Howl's Moving Castle

4.86
    Howl's Moving Castle
    2004

    Synopsis

    Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

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    Cast

    • Chieko BaishoSophie (voice)
    • Takuya KimuraHowl (voice)
    • Akihiro MiwaWitch of the Waste (voice)
    • Tatsuya GashûinCalcifer (voice)
    • Ryunosuke KamikiMarkl (voice)
    • Mitsunori IsakiKosho (voice)
    • Yo OizumiPrince Justin / Turnip Head (voice)
    • Akio OtsukaKing of Ingary (voice)
    • Daijirô HaradaHeen (voice)
    • Haruko KatōMadame Suliman (voice)

    Recommendations

    • 100

      Village Voice

      An organic, childlike wonder, fabulously unpredictable and seethingly inventive.
    • 100

      Christian Science Monitor

      You run across animation this ingenious about as often as a moving castle comes your way.
    • 91

      Entertainment Weekly

      The worldview, the sense of childlike fun shaded with adult melancholy, and the joyful, serene attention to visual oddity and wordless beauty could only be made in Japan. And, specifically, made by Hayao Miyazaki.
    • 90

      Time

      The perfect e-ticket for a flight of fancy into a world far more gorgeous than our own. The film doesn't halve itself to appeal to two generations. At its best, it turns all moviegoers into innocent kids, slack-jawed with wonder.
    • 90

      L.A. Weekly

      Another soulful gem from the peerless Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
    • 90

      The New York Times

      Sophie, in both her incarnations, joins an impressive sisterhood of Miyazaki heroines, whose version of girl power presents a potent alternative to the mini-machismo that dominates American juvenile entertainment. Not that children are the only viewers likely to be haunted and beguiled by Howl's Moving Castle - all that is needed are open eyes and an open heart.
    • 80

      Variety

      The tireless volley of ideas and inventions make this a delight that should connect with kids and adults in both dubbed and original-language versions.
    • 80

      The A.V. Club

      Miyazaki's animated adaptation of Jones' book is a charming and thoroughly absorbing treat.

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