which is a damn shame.

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In the book, Sophie finally gets up the courage to visit her sister, but ends up heading out on May Day, amidst a riot of celebration and flirting.  Halfway there, she runs into a striking looking man with a silver and blue suit, white-blond hair, and eyes like green marbles.  She’s jumpy and he teases her a bit for being afraid, calling her a mouse and saying that the only wished to take her out for a drink.  Ultimately, he wishes her well and leaves her be.  The movie follows this same basic path, except that instead, Sophie is set upon in an alley by two smarmy officers who are very much into rape-flirting.  Howl (the striking looking man, of course!) comes along to rescue her from them.  Then they escape some giant black blob-men by flying through the sky.  Which is a tad…different.

When Sophie reaches the bakery, she finds out that her sisters Martha and Lettie have used a magic spell (learned from Martha’s apprenticeship) to switch places.  Martha is now quite a hit at the bakery, where she has already received dozens of proposals and Lettie is finally being challenged as a magician’s apprentice.  Martha tells Sophie plainly that she believes her stepmother is taking advantage of her.  Sophie seems to have some sort of talent for fashion, and her stepmother is constantly away “gadding” while Sophie is left in the shop.  She doesn’t even earn a wage.  Stunned by this revelation, Sophie leaves, intending to confront her stepmother.

All of this is really played down in the film.  “Lettie” – Sophie’s one sister simply says “do something for yourself once in a while, okay?” as she’s leaving.  The mom is never mentioned.

Back at the shop, Sophie feels more and more discontent.  She snarks hilariously at customers and grumbles when her stepmother promises her a wage but then forgets all about it.  Just when she’s about had enough, a “carefully beautiful,” glamorous patron enters and demands to see her hats.  This elegant lady is, of course, The Witch of The Waste.  (Dun dun dun!!!)

In the movie TWoTW does look rather…imposing…I guess, but it must be said that she also looks like a complete freak show.  Observe:

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Neck rolls.
In either case, the result is the same.  Sophie gets cursed by TWoTW and suddenly she’s been aged by about seventy years.  She’s ancient.  But, instead of getting upset about it, Sophie decides to locate her heretofore hidden giant cojones and set out into the world immediately to seek her fortune and give that witch what’s coming to her.  The movie basically captures this, but Sophie is shown fretting about her decision to leave quite a bit more and putting it off until the morning.  Sophie’s journey toward her destiny is also a bit different, which brings me to the first MAJOR CHANGE.

MAJOR CHANGE #1: Sophie's Character

Sophie of the Book
  • Ginger hair
  • Angry/Blunt/Stubborn
  • Frequently tells all and sundry just where they can go
  • Cleans as a way of escaping her present circumstances
  • Self-delusional
  • Strong magical ability
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Sophie of the Movie
  • Brown hair
  • Kind, if a bit gruff
  • Frequently invites all and sundry to live in Howl's castle without his permission
  • Neat-freak
  • Knows her feelings very well
  • No magical ability whatsoever
Sophie as a character has a completely different feel between the book and the movie.  Sophie of the book is a complete badass who tells it like it is but also has a tendency to avoid her problems by indulging in a little angry-cleaning.  She’s stubborn to a fault, nosy, and she tends to hide her vulnerability behind a wall of irritation.  In the movie, she feels more emotional, more considerate, and more child-like almost.  In the book she also (it is later revealed) has a very strong magical ability.  When she speaks to everyday objects, like her hats, she influences them magically with her words.  

In the book, Sophie pulls a scarecrow out of a hedge and helps free a trapped dog on her way to seek her fortune.  She accidentally speaks the scarecrow to life and it follows her.  Sophie is completely repulsed/scared of the scarecrow and repeatedly does everything she can to get away from it in the book.  In the movie, the scarecrow is already alive.  It brings her a walking stick and leads her to Howl’s castle.  She gives it a nickname (“turnip-head”) and seems quite content in its presence.

Once Sophie finds the castle, she has to run after it, force her way in, and then engage in a little trickery to convince Howl’s fifteen year old apprentice, Michael, to let her stay the night.  In the movie, the castle stops, lets her in right away, and Michael is nowhere to be seen.  The next day he appears, although in the movie he’s a nine year old boy named Markl (seriously...).  In both cases, Sophie speaks with Calcifer, Howl’s fire demon and agrees to a deal: she’ll help him break his contract with Howl if he helps remove her curse.  Sophie pretends to be Howl’s new housekeeper and cleans the heck out of that pigsty, including Howl's much-used bathroom, which leads to the most hilarious scene in both the book and the movie.
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I don't see the point in living...
Oh yes, I think that lovers of this story in either of its forms will know exactly what I am talking about: THE TANTRUM.  In both the book and the movie, Sophie mixes up Howl's beautification potions somehow and he ends up dyeing his hair a different color than usual.  Emotional breakdown ensues.  They actually do a very good job of showing this in the movie, complete with howling ghouls, screaming, and green slime.  However, in the book it's even funnier because Howl's hair doesn't get turned black (as in the film) - it merely has a few added reddish/gold strands.  And yet, green slime.  Sophie of the book is a lot less emotional about it.  She doesn't cry; she merely leaves until he settles down and then stomps back in to shunt him into the bathtub and call him a big baby.  In the book she sheds a few tears for her hurt feelings and then essentially does the same thing. 

Which brings me to MAJOR CHANGE #2: Howl Loves War, Not Girls
First, let's just get this whole "war" business out of the way: never happened.  That's right, in the book there is no crazy war going on, fought by winged blob men and questionably aerodynamic buzzing ships.  That whole part was manufactured just for the movie.  And let's be honest, it doesn't even really fit in the movie.  

So, in the book, Howl is constantly busy either primping himself or taking up his guitar to go woo various girls across the country.  His main goal in life is to avoid all decision-making and responsibility of any kind.  Whenever one of his ladies starts to return his "love" he immediately tucks tail and runs.  In the movie, he's constantly busy as well...with the war.  Some girls gossip at the beginning that he likes to "eat young girls' hearts" and he mentions later that he once pursued TWoTW, but he's definitely not the flirty drama queen that I know and love from the book.  Again, this is a damn shame.

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One thing that I thought they did very well in the movie was the visual of Howl's front door.  In the book it has a dial which can be turned so that the door opens up on different areas of the kingdom and they show this very well in the movie.  However, there is one MAJOR CHANGE here.

MAJOR CHANGE #3: Howl's Hideaway
In the movie, the black section of the dial opens up into what looks like a giant space filled with smoke, fire, and blackness into which Howl flies (ostensibly to go fight that damn war some more).  In the book, it opens up to an inch of indescribable black-ish thickness, which then leads to...WALES.  Yes, Wales.  As in, modern day (1980's) has computers and cars and suburbs...Wales.  It turns out that our man Howl is actually Howell, a modern day Welshman who somehow found the door between worlds and left his old life to study magic in Sophie's realm.  Pretty neat, huh?  This is all totally cut from the movie.

Another thing that I love about the movie is how the animators visually represent both Howl's descent into evil and Sophie's gradual breaking of her curse.  In the movie, Howl is shown changing into a giant black bird over and over again when he fights, and is eventually unable to turn back.  While this doesn't happen in the book at all, I thought it was a really interesting way to show him losing the fight against his curse (more on the curse later).  Likewise, the animated Sophie is shown throughout the film changing subtly from old to young and back again depending on her mood.  This also does not happen in the book, but it's an ingenious way to show that she's fighting against her curse.

And now, for MAJOR CHANGE #4: The Curse.  
In the book, Howl once caught a falling star, gave it his heart, and joined in a contract with it for more powerful magic.  That star was Calcifer.  This is essentially the same in the movie, except that the bigger picture surrounding this story has been completely changed.  Howl of the book was actually cursed to complete this task (along with a long list of other things inspired by a John Donne poem) by TWoTW.  See, in the book, she is what's known as the BIG BAD.  She and her fire demon have been gunning for Howl ever since he dumped her way back when.  In the movie, TWoTW does attempt to curse Howl but he easily deflects it.  She later loses all of her magic to the movie's big bad (with an assist from some giant light bulbs and harmonizing shadows) and is reduced, by the end of the film, to a rather pillowy-looking grandmother figure.

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MAJOR CHANGE #5: The Big Bad Now Loves Mob Caps
With TWoTW stripped of her big bad status, the movie replaces her with this gal to the left.  She's the King's wizard, named Suliman.  In the book, there is a character called Ben Suliman who is the King's wizard, but he's:
a) a man
b) not evil and
c) missing
He's also, coincidentally, also from Wales and is really named Ben Sullivan. Suliman from the movie seems in part a fabrication and in part stolen from another character in the book: Mrs. Pentstemmon, Howl's old tutor (who is also not evil in any way, and is actually murdered by TWoTW in the book). And now that the MAJOR CHANGES are coming fast and furious, I'll just move on to 

MAJOR CHANGE #6: This is the One Where I Throw Together All the Random Things That Happen in the End.
So, it turns out that TWoTW's eeeeevil plan was to kidnap both Wizard Suliman, the King's son Justin, and Howl and stitch together all of her favorite parts from each of them to create her perfect mate.  Naturally, she has been waiting for Howl's pretty face to be the head.  The spare/leftover parts she combined into the scarecrow, a skull, and a man who can change into a dog (this is the kind of logic that only makes sense to a true BIG BAD).  Howl does battle with TWoTW and her fire demon while Sophie figures out the curse and eventually transfers Howl's heart back into his body.  Sophie's family reappears, the various body parts get magically put back together the right way, and Calcifer breaks Sophie's curse.  And then Howl and Sophie decide to live happily ever after.  Awwww.

In the movie, Sophie breaks Howl's contract with Calcifer by reinserting his heart, the "big bad" suddenly decides to stop with the warring (pffft, some big bad), and this scene happens:

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which, honestly...I never thought I'd stop loving.  I mean, what could ever, ever beat this?

“Wow, Sophie your hair looks just like starlight.  It’s beautiful!”
Do you think so?  So do I!”


Unfortunately, this is yet another scene that Diana Wynne Jones' wonderful, horrible book stole from me.  Observe:

“‘Would you call your hair ginger?’

‘Red Gold,’ Sophie said.  Not much had changed about Howl that she could see, now he had his heart back, except maybe that his eyes seemed a deeper color – more like eyes and less like glass marbles.  ‘Unlike some people’s,’ she said, ‘it’s natural.’

‘I’ve never seen why people put such value on things being natural,’ Howl said, and Sophie knew then that he was scarcely changed at all.”


Sigh...now that's what I call romance.

I know that this is still a pretty positive rating for the movie, but it still pains me a bit to give this adaptation:

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"You're in for a treat.  We all are." 
(From The Witches, by Roald Dahl and directed by Nicolas Roeg in 1990)
There were some minor changes that we didn't like, but for the most part this was a decent adaptation. 
Readventurer C Signature
96 Comments
Liza link
7/15/2012 07:13:58 am

I loved the movie so much when I first saw it. Now I really have to read the book.

Great post.

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
7/15/2012 09:49:11 am

I hope you do read it! It's a great book and I think if you liked the movie, you'll enjoy the book too.

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Martine
3/14/2015 10:26:02 am

I was terribly disappointed in the Sophie from the book. She is a royal asshole to the customers, which is disgusting. Its not their fault she is unhappy. The Sophie in the movie is portrayed as someone that would never shove her frustration on people simply because they are there. And I didn't like her attitude towards Howl either. I loved the movie Sophie.

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Rosie
4/25/2016 06:32:19 pm

i agree with you. Sophie from the movie much fit the untamable Howl. It would be much romantic for a man like him being completely inlove with a sweet young lady and yeah she's just plain human and finding himself not getting away from it coz he's already emotionally caught up with it.

Sarah
2/19/2017 12:09:39 pm

I disagree about Sophie being extremely mean to the customers, although admittedly it's been a while since I've read the book. The Sophie in the movie was created as a representation of an ideal person and their reaction to tough situations, while the Sophie of the book shows a more realistic approach. Humans are flawed and can't always control their emotions, especially when they are in unpleasant situations in which they feel they have no way out and nothing to look forward to in life. I know perfectly well Sophie's unhappiness and consequent reaction to others from personal experience, and if you can't understand it's because you haven't been in that place yet and have no imagination for empathy. I love the movie as it's own beast, and the Sophie from that world in her own rite, but that doesn't change the fact that the book that inspired Miyazaki's film was amazing and Sophie was a great character that showcased her normal human flaws instead of trying to hide them.

Pori
4/1/2016 04:03:21 pm

Honestly, I thought the same thing. It was okay, I guess. But really, the book and the movie are literally two different stories. The part where she goes and sees Howl's past? Never happened. The parts where he's really sweet and worries about Sophie? Never happened. I'm sorry, but I liked the movie better. Howl is such a better character, and I did not like the ending "happily ever after." The movie showed him physically caring for her even more than the book did. I honestly think the movie was the better love story.

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Annie
1/21/2018 01:02:53 pm

I totally agree. I watched the movie years ago and I rewatched it and I'm really into it again. I just finished the book and I have to agree with you that they're 2 different stories with two different endings (which the book's ending could be better). In my opinion the characters in the movie melt my heart much more than the characters in the book. Bcz in the movie I could really see that how much howl cares about sophie, and sophie becoming young during she is loved by howl was really a first-rate idea! to me the movie's story was really unique compared the book's story and also the characters behaviours( again I mean howl and sophie)
But a really remarkable point about both movie and story is that they complete each other. For example for someone like me who watched the movie first, the book's details really helped me to understand the movie and the characters intentions better. But generally If I had to choose book or movie, I would 100% choose the movie!

Elle
11/18/2017 06:47:16 am

Alright i admit i was interested in reading the book because i suoer love the movie. However, after reading many reviews how the books could be better, I dont think i want to put myself through the torture if losing some of my favourite movies ever. I dislike things which deviate from as i originally know it, so I guess im not gonna read the book :(

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Louise
9/21/2018 03:10:36 am

Honestly... I hope you do decide to read the book someday because it really is a masterpiece. I held off reading it for the exact same reason, then devoured it in a couple of days and am still recovering. I honestly think those who review the book with recommendations of how it could be better are forgetting that Miyadzaki deviated A LOT from the original story and it's completely different; but not less beautiful. Sofie in the book is... more human. I could definitely relate to her much more than the kind, near-perfect movie version, and the little details strewn around the narrative which all weave into a beautiful ever after in the end of the novel? Unforgettable. I'm sure you'll like it so, please, don't be afraid to discover yet another magical universe ;)

X link
1/14/2022 08:36:41 pm

J

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Andrea link
7/15/2012 09:07:27 am

Miyazaki just doesn't seem able to resist inserting a war into his movies. He has to simplify the main story considerably in order to have time for his airship battles and that does weaken it considerably (particularly, for instance, the shapechanged prince, who has no satisfying conclusion to his story in the movie).

I think it's implied that movie Sophie does have magic, but she's less actively shown using it.

I do like the movie - it's so beautiful and romantic. I just treat it as a different story.

The sequels do feature Howl and Sophie, but they're participants in other peoples' stories rather than it being their story.

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
7/15/2012 09:58:41 am

Yes - the scarecrow changing into the lost prince at the end of the movie is something that I completely forgot to mention. Sometimes these posts get so long...I lose track of the details.

Gosh, I've seen the movie literally a hundred times or more and I've never gotten the impression that Sophie had magic. Do you mean the parts where she changes in age, maybe? Or when the ring leads her back in time?

I can't wait to read the sequels, and more from Diana Wynne Jones in general. Thanks for stopping by Andrea!

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Andrea
7/16/2012 06:37:33 am

No, both in the hat making (she doesn't talk to them, but the success of the shop suggests that they're casting glamours on people) and in the way "the magic world" behaves towards her. The castle, for instance, slows to let her in (without any instruction from Calcifer).

Catie (The Readventurer) link
7/16/2012 06:39:52 am

Interesting! That never crossed my mind before but I like it!

Duendepiecito
7/2/2015 05:55:27 pm

In the movie when Sophie and Markl are near the harbor and the ship is sinking Sophie sees the blob-men and wonders how nobody else is noticing them: maybe she does have some magic power that makes that possible.
In any case, she didn't need the magic in the movie.

Crystal
10/29/2016 08:41:23 pm

I think it's implied when Calsifer reacts so strongly to her hair too. I don't think he would have if she wasn't inclined to magic.

Vero
1/20/2019 12:54:56 am

I read the book years before the movie came out and I loved it. To this day it is one of my favorite books. When I saw the movie I liked the movie. But I did think it was way way different. Now my kids are reading all three books and I am reading them with the kids. And I do prefer the book. I relate more to the characters and I love the appearances they make in the later books! I hope that someday someone makes another version of the book and that they make it the characters and story line truer to the book. I would love to see that!

Belle link
7/15/2012 10:33:48 am

I'm going to come back to this post once I've read the book and seen the movie! (Yep, I still haven't, terrible isn't it!)

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Sam link
7/15/2012 09:22:26 pm

I have never seen this movie OR read this book. I will have to change that soon Honestly, I really can't think of many examples where I feel the movie adaptation has been better or at least equally as good as the book version. Still, I'm looking forward to giving this a shot. :)

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Katie
4/15/2016 08:43:45 pm

The movie of howls moving castle is sadly not one of the examples of the movie being better or equally as good as the book. The princess bride is, however
See that movie
Only read the book of howls moving castle

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Anna link
7/17/2012 08:38:31 pm

Well, I never seen the movie (but Spirited Away is one of my favourites) or read the book and now I have to decide which one to do first.
But I think I would take Wales over war any day :)

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Nina
7/19/2012 10:24:39 am

This is a great review of the book and the movie! I've read the book and watched the movie and love both for different reasons. The book is such a wonderful adventure about Sophie that is very well written as well as fun and exciting to read. The movie which is just as fun, seems so different from the book. The characters are there but the story and feel of the book is just not the same. Although the story is different, Miyazaki's animation is so amazing that it makes up for all the major changes in story. I recommend both versions, each for it's mental and visual aspects.

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Heidi link
7/19/2012 01:01:41 pm

Ah yes, I'm just finally settling down to read this one (even though I already know how you feel), so happy to read your detailed thoughts! I too was disappointed that a lot of the quirk and charm seemed to have been left out of the movie, like talking to hats and suits and what not. I didn't think movie Sophie was near sassy enough. :P

I think I was even more disappointed about the changes in Howl, the fact that he isn't the 'flirty drama queen' was a let down. I also loved the connection to Wales in the book with Howl and Sulliman. Plus, I wasn't compelled to watch the ending of the movie repeatedly as I was compelled to read the ending of Howl.

Still, they're both great...just...the book is SO MUCH BETTER. I'll stick to Spirited Away. =)

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Justine
8/9/2012 01:47:19 pm

Hi! So I read the book and I never saw the movie but was disappointed to hear that it was anime. So I saw the trailer and was like what the heck?!?! Howls is not a bird!! And I pictured the castle as being black and not very big and NOT having legs!

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Grace
12/29/2012 04:00:55 am

Oh gosh, I thought I was the only one who liked the book more than the movie. I watched the movie first, but I feel so much of their personalities just get lost in making room for the 'war.' And honestly,when I watch the movie, I still don't get what the war is even about.

I love the seen in the book with the weed killer as well because it was just so darn Sophie, and I missed that in the movie is well.

I've read the other two books as well, so you should enjoy them!

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Blaine Inagaki
6/8/2017 01:39:42 pm

I think that was the point. How often do people really know what a war is about? Any time there ever has been a war, you'll hear different stories, different reasons, about what brought it on.

It's why you'll have people split on support for or against the war.

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Jordon
3/22/2013 10:32:15 am

I feel the same as the author. I loved the movie so much I went and ordered it and was just almost angry at how different they are (which was just absurd right!) I was looking at the book like it had three eyes with the whole connection to Wales.. but I got over it and really enjoyed the book.. certainly makes you realize how much creative license they took with the movie adaption.

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Lindsey
6/5/2013 07:26:53 pm

I truly love this magical movie and I feel compelled to read the book now. It will really break my heart when I read all these changes for myself and have the movie ruined for me.

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Jennifer Cooper
6/10/2013 06:21:20 am

We just watched this movie last night with my five year old for the 20th time. Admittedly I have not read the book yet, but in the Studio Ghibli version I always thought of Sophie's curse as more of a lesson. At a young age Sophie behaved and instilled the idea of her life being done before she even taken a chance to live. The curse really made her outside match her inside as she journeyed through the movie and slowly over time became more brazen while discovering her own self worth. For each brave step forward she took, the curse gradually rescinded. So in essence she had to learn that she had a life worth living in order to get her youth back. In the movie when you have scenes of her being young then switching back to old it always tied to her losing her self confidence again.

I love studio ghibli adaptations and originals. They are always artfully done. The addition of blobs and other such things ties in to the creator's whole collection of films. His signature to the film adaptation you could say.

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jeidafei
7/25/2013 02:09:09 am

I love how the movie depicts Sophie's curse weakening when she becomes stronger at times. It's like giving a clearer reason for her curse and that she can win over it by herself, while in the book, Sophie's curse is destroyed by Calcifer, though it also reflects and punishes her for wasting her life doing boring stuff.

But I think it's more like reality in the book, anyway. Not so optimistic and cliched.

I watched the movie first and I was shocked when I read the book, just like WHAT THE HELL! I loved the film but it's TOTALLY different from the book.

The film is like...romantic and idealistic, with beautiful landscapes and teary scenes and the such, while the book has me laughing my head off! This Sophie is a kickin' badass! I so love how she deals with Howl!

Not to mention all those 'Gah!'s and 'Doh!'s You won't hear sweet movie Sophie spurting nonsense garbles like this lol!

Yes, I so LOVE the weed-killer scene, it sooo touches me how Sophie finally realizes she is in love with Howl. What a unique way to enlightenment! And after that when Sophie thinks she has to leave because Howl loves Miss Angorian, oh that scene tore my heart! Strong Sophie reduced to a heap!

Well, I admit both versions are great, but in a very different way. And the book, with its zesty, spicy humor and charm suits me better that the sweetness of the movie

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Yasya
2/1/2016 12:15:23 am

Calcifer never destroys Sophie's curse: it's stated clearly in the book that she curses herself simply because she likes being in a disguise (Howl says). so, when she finds out that Howl loves her in return, she changes into a girl again, taking off the granny disguise :)

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Nancy
4/15/2016 08:49:40 pm

She didn't curse herself, she just didn't want to let go of the curse the witch of the waste put on her because she was so mousish as a girl, but could speak her mind and stay with Howl and Michael and Calcifer and not have to go back and spend all her time working in a hat shop.
She finally gets rid of the curse because she realises she can do all that, and be her real age and love Howl

Nancy
4/15/2016 08:49:58 pm

She didn't curse herself, she just didn't want to let go of the curse the witch of the waste put on her because she was so mousish as a girl, but could speak her mind and stay with Howl and Michael and Calcifer and not have to go back and spend all her time working in a hat shop.
She finally gets rid of the curse because she realises she can do all that, and be her real age and love Howl

=Tamar
4/12/2017 10:30:10 pm

In the book, in this order (SPOILERS):
1. Howl destroys the Witch, but not her fire-demon.
1. Sophie breaks Calcifer's contract, giving him extra life.
2. Calcifer removes the Witch's part of the curse. It works because Sophie has now accepted her own strength and magic, and no longer needs to cling to her elderly self-image.
3. Sophie saves Howl. She happens to notice that her hair has turned red again.
4. Howl destroys the Witch's fire-demon.

Angela
8/10/2013 02:53:36 pm

I watched the movie last week and I just finished reading the book, and I see a lot of what you're talking about. However, I do have to disagree with what you say about the book being better than the movie. I think most people go in expecting the movie to be a remake of the book. I know most movies take out a lot of the plot/change unnecessary things to fit into a 2 hour time frame (-ahem-Harry Potter), but those movies are still trying to portray the same idea and plot as the original book. Miyazaki just took the idea and made it into his own movie. Diana Wynne Jones had no part in making the movie at all. This was entirely Miyazaki's brain-child and creation. I guess it's kind of like when people write spin-off fanfics or things like that. Not only that, Miyazaki makes movies quite differently from what most people are used to as he pulls from his Japanese background. Especially because Howl's Moving Castle is supposed to based off of a book, I think it is quite easily misunderstood. I've tutored students who have analyzed Miyazaki for papers and once you really dig into it you see how Miyazaki portrays war and pacificism (movie-Howl goes on and on about this so this should be pretty obvious), emphasizes a theme of nature/romanticism (anyone remember how movie-Sophie always feels better when surrounded by nature?). Miyazaki does a really great job of creating a statement through his works, and Howl's Moving Castle is no exception.

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Vero
1/20/2019 01:05:36 am

I think the author of the article is just pointing out differences. She never stopped loving the movie. I read the book years before the movie came out. And I did not see the movie with the expectation of it being a copy of the book and I loved the movie in and of itself. My kids and I just finished reading the whole series. The two are so different they are separate entities. Like How to Train Your Dragon. The concepts from the book we're used but two totally different stories.

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maruko
11/25/2013 11:23:54 am

I really love the book, and I always want to love the movie (I mean, I love Miyazaki), but I really can't. It's just so unrecognizable... I actually wrote a 7 page paper using HMC as the perfect example of how NOT to adapt a movie.

I kind of disagree that it keeps the general sense of book. The book, to me was always more about the journey to discovering the true nature of yourself and those around you, while the movie always felt far too concerned with the power of love and trust in family and community.

For example, in the book and movie, Sophie starts out relatively similar: she lacks self-confidence, she is shy and nervous, and she is always putting herself down (believing, for example, that she will not succeed because she is the eldest and not nearly as traditionally attractive as her sisters). In the book, her curse facilitates a change her: by being removed from her normal sense of self, she is free to act in a way that is more natural and relaxed for her. She more freely imposes her opinions on others and expresses herself more assertivelly. She also seems to do this in the movie, though the movie lacks the defining change in how she sees herself–the moment she realizes that she has magic and that it is an actual force she can wield. In the book, when the curse is lifted, she retains her new outlook on herself and the world: that it is large and unknowable and always full of potential, just like herself and other people. In the movie, she appears to revert, to a large extent, to the person she was before, trusting and dependent (though we see so little post curse and pre-curse Sophie to really tell).

The largest sacrifice in the movie for me, though, was Howl. In the book, he is a brat. A pain in the ass. A wimp, a coward, a hypocrite, and an egotist. It isn't until we, and Sophie, get to know him better, that we learn that he is an intellectual and a family man. A large part of Howl's charm is that he is terrified that someone will figure out that he is tender and loving–that he cares–so he puts up walls of vanity and selfishness in order to hide it. The movie lacks this depth. The three (or four) layer Howl in the book–the Evil Wizard, the Devoted Lover, the Vapid Dandy, and the Tenacious Hero–is in the movie reduced into a simplistic romantic Hero, with only a single scene that illustrates his abrasive and dramatic nature.

I could go on about it forever... I just don't think the book and movie should even be compared, they are so different.

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Maruko
11/25/2013 11:29:48 am

I forgot to finish my point!

These characterizations from the book are so much more nuanced and interesting, and they support a more intriguing theme than the characters in the movie (and it's not like it's hard for movies to have nuanced characters...)

The movie has always been, to me, overly concerned with making sure that we know that Howl, Sophie, Calcifer, and TWoTW are good people who should be loved. The book is far more willing to say, "hey, they're people: they're complicated, really complicated, and kind of annoying and some of them are just messed up, but a few of them are worth it. And you are worth it, even if you're complicated and little messed up too."

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november
3/18/2014 01:25:16 pm

That was the worst part of this film for me. This book is amazing, because its funny and yet still has this massively romantic aspect to it, and not just between Howls and Sophie, they miss everything that makes Howl Howl. His drama, the weird love of spiders, how filthy he is in his home yet how vain he is in the way he looks, the way he breaks womens hearts and is actually pretending to be 4 people at once. He gets drunk!!! He is welsh, he actually goes to great lengths to avoid doing what the king wants yet spends the whole film fighting in the war. He is supposed to be a little brat who needs a smack and its Sophie who comes in and does that and makes this a really amazing story. The film is ridiculously boring compared to the book and it wouldve made it 10x better had they just kept Howl imperfect, which is the way he is meant to be

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martine
3/14/2015 01:19:09 pm

That is such a teenage girl thing to think. So I get why you think it. The way Sophie starts out in the book is really nothing like she starts out ion the movie. In the book she is a witch with a capital B, and it makes you want to hit her. And Howell is like an STD waiting to happen. He is such a girly man. I couldn't find much charm in either of them. The movie is absolutely perfect. It actually turns them both into believable likable people.

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Elizabeth
3/25/2015 06:14:39 am

I believe that your comment, Martine, is "such a teenage girl thing to think". Jones writes them as real people, they have faults, such as Sophie getting so fed up with the role she's assigned herself in life and taking it out on the customers. And Howl throwing magnificent tantrums because some people are just dramatic. I love the movie but it strips them of their humanity in order to turn them into the heroes. You prefer the simple romance, you don't like real human characters.

Hayley
12/4/2013 02:55:01 pm

This is really interesting to read and so are the comments. I'm actually taking a course on Miyazaki and his films. I saw the movie first and then read the book. I love them both. One thing about Miyazaki is that he doesn't believe that you should cross mediums. He was very adamant about that when he was younger. When he first wrote Nausicaa he drew it as detailed as he could so that no one could ever make it into a movie. He really strongly believed that when you created something to be a book, it should stay a book. If it was better as a movie, then it should just be a movie. Now while obviously his mind was changed since Nausicaa was made into a movie (and Earthsea, and Howl's), I think that by changing details and making it his own, he was trying to respect the original story. You can see in a lot of his work where he combines several stories he likes into something else. Nausicaa was a combination of his own fantasy world, the Japanese myth of the Girl Who Loved Caterpillars, and Nausicaa, the girl from the Odyssey that literally rescues Odysseus.

You also see a lot of stuff he sticks in all his movies. Like airplanes and war, for example. His dad's job during the war was to build airplanes, so he was exposed to that a lot as a kid.

When I finished reading the book I found it hard to compare it to the movie because they were each so unique and carried their own meanings to me.

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anti misa
12/17/2013 07:39:41 pm

mehhh... you can't blame for not liking fantasy fiction. i've never watched lotr or something and i'll never do it. but as an english language & literature student, i have to take that course. so you ask, why did you even choose EL&L? the answer is simple: i couldn't do translation or be a teacher. i love english. i just want teachers to let us read what we want. if they don't, they should wait for us to tell OUR ideas of the book. for example, i hate howl's moving castle -even the name is stupid i think- and i want to write some bad things in the exam, which is impossible. this is unfair i think. look what happened in the last course. this is fantasy fiction course, and we're supposed to read both howl's moving castla and the hobbit, and the teacher asked a question about lotr. if you know, you'll get 20+ points for the exam. WHAT. THE. HELL. MAN. The hobbit =/= LOTR. Okay, maybe The Hobbit was written before lotr but i'm not supposed to read the trilogy, am i? i even hardly read the hobbit!

anyway, back to the subject. as i said i don't like hmc. and i wanted to watch the anime. actually i'm not much into the animes, but maybe if i watch hmc the anime version, i could fall in love with howl and like the book A BIT. yeah, you understand my anime dislike. there are always mary-sues like sophie in the animes, even in miyazaki'S. i like the cool man, but i CAN'T watch animes.

as for the sophie in the book, i still think she's annoying. i can't define my favorite type of girl. anyway. the problem is, the anime is completely different from the book! omfg what am i going to do?! i don't want to read the damn book!!!

sorry, my comment seemed relevant and rude, but i'm not a rude person. as you see, i just hate being made to read something which i strongly detest. i'm a rebel, and i don't want people to order me. wish i could change the system. but this is impossible lol.

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November
3/18/2014 01:06:37 pm

This is something I couldn't not comment on. I have always felt unbelievably passionate about this. It simply infuriates me. Diana Wynne Jones is an amazing writer, shes one of the best in Britain and it drove me mad. Howls mOving Castle was a great film, but only when you consider it a film on its own. After I saw it, I wanted to read the book, I fell so in love with the book that I must have read it 20x when I was younger. And the film now drives me mad. Because it is the most exaggerated thing I have ever seen. Yes, there are some similarites, but these two things are so different they may as well not have the same title. Not just because of all the reasons this author already outlined, but because of so much more. The castle in the film looks like a giant pile of walking rubbish, in the film it's meant to be a literal floating black castle. Sophie despises that scarecrow until the end, the dog is Ben Sullivan who was transformed by the Witch of the Waste, Howl is supposed to be 1000x more funny and dramatic and above all ACTUALLY PRESENT! Sophies sisters play huge parts in the book, as well as Michael and his relationship to one of them, who is by the way, supposed to be in his late teens, not a child. Sophie does not fight her curse in the book, but rather she "chooses" not to subconsciously because she lives being around Howl. His suits also play a huge part in it as they are magical too. There is an amazingly hilarious part in the book where Sophie goes to visit the King, I dont know who this witch is that attacks the witch of the waste, but she isnt in the book at all. The witch of the waste is not a good guy at all, shes evil from start to finish, the main reason sophie is so amazing in the book is she is magical, she can talk life into things, which also plays a huge part but is barely touched on in the film, yet it is how she saves Howls life. Yet in the film she does it by somehow going back in time to discover how to break the contract with Calcifer, which is a load of rubbish! She figures it out herself. I know this has already been mentioned but Sophie is meant to be one badass loud mouthed girl who is independent and down right amazing. I love studio Ghibli, I really do, I always have, but this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. I used to love it and now I hate it, they took what was a thought provoking and hilarious book and turned it into your typical fairy tale, no mention of Howls drama, or Wales, or Sophies attitude, Michaels love, no mention of the 7 league boots, and instead they bring in some war that doesnt exist, this curse that is bringing Howl down which doesnt even happen until the end of the book and believe me it doesnt happen because he keeps turning into a giant bird, that never happens.

I'm sorry everyone that I have more or less written an article of my own, but I absolutely despise how much this amazing woman's book has been changed, it was completely better off without it all and it wouldve been my favourite film had it just stuck generally at the very least to the plot.

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november
3/18/2014 01:18:21 pm

After reading Hayleys comment, I had to add that I do respect Miyazaki a little for respecting the original story by keeping the book a book, but in that case I honestly dont think they should have made the film at all, or at least given it its own title

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Arietta
6/13/2014 12:08:13 pm

Honestly, if the names of the characters were changed and the titles different, I never would have actually thought they were the same book! I've seen the movie at least 10+ times now, and the book at least 5+, but it still surprises me at the huge differences that they had from each other. The only thing that kinda put me off the book for a couple of years was the awful (no offense intended to the illustrator, it's just their style) cover I saw, the one with Howl waltzing off on a roof and Sophie chasing after him. I could never image them differently than the image Miyazaki put in my head after watching the movie, and it felt like the person who drew that cover couldn't quite capture the spirit of Howl from the movie, although it does portray him from the book QUITE well.

Brian
5/31/2014 09:19:06 pm

I read the book and then watched the film (in the space of a few days), and while I expected there'd be some significant trimming and simplification, I was pretty shocked at how much was changed. The addition of airships was not a surprised, Miyazaki is highly predictable in some ways, but the War was a real head-scratcher -- there seemed to be plenty of conflict in the original story and no need for a war to drive things.

I enjoyed the film, but not nearly as much as the book. I do like Miyazaki's portrayal of the castle itself, feet and all, though.

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Katrine
7/18/2014 08:31:36 am

The movie also catered to younger children mostly, it's an animated movie after all, so for the plot to become simpler and more generic it was chenged to a war and a more classic romance. At least, that's how I felt it.

Ps. Have you herd about the unfinished fourth book?

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Ann Ng
7/17/2015 08:00:41 pm

Omg I just loozed it up and I'm not even sure if it's related to the HMC series...and it was finished by her sister. I might give it a read heh..

verflores
7/16/2014 04:14:16 am

Hayao Miyazaki’s film is a reinterpretation of Diana Wynne Jones’ book, therefore exists many differences among them. I have seen all Hayao Miyazaki’s movies and almost all the movies made by studio Ghibli and it’s true that wars are frequent themes in their movies, but they want to transmit an important message: “wars are unnecessary and only lead to destruction…”
As you know, movies have a limit time, that’s why some of the aspects of the book are not incorporated to the movie and because it’s an interpretation, the movie and its ending DON’T have to be like the one in the book.

“Then they escape some giant black blob-men by flying through the sky. Which is a tad…different.” Actually, this is one of my favorite scenes of the movie and when I read the book I felt like something was missing…

I really didn’t enjoy the book AT ALL, I felt the characters were dry. When I decided to read the book I was afraid to love it more than the movie, but it happened quite the opposite. I felt the book tedious and as I wrote before I didn’t enjoyed it and I wouldn’t recommend it either, but everybody has a different taste, right? I think that the movie is great and it has some kind of magic that the book hasn’t. Remember that the movie is a reinterpretation therefore all your points and some of the comments here are pointless.

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alex
8/28/2014 12:13:50 am

the only thing i really don't like about the film compared to the book is sophies and howls relationship. In the book their interactions are soooo funny, they constantly argue and make up and argue and make up. its the only thing the film misses really, its what makes the relationship so perfect. they have flaws, they clash but love each other anyway. its the perfect relationship! lol especially at the end when howl rescues her and they even argue then. its great!

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asha poppy
9/2/2014 05:47:38 pm

i grew up on the book. its hands down my favourite book of all time. I was so excited when I heard there was a movie coming out. I went and saw it with my mum (who read the book to me when I was little) I was so angry I nearly cried after I saw the movie. some things just shouldn't be tampered with and howl's moving castle is one of them. I can understand having to cut bits out for the sake of time in converting a book into movie but this was all over the place from blob men to changing the actual villain. and to top it off the magical flower field howl made for Sophie was so under-whelming and where was the flower shop? most of the hilarious parts were cut. the movie kills me. if I try to see it as a completely different story I can watch it and almost enjoy it. but mostly I just get mad. sorry but its true

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Sabina
11/24/2014 07:24:02 pm

I consider the movie as Miyazaki own interpretation of the story and he is entitled to do so. Movie was and inspiration for me to read the book and although the two are very different, I like it both. I think Miyazaki adapted the story to fit into Japanese popular culture and he put a lot of he's own view of the world to it. In the book war is only mentioned as a possibility if prince Justin will not be found. The thing that I miss most in the movie is Sophie being main character. In the book it is Sophie's story that is being told. She is not only Howl's saviour but she is her own hero. She discover who she is and learns that she is the only one who can define her fate and fortune, I find it very empowering for woman. I love the fact that when she finally realizes that she is in love with Howl she accepts him for who he is, self-centered, childlish and messy. Although he is very charming, he is not easy to love. And finally what I love about the book is that for once, it is a story about the boy who is waiting to be saved by a girl and not the other way around. Diana Wynne Jones is a true feminist.

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Meghann Clare
1/22/2015 10:24:34 am

I just finished reading the book a couple days ago and to be completely honest I liked the movie more. Of course there were some things I loved in the book more than the movie, but I have to say the biggest reason I love the movie more is because I feel like there's more love between howl and Sophie (I'm a sucker for romance) I did enjoy how in the book Sophie and her life has a huge backstory, but other than that I didn't like her fear of turnip hair, how we couldn't see Sophie's and howls gradual change in form, the fact the howl persued Lettie, the ending had no kiss... 😭😭💔, I just personally loved the movie more. Then book was great as well, but once I watched the movie for me I had to pick Miyazaki on this one.

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Jesela
3/14/2015 12:09:26 pm

Although I know I am a bit late to this party, I still want to praise the author of this review for the absolutely wonderful comparison! You were incredibly informative and have a very in-depth understanding of the characters, the overall plot, and universal themes tied into the story! In my personal opinion, I have to say that for the time being, Miyazaki's version still holds my heart. Now, my judgement is not completely valid considering how I haven't read the book, but from the reviews I've read I still believe that the story was portrayed in a more adventurous and compassionate manner in the movie than in the book. I can say that the timing and play of events in the movie were a bit messy, but I still found Miyazaki's interpretation of each character and central themes more appealing. One thing I wholeheartedly loved from the movie as well was how Howl took the time to note Sophie's beauty, which was something she often lacked. Although I am not too sure if he does so in the book as well, but from what I've read he is much more self-centered in the book. This aspect of his character leads me to believe that he didn't put much emphasis into reminding her of her inner and outer beauty. Also, the scene in the movie where Howl admires Sophie's hair in contrast to the book where Sophie simply realizes that Howl's superficiality hasn't changed, was much more romantic in my opinion. In the end, I am currently experiencing the fear you felt when deciding to read the book. Knowing myself, I will probably fall in love with the book's detail and slower pace of conveying this beautiful story. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see, but these were just a few of the things I will find hard to beat if I ever do take the time to do so!

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Vero
1/20/2019 01:23:28 am

I read the book years and years before the movie came out and I was excited to see the movie. And I loved the movie. It's so different from the book that I like them each equally but in its own way. I hope you do read the book. Because it's a great book. Just as the movie is great in it's own way!

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Vickk
6/11/2015 10:12:18 am

They shouldn't be compared. While I love most, it still has the general moral of the book. The two shouldn't be compared, because they're both amazing and different. Howls Moving Castle will always be unique, Why try to makes a movie That's the exact same?

I personally didn't like Sophie of the book haha.

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Saija
6/15/2015 06:05:25 pm

I’d like to comment on the movie, or on its different translated versions, even if my English is not perfect. Sorry for that.

I have seen the English version twice and the Finnish version about three times. The dialogues in Finnish and English differ from each other, and this leads me to wonder what the Japanese original is like. The dialogues between the characters (and Sophie’s monologues) give us clues to interpreting the events, and it would be fair to be able to review the movie on the basis of the Japanese original. This is because the two translated versions I have seen pave way for a bit different interpretations. For instance, in the Finnish version, Sophie’s answer to Howl’s comment of her beautiful hair at the end of the movie is ”I love you. How wonderful!” (my translation) while in the English version she says ”Do you think so? So do I!” So the Finnish version makes Sophie’s confessing her love to Howl as a sign of her succesfull process of growing up and maturation, whereas the English version shows Sophie finally seeing herself as beautiful and believing that she is of some worth. There are several similar differences between the versions (due to cultural adaptation?), and I wonder what Miyazaki’s original vision was. Some ”faults” or inconsistencies in the movie may be produced by the translators and voice actors who all bring something to the text and leave something out of it, even if there obviously are some inconsistencies and gaps that cannot be explained in this way.

Another major difference between the translations is in the time travel scene, where Sophie visits Howl’s childhood. Before leaving Howl and Calcifer, Sophie cries in the English version to find her in the future. In the Finnish version, she cries that she will come to them in the future. The English version gives better motivation to some events of the movie, for instance the first meeting between Howl and Sophie (he has found her, keeps an eye on her and comes to the rescue when needed) and the fact that Howl makes their new home like Sophie’s childhood home (indicating that he knows who Sophie really is). Here again, the translations offer a different perspective to the story. I find the ”Find me” version better, because it explains the overall story better.

And lastly, the war. The disappearance of the prince is often mentioned as the motivation for the war. However, this is not even hinted at in the Finnish version (I am not sure about the English version). One of the end scenes make me think that for Madame Suliman, there are other reasons for starting and prolonging the war. At the end of the movie when Heen contacts her, she notices that Howl has found her true love, and that the game is over then (the Finnish version mentions only a happy ending, nothing about "true love"). The prince is not discussed. This makes me think that the war is a way for her to catch selfish witches and to force Howl to choose his destiny - it is the war that makes Howl to metamorphose too often and loose his humanity. Suliman had chosen Howl to be her successor, which explains her interest in him. This does not rule out that the disappearance of the prince also serves as a motivation for the war (there can be many), but this is not emphasised in the translations of the movie, at least. Wonder again what Miyazaki had in mind…

As some other commentators, I think that Miyazaki's version has a (pacifist etc.) message to deliver, and its intended audience is much wider than that of the original novel. Also the genres in which the book and the movie are created have different conventions. This is likely to dictate certain changes that have been made. Both works are great in their own genres.

Did I exceed the original post in the length of my comment? ? ;) Sorry for that. I just wanted to discuss the way in which translations affect our interpretations and evaluations of the film.

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Malak link
6/29/2015 06:26:43 pm

Amazing blog post. :) You inspired me to read the book, which I agree with you is way better than the movie in many aspects. There's just one thing I wanted to clarify and that is in the book, Calcifer didn't break Sophie's curse, Sophie broke her own curse. :)

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Danielle
12/29/2015 08:54:40 am

The movie was based-off from the book, but not an adapted version. That would've explained why there are a lot of changes. If it was entirely adapted then the movie wouldn't be a great hit (after all, it was a romance, but the book didn't show romance that well.)

Or maybe I didn't get all of it. But thanks for the article.

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Lua
1/17/2016 03:09:54 pm

the intention of a movie based on a book is not trying to show the facts literally but to interprets them with the subjective vision of the director. In my opinion, the Miyazaki's vision of the book showed his wonderful sensitivity, present in all his movies. I just think a little pointless to compare two distinct (and magnificent!) works of art. Sorry for my poor english ><

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Lauren
2/18/2016 12:51:30 pm

For all the people who dont understand the point of the scarecrow/prince and the war- the whole point over the war between the neighboring kingdoms is because one kingdom is missing their prince (AKA THE SCARECROW) which is why when sulliman sees in her glass ball the prince there with Sophie and everyone else, she says its about time the war was over! The prince had been turnes into a scarecrow by a wizard/witch. Also, i believe the flyers that landed showed an image of the prince for a brief moment

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Schi
4/8/2016 01:13:39 pm

This describes perfectly how I feel about the movie after reading the book. I'm kinda sad that I won't be able to love the movie like I used to love it before. It made me cry because I thought it was so beautiful, but now I don't think I can feel like this again. Still, the art and the music are incredible and wonderful and magical.

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Justice
6/30/2016 03:50:32 am

Please please please if there is another director who can DO OVER this movie and make it MORE FAIR AND TRUE TO THE AUTHOR's BOOK please please please do so. And please make it with REAL PEOPLE not Anime and not pixar. Thank you. The author and fans of this book deserve a movie about the book and its perfectly imperfect raw team of characters at the ages indicated in the book and all conflicts in the book that made true fans of the book laugh and sigh and relish the author's TRUE visions! Thank you thank you thank you!

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Mandi link
7/4/2016 10:06:40 pm

Nice writting!! But i think it''s should not compare between book and movie. Anw, I also love the book and movie too!

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Taylor
2/25/2017 09:22:10 pm

I totally agree with this article!

I recently sat a friend down to watch this movie because she said she never had. I ranted on and on about how this movie was one of the most amazing movies ever and I could watch it over and over again.

I had the book sitting on my shelf because I hadn't gotten around to reading it, but once I did the movie was never the same to me.

Are you kidding me?! The book blew me away with its amazing story. Now I can't look at the movie the same anymore which SUCKS because I literally shoved that movie into people's faces once they told me they hadn't seen it. anime lover or no.

Bottom line. The book was great.

Has anyone read Castle in the Air or House of Many Ways? Are they just as good?

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RZ
4/4/2017 12:44:06 pm

While I agree that the anime adaptation kind of take liberties on most of the materials, I still don't dismiss it as trash or worthless. Why? One: Hayao Miyazaki asked permission from Diana Wynne-Jones in adapting her novel, and it was granted. Two: Miyazaki-san had given Ms. Wynne-Jones an exclusive premiere when the anime was finished before releasing it to the public, to which Ms. Wynne-Jones gave it her approval and satisfaction. Third; I had only known Diana Wynne-Jones (and her other Castle series) through this adaptation. In a sense, this film actually revived public interest for her novels.

Also, you may find this additional supplement informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BbhWrjIImg

Overall, the movie is good, but the novels are better.

With regards to the two sequels, Howl, Sophie and Calcifer takes a backseat to new protagonists.

Castle in the Air has Abdullah, a carpet merchant, lives in a neighboring country, and the way he meets up the first novel's main characters are rather... interesting. One thing that may prevent you from enjoying this is that everything that's happening to the protagonist seems like "exactly as he dreamt it" because it is... and it isn't. Though I prefer the first novel, this is an interesting read, especially if you want to know whatever happened to Howl, Sophie and Calcifer.

House of many ways has Charmain, a bookish who was tasked to house sit a very peculiar house owned by his uncle. Like Sophie, she's also unaware of her latent abilities. Would like to elaborate more but that would be spoiler territory. The three main characters from the first novel also appears here, though one of them is incognito.

Hope you find this helpful, or if you're already aware of these, just ignore them. Sorry to bother, and have a good one!

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Bonita link
2/28/2017 11:48:10 am

Glad I found this article! I've watched the movie a trillion times, but had never read the book. I was starting to wonder whether I missed something, or went off on a tangent in my own imagination.

For Christmas, I received the book as a gift. I've just finished reading it, and, with it being so different from the movie, I was wondering whether I was bonkers.

The book and the movie start off on the same path, then start to deviate ever so slightly, and then before you know it, you wonder whether you've picked up an entirely different book. Michael is not a little kid?! Seven-league boots? Howl has a guitar?! Wales..?!

Still, each is a work of art in its own. Next up, I'll be reading "Castle in the Air" - I haven't seen the movie yet.

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RZ
4/4/2017 12:10:47 pm

Sadly, there's no "Castle in the Air" movie. This is, so far, the first Diana Wynne-Jones novel that Hayao Miyazaki adapted into anime movie.

Please don't get this confused by his other work "Laputa: Castle in the Sky." While in itself a classic, it is from a different source.

I hope this was helpful.

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Cheryl
4/2/2017 07:29:12 pm

I watched the movie first, perhaps two or three times. Then I read the book, plus Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways, and this was all several years ago. I just finished rereading all three books (I actually read Howl twice), and then watched the movie again.

Initially I loved the movie, and that lead me to read the three books. After reading them I recognized that the books and movie were different, but I thought both were equally good. However, upon subsequent reads, the problems of the movie were really beginning to be more and more obvious and irritating. The only parts of the movie that are enjoyable now are those that are the least deviating from the book.

As for the book sequels, I definitely recommend them, but please understand that Howl and Sophie are not the central characters. My advice for both books is for readers to completely forget about Howl and Sophie because they don't appear until roughly the second half of both books.

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RZ
4/4/2017 12:03:05 pm

Points I disagree on...
MAJOR CHANGE #2: Howl Loves War, Not Girls
This should rather be read as: Why is there a war concept here? Because Miyazaki wanted to add an anti-war commentary (if I remember correctly, in the year the film was released there's an ongoing "military operation" America is conducting). Completely unnecessary, I have to admit. Movie Howl DOES NOT LOVE WAR, he is against it. Why is he then plunging head on in the midst of battle? To prevent even more collateral damage. He is, in a sense, putting himself in-between opposing forces to disarm both parties. This act makes him naive, though, since we all know that he's hardly making any progress as the task he set to do is much larger than he could possibly handle but he couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

MAJOR CHANGE #5: The Big Bad Now Loves Mob Caps
I get your point, this is a massive change. This is another Miyazaki's signature on his works -- making villains more like antagonists. The Book's Witch of the Waste IS the BIG BAD, agreed (if I remember correctly, her "fire demon" took over her body). But in the film adaptation, there is no big bad: The Witch of the Waste is a victim herself of her own obsession. On the other hand, Suliman "orchestrated" the war as a means to locate Howl (the main purpose why the Castle is moving from place to place in the first place), since Howl would be obligated to appear before the king should the need for his services arises. Amidst the destruction that happened, no one (not even background characters) died in the commotion. Why is she adamant at locating Howl and capturing him? Because she wanted to help him overcome his curse, as she fears that Howl may end up not recovering his human form in the long run, Her attempt to strike him indicates that should she fail in curing him, she may as well take some drastic actions since she was the one who had taught him magic.

Like the author of this article, I, too, found about Diana Wynne-Jones novels through this anime movie. Through it, I fell in love with the characters. Through the novels, I ended up loving them more.

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RZ
4/4/2017 01:38:43 pm

For future reference (and I hope this would not be taken down in both immediate and distant future)

Diana Wynne-Jones regarding Hayao Miyazaki's anime adaptation of her novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BbhWrjIImg

Also, this:
Although the novel and film are vastly different, Diana, who had no influence in the film, loved it. She said, “It’s fantastic. No, I have no input – I write books, not films. Yes, it will be different from the book – in fact it’s likely to be very different, but that’s as it should be. It will still be a fantastic film.”
source: https://thewordafter.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/author-spotlight-diana-wynne-jones/

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MeinHerr
4/22/2017 04:18:42 pm

I find the book more interesting and I plan on reading it again. I like Diana Wynne Jones' style and how close she comes to breaking the fourth wall. I like Miyazaki too and there are parts of the movie that I like, but the overall the movie left a bland taste in my mouth. I preferred the plot twist in the novel as well (Welsh Rugby lol).
I would not consider myself a purist, but books are often better because of the intimacy between a reader and the writer.

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Ella
5/12/2017 08:21:45 am

what plot twist?

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MeinHerr
5/26/2017 09:17:40 pm

You don't have to agree, but I thought Howl coming from Wales was fucking GENIUS and DWJ literally had me with that Welsh Rugby jacket. In generally, I really like how DWJ puts a spin on the Wizard of Oz and classic literature. Hayao Miyazaki's version is great in aesthetic value, but nowhere even near as clever as the book.

MeinHerr
5/26/2017 09:22:18 pm

And Diana Wynne Jones' amazing world-building is what makes the plot twist so good, her writing is just goals. I feel as though a lot of people prefer the movie just because "omg it's god Hayao Miyazaki!" or because it's Studio Ghibli (Ghibli was my childhood too but still), or because there was more romance between Sophie and Howl.

MeinHerr
5/26/2017 09:46:50 pm

Last comment I swear! I will admit that I like the red string of fate idea that Hayao Miyazaki throws into the film, it was quite nice, but it doesn't make the movie go from good to great, in my opinion. DWJ's Wales idea is more simple but that's exactly what I love about DWJ. She takes simple ideas and through worldbuilding and good writing she makes them her own. The Wales thing is also such a great spin on the Wizard of Oz. I think she was truly a gifted writer.

Ella
5/12/2017 08:21:05 am

I thought the movie was good to not put that whole Wales thing in, it wouldn't have fit the movie. Also as a romance I preferred the movie, it felt sweeter whereas I couldn't really care for the romance in the book it seemed to jump out from nowhere, that's how it felt to me.

The book had a lot of good though, I just loved the characters, Howl was adorable, and so was Calcifer. It didn't really come together in the end that well for me though, the ending felt lacking, though some parts I absolutely loved.

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Kuri
6/18/2017 12:08:02 pm

I also just rewatched the ghibli version of Howl's moving castle and I was really wondering what happened to Sophie's sister and mother after the bombs were dropped on her town. She was so occupied by Howl that it seemed to me that she forgot about worrying about them too. Is there anything I missed, did she know her family would be safe?

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Sameena link
9/4/2017 06:18:30 pm

Both the book and the movie are beautiful and made me cry. But somehow, the tone and characters and everything felt different in both versions. I keep feeling like they're different stories altogether. I loved the book a bit more, but the movie was amazing.

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Sondra
12/16/2017 08:12:18 pm

Actually, in the books there is a war, it is just not in the immediate vicinity. It's some distance off, and Howl is often working on magical items to help the king win the war (like the seven league boots). You find out more about this war in Castle in the Air, the sequel.

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Andie
12/29/2017 10:55:21 pm

While I adore the movie for its aesthetics, I find that it is no competition to the book. Not only was the novel's plot beautifully executed through good writing, but Diane's characters had far more depth in comparison to the movie, where both Howl and Sophie felt more like a heavily watered down versions of the originals.

At first glance, Diane's Howl is a vain, dramatic, and flirty man, however, as the novel progresses, we see more to him than that. Novel Sophie particularly does him justice when she says:

"He's fickle, careless, selfish, and hysterical," she said. "Half the time I think he doesn't care what happens to anyone as long as he's all right - but then I find out how awfully kind he's been to someone. Then I think he's kind just when it suits him - only then I find out he undercharges poor people. I don't know, Your Majesty. He's a mess."

The tantrum Howl makes over his hair also feels more authentic in the novel - because the movie portrays him as a polite, quiet protagonist, it felt out of character for him to make a big deal out of a change in hair colour. Novel Howl on the other hand, is flamboyant and dramatic, traits which the book continuously plays up. Therefore it felt more real for him to be overly theatrical.

Sophie feels similarly more tangible and real in the novel - her being a witch was an interesting aspect to her character, one that was considerably downplayed by the movie. Learning of her ability to talk intimate objects to life allowed to her to develop further as a person and move out of the stereotype that she was born to fail as the eldest of three siblings. In addition to this, she's naturally blunt, nosy and headstrong, a great contrast to her movie identity, where she's more a self-conscious and quiet character. While some may prefer movie Sophie, I rather enjoyed the no-nonsense persona crafted by Diane and found myself relating to her on multiple occasions.

Coupled with Howl, the two make a perfect match - Howl's flighty personality is healthily grounded in Sophie's stability, and Sophie in turn, lives a colourful life with her husband.
I also feel compelled to add that to the people concerned with novel Howl's vanity overshadowing his capacity for love, Sophie is an old woman for almost the entirety of the novel, proving that superficiality plays no part in his falling for her. It's obvious that his affection for her is rooted in his admiration of her honest and loud personality. And when he goes to save her, it's noted by Sophie "that Howl had not bothered to shave or tidy his hair. His eyes were still red-rimmed and his black sleeves were torn in several places." This observation has infinitely more meaning when one thinks back to Micheal saying "the day Howl forgets to do that (dress up and spend hours applying superficial spells) will be the day I believe he's really in love and not before."
Sophie's developing love for Howl is also evident in the quote above when she speaks to the king. Though Howl is "fickle, careless, selfish, and hysterical" on the surface, she sees that underneath the frivolous image, he is truly kind and warm to the people he meets, which is supported by his taking in of Micheal (an orphan with nowhere to go) and the literal giving of his heart to Calcifer who wanted to live.

The romance is admittedly more subtle in the novel, but again, I prefer the easygoing and slowly developing relationship of the book to the rushed and cheesy romance particular to Ghibli movies.

That said, while I absolutely adore the book, my love for it in no way negates my affection for the movie. Miyazaki's movie was unique and beautiful piece in its own right, and because I am able to see it as not a true adaption of Diane's novel but rather as a seperate work, I continue to enjoy it to this day.

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Blackened name link
2/20/2018 06:12:44 am

I really really really love the book and I was a bit sad because lots of people were only talking about the movie..
Glad I found this post. :)

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Lara
10/12/2018 05:10:51 pm

I love both the book and the movie, but the characters and story are so dissimilar that I consider them to be different stories entirely.

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Stephanie
2/27/2019 10:01:45 pm

I had seen the movie several times before discovering there was a book. I just finished reading the book to my children tonight, and hands down, the book beat the movie with Sophie's magic walking stick like it was Ms. Angorian. I adored magical Sophie and slitherer-out Howl. What an amazing story.

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Anna Schwirian
6/25/2019 10:46:32 pm

I love both the movie and the book. Those commenting on the books ending may not reliize that Sophie and Howl appeared in two other books so it really was not there true ending. I loved her sisters and what they added to the story. The movie was different and interesting but it’s ending was flat to me I loved howl and Sophie together but the scarecrow, the witch ect seemed like loose ends and the bad guy really wasn’t very evil. The book was well rounded bad guy and really had a good backstory. So if you can’t tell I love both but feel the Book was truly better then the movie.

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RZ link
8/7/2019 11:29:38 pm

I have commented before here but I'll just leave this link again. Consider it as a supplementary video for this discussion.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4BbhWrjIImg

Also, this:
Although the novel and film are vastly different, Diana, who had no influence in the film, loved it. She said, “It’s fantastic. No, I have no input – I write books, not films. Yes, it will be different from the book – in fact it’s likely to be very different, but that’s as it should be. It will still be a fantastic film.”
source: https://thewordafter.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/author-spotlight-diana-wynne-jones/

Reply
Lily
4/14/2020 07:25:27 am

I read the book after I found out that there is one and I am not disappointed! I love the book a lot more than the movie. For me the movie got very confused and now I know why. They changed not only the characters but also the whole climax and storyline. And I don't understand why, I thought it the villain was very interesting in the book. The inserted the war to make it more interesting when it could have been easily more interesting if they focused on the villain a bit more, than the book does, which in my opinion is also a very good characters.
The only think I liked about the movie (after reading the book) is that Howl is more worried about Sophie but the rest I wish they wouldn't have changed so much...

Reply
Eirion
4/14/2020 12:08:34 pm

I know this thread is quite old but I found this blog while trying to figure out if I should read the book and after reading it I just wanted to say a couple things:

1. Almost everyone keeps saying that the Sophie from the movie is better than the one from the book since the latest one is more of a "bitch" or an "asshole". She is not, first there is this thing about being rude to the customers, she was only rude to one (and also the witch of the Waste) and because that customer was rude to her first:

"Look at this!" the young lady shrieked.You told me this was the same as the bonnet Jane Farrier was wearing when she met the Count. And you lied. Nothing has happened to me at all!"

"I'm not surprised," Sophie said, before she had caught up with herself. "If you're fool enough to wear that bonnet with a face like that, you wouldn't have the wit to spot the King himself if he came a
begging- if he hadn't turned to stone first just at the sight of you."

The customer glared. Then she threw the bonnet at Sophie and stormed out of the shop. Sophie carefully crammed the bonnet into the wastebasket, panting rather. The rule was : Lose your temper,
lose a customer.

And yes the Sophie from the movie is more nice and calm but it feels like she is just there waiting for things to happen, the one from the book is more in control, she actually acts about things, speaks her mind, do what she wants and yeah she might be more explosive and impulsive but she is also kind hearted and caring, this feels more real to me because no one is perfect.

2. Howl, there are a lot of hints in the book that he is not the vain, selfish, dishonest, careless, heart breaker he pretended to be and that he just acted that way to avoid the curse. In the end you realize that maybe he loves flirting but the main reason why he kept going to see Lettie was to know more about Sophie and that he pretended to like Miss Angorian to make Sophie jealous and cautious of her. Even if he keeps pretending to be a coward that avoided everything difficult or that involved compromise till the end he helped Michael when no one else did, helped poor people charging less or nothing at all, trying to find the prince on his own ways, trying to break Sophie's curse all the time and making little things to make her happy (letting her stay at the castle, taking her into consideration when moving the castle and starting a new business, fixing the outside of the mansion as soon as she mentioned it, bringing her family to visit her and going to her rescue even if it mean facing off the witch.

3. "The ending", I love the movie ending is like the "perfect romantic" thing we all wanted between Sophie and Howl but I don't feel the book ending is worse or less romantic...is not the basic hug and a kiss thing but a read between the lines, how they know each other so well, how they accept their flaws and still want to be together, what I found even more beautiful, because is not the simple superfluous love born out of nowhere (also Sophie is not kissing everyone):

Howl said, "I think we ought to live happily ever after," and she thought he meant it. Sophie knew living happily ever after with Howl
would be a great deal more eventful than any story made it sound, though she was determined to try. "It should be hair-raising," added Howl.

"And you'll exploit me," Sophie said.

"And then you'll cut up all my suits to teach me," said Howl.

But Sophie and Howl were holding one another's hands and smiling and smiling, quite unable to stop.

4. "The war" even though there is no war going on at the time being there is a clear reference to it on the book:

The King hitched his chair an inch toward Sophie's. "Let me be equally outspoken now," he said. "Mrs. Pendragon, I need my brother back badly. It is not just that I am fond of him and
regret the quarrel we had. It is not even that certain people are whispering that I did away with him myself-which anyone who knows us both knows to be perfect nonsense. No, Mrs. Pendragon. The fact is, my brother Justin is a brilliant general and, with High Norland and Strangia about to declare war on us, I can't do without him.

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Anastasia
4/18/2020 01:01:06 pm

I don't exactly know way in the movie they added the part about the girls gossip about him, and him pursuing the witch of the waste..why did they add this if they aren't going to make him the flirt he was in the book. I guess that they wanted his attention being completely on sophie in the movie. But, by them adding the girls gossip and him pursuing the witch in the past, was sort of to show that he is a flirt in the movie, but not as a big flirt as he was in the book..all we seen in the movie was just some gossip from girls, and his history with the witch, the only girl he had interaction with is, sophie. So in the movie we didnt see him flirt, or being the flirt that he was in the book, but at least they kinda mention it, but that still wasn't the same as in the book. Not disappointed, because the movie was great! it kinda reminds me when you read a manga, then in the anime they change some things, so it's kinda like that. But the changes dont make the movie bad, because it was great, and the book also.

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Belinda C link
12/4/2020 04:20:04 am

God bleess

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Killian
5/11/2021 11:22:24 pm

I can't say I prefer either the book or the film, because there are parts of both which I love and which I hate.

However, I spent a long time hating the film (for entirely petty reasons, I'm sure), and when I got around to watching it again a few years ago my brain was like: oh! It's nowhere near as awful as you've made it out to be, at the same time as going: It's not nearly as good as people make it out to be.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the film and Howl has a very special place in my heart. However, the characters are unrealistic (to me), and I feel as if the war completely overshadows and defeats all other plot points. I watch fantasy to escape the harsh realities of the world - I would much prefer more tales about self-discovery and magical happenings than giant war machines and the 'ideal romance' (entirely unrealistic) between the 'ideal people' (entirely too perfect).

Reading the book really changed the whole experience of the film; it made me mad that they'd replaced such a beautiful hair colour with plain old brown, it annoyed me that they'd added whole plot points and taken away whole characters, but it also made me appriciate the film more because I had a better understanding of the characters (even if they are extremely different in the film - I can still see the book characters within the animated ones).

At the end of the day, both the book and the film come from very different people and from significantly different times [the book by Diana Wynne Jones coming out in 1986 and the Studio Ghibli adaptation-to-film coming out in 2005], and while I don't enjoy them when compared to the other - I love them both as their own works.

Additionally, I am, and always will be, ever grateful to have a character like Howl who is even more dramatic than I, he was an extremely big help in distancing myself from harmful gender stereotypes and figuring out myself as the dramatic, childish, queer soul that i am.

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Jonathon Lenny Baroi
8/6/2021 05:12:00 am

moke hate tis

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Liesma
9/13/2021 12:53:00 pm

Nice putting together of all big changes!
What I thought was - Studio Ghibli made movie more kid-friendly - that is about Sophie's and Howl's characters. But I agree about war. And you helped me to see how madame Sulimman and mss Penstammon are thought to be the same person, but very different. Basically only change I liked was about change of Sophie's and Howl's characters. Rest of them I prefer with book's versions.

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Abby
12/22/2021 05:08:02 pm

I don't complain about Sophie and Howl in the book really. I find them so real and interesting to be honest. Especially Sophie she's hilarious. I can somehow relate her struggles on being the eldest because my sister felt the same way sometimes. and howl... Its mix feelings. The way he tantrums with the green slimes...the man could win an oscar👌

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