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Howl's Moving Castle (film)

Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城, Hauru no Ugoku Shiro?) is an Academy Award-nominated Japanese anime, Romance/Fantasy film based on Diana Wynne Jones' novel of the same name and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. Mamoru Hosoda, director of two seasons and one movie from the Digimon series, was originally selected to direct but abruptly left the project, leaving the then retired Miyazaki to take up the director's role. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, 2004. Diana Wynne Jones did meet with representatives from Studio Ghibli but did not have any input or involvement in the production of the film. She's quoted as saying, "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." Miyazaki travelled to England in summer 2004 to give Jones a private viewing of the finished movie.

The animated film was released to cinemas in Japan on November 20, 2004. The film has also been dubbed into English by Pixar's Peter Docter and is being distributed in North America by Walt Disney Pictures. The film began showing in select cinemas around the United States and Canada on June 10, 2005. It was released nationwide in Australia on September 22 and in the UK on September 23.

Story


18-year-old Sophie works in a hat shop and lacks confidence and direction. Her chance encounter with the handsome but mysterious wizard Howl results in Sophie being turned into a 90-year-old woman by the villainous Witch of the Waste. On self-imposed exile, Sophie finds shelter in Howl’s moving castle; a mobile, chaotic ensemble of metal scraps but a feat of magical engineering nonetheless. For example, the front door of the castle is magically connected to several buildings in different parts of the country, where Howl maintains a different identity at each one. Inside the castle, Sophie encounters Markl, Howl’s eight-year-old apprentice, an animated scarecrow whom Sophie names Turniphead, and Calcifer, a feisty, smart-talking fire demon who plays a key role in Howl’s intrinsic being, is the source of the castle's power to move, forced to work for Howl because of a spell that binds him to the castle. Sophie’s love and support comes to have a major impact on Howl, who, while a grown man, is still a boy in many ways.

When summoned by his nation to help fight a war with a neighboring kingdom, Howl is at first afraid to respond, believing the summons to be a trap set by the king's head sorceress, his old mentor Madame Suliman. Sophie agrees to go to the capital city and pose as Howl's mother, in order to convince Suliman to leave Howl alone, and to stop the war; Meanwhile, after giving her a magic ring for protection, Howl followed behind her in disguise. However, just when Suliman had cornered both of them, Howl used his magic to help Sophie escape on a flying machine (along with Suliman's errand-dog Heen, and an aged, powerless, and more kindhearted Witch of the Waste in tow), while he kept the palace guards distracted with an illusion.

Later, as the war gets worse and Suliman tries to track Howl down, the dashing wizard begins fearing for the safety of Sophie and the others. After setting things up for them in case of his absence, he takes Sophie to a cottage in a flowery field, where he used to stay as a child. Unknown to Sophie, the self-confidence she has gained since being cursed, along with her developing affection towards Howl, has caused the spell to begin reversing itself, returning herself little by little to her original age (although her hair has completely turned silvery-gray in color); However, even when Howl tried to comfort her after he admitted he'd be leaving, she herself still didn't think of herself as beautiful.

When the appearance of Suliman's monstrous henchmen forces Howl to retreat Sophie back to the castle, he uses his powers to partially transform himself into a bird monster in order to protect Sophie's old hatshop, one of the buildings magically connected to the castle. Sophie fears Howl won't be able to change back to himself after too long, and convinces Calcifer to detach the magic linking the castle and the hatshop, collapsing the castle in the process. Using Sophie's braid of hair as an extra fuel source, Calcifer manages to reanimate a part of the castle in order to reach Howl, but is grabbed by the Witch of the Waste (realizing Calcifer had swallowed Howl's heart), whose longing for a kind heart has burst through again. As the heart begins to set the witch on fire, Sophie throws a bucket of water on her and Calcifer, which causes Sophie and Heen to go over a cliff as the castle starts to collapse again.

Having survived the fall, Sophie starts crying over the thought that by dousing Calcifer, she might have killed Howl. Suddenly, the ring that she received earlier lights up, and when Sophie asks if it can find Howl, it points to the remains of the front door, connected to a portal that only Howl knows the destination to. Taking a chance, Sophie (with Heen on her heels) enters the door to find herself in Howl's childhood; after witnessing Howl swallow a shooting star and Calcifer popping out of his chest, Sophie is pulled back to the door, yelling to the young boy that she can help him in the future. Sure enough, bird-monster Howl is standing outside the door, ready to take them both back to their friends.

Upon returning, Sophie convinces the witch to give back Calcifer, and attempts to give Howl back his heart by pushing Calcifer into his chest. Suddenly, a bright light appears, and Calcifer emerges in his true form, as a shooting star spiraling into the distance. As whats left of the castle gives way without Calcifer, Turniphead uses his balancing pole to stop the remnants of the floor from sliding off a cliff. Sophie thanks him by giving him a kiss, and he instantly transforms into a human being. Specifically, he's the neighboring kingdom's prince, whose disappearance ignited the war, transformed by a spell that could only be broken by 'a kiss from your true love'. However, when Howl revives, Sophie (having since had the curse on her broken) shows she's really in love with him, giving the Witch of the Waste a chance to flirt with the prince. The story ends with Heen appearing before Madame Suliman in a crystal ball to show her that there was no more reason to continue the war, and as the kingdom's aerial warships return home, Sophie, Howl and their friends fly away in the rebuilt castle, supposedly living happily ever after.

Differences in the Story

As Jones noted, the film is significantly different from her original novel in many ways. Roughly the first third of the plot is similar, after which the movie branches off into original territory, flavored with many of Miyazaki's familiar themes: airships, redemption, cute non-human sidekicks. The focus is still on Sophie and her adventure while being cursed with old age, but the main action of the film's story takes place during a war, reminiscent of World War I and located in a fantastical nation somewhat reminiscent of pre-World War I Alsace. Indeed, many buildings in the town scenes are identical to actual buildings in the Alsatian town of Colmar, which Miyazaki acknowledged as the inspiration for its setting. Whereas the novel is concerned with Howl's womanizing and his attempts to weasel out of locating a lost wizard and a prince, the film has Howl avoiding helping in a national war for pacifist reasons, and deals with the consequences of this decision. The movie also delves into spectacular scenes of radically alternate realities co-existing within the normal reality of the main story, and sequences of hallucinatory visuals and concepts are prominently featured throughout the second half of the film. The book also sees the protagonists detour for one chapter into the 20th century world, where Howl is known as Howell Jenkins. This element is not used in the film.

Many of the book's characters are modified for the film. The character of Howl's apprentice, Michael Fisher, is a teenager in the book but a young boy, "Markl", in the film. Sophie has only one sister in the movie compared to two in the book (although the other sister is alluded to as an aside near the film's opening). The Witch of the Waste, instead of looking young and beautiful, is a huge heavyset woman that later becomes an old crone—as opposed to terrorizing the characters as a frightening villain, she is treated as a "grandmother" character and is even taken into Howl's home. Calcifer, who is a scary looking fire demon in the book, is portrayed as an adorable little flame in the film, although in two instances he blazes up into a wicked-looking blue flame strongly reminiscent of his appearance in the book. Finally, while in the book there is a 'Wizard Suliman', in the film this is changed to a 'Madame Suliman'. Various other characters in the film are composites of the book's characters, with different motivations and personalities. Sophie and Howl themselves most strongly resemble Jones's characters (though Howl has a completely different background), but with gentler personas and less selfish motivations; that is, typical Jones character traits are softened into typical Miyazaki character traits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl's_Moving_Castle_(film)

Hello Elnior:

Thank you for sharing it.I feel so happy and touched because the 耶誕老公公 has put something I am looking for back into my stockings although It is not the original one.

Love and caring may not stop something bad happened in the world completely, but love and caring indeed reduce those evil things and bring more warmer into our mind.

劇情簡介：
在盛行軍國主義的世界裡，士兵們
正準備趕赴戰� �。這時竟出現了一個專
吃美女心臟的巫師－霍爾，以及會移動
的城� �。附近的城鎮裡，有一位18歲的
少女名叫蘇菲，在經營父親所遺留下來
的帽子店。妹妹蕾蒂則是個交際花，是
鎮上最好的咖啡廳的活招牌。妹妹常問
蘇菲：� 真的喜歡經營這家帽子店嗎？
個性認真的蘇菲只知道辛勤的工作。只
是有時一個人的時候，也曾經想過自己
到底喜歡些什麼。
　　
有一天，蘇菲在街上遇到一位美男
子－霍爾，他好像正在被什麼東西追趕
著。忽然間他抱起蘇菲一同飛上天空，
在空中散歩。這些夢裡才會出現的事，
讓蘇菲的心深深地被霍爾吸引。但是卻
在那天晚上，蘇菲被一位名叫荒地魔女
的女巫施了魔法，外表竟然變成了九十
歲的老婆婆。於是蘇菲決定整理行李，
離開城鎮。
　　
沿途中，蘇菲遇見了用腳走路的移
動城� �，為了禦寒，他決定以女傭的身
分，住進了移動城� �。接下來蘇菲與霍
爾的徒弟馬魯克、火惡魔卡西法以及稻
草人，一起展開了奇妙的生活。蘇菲很
快就習慣了這樣的活，但此時戰火越來
越接近蘇菲居住的城鎮，蘇菲會向霍爾
求助嗎？霍爾又會採取什麼行動呢？

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http://www.bigsnail.com/wallpapers.html
http://home.pchome.com.tw/my/cosplaydark/howl/howl2.htm
http://blog.xuite.net/mushymoon/song/6240342

「ハウルの動く城」主題歌
世界の約束

作詞／谷川俊太郎
作曲／木村　弓
歌　／倍賞千恵子

涙の奥にゆらぐほほえみは
時の始めからの世界の約束

いまは一人でも二人の昨日から
今日は生まれきらめく
初めて会った日のように

思い出のうちにあなたはいない
そよかぜとなって頬に触れてくる


木漏れ日の午後の別れのあとも
決して終わらない世界の約束

いまは一人でも明日は限りない
あなたが教えてくれた
夜にひそむやさしさ

思い出のうちにあなたはいない
せせらぎの歌にこの空の色に
花の香りにいつまでも生きて

(中文翻譯)
搖晃在淚水中的微笑
是當時一開始的世界的約定
儘管現在是一個人，也曾經歷過兩人相處的昨日
今天也將會是美麗的
就像初次相遇的日子

回憶中沒有你
化為微風吹撫你的臉頰

葉縫間 陽光緩洩的下午，即使在分別之後
世界的約定也絕不會終結
儘管現在是一個人，但明天是無限的
你曾告訴我
暗夜間蘊藏著溫柔

回憶中沒有你
你在小溪的歌曲中 在這片天空的顏色裡
在花朵的香味之間 永遠生生不息

Elinor Profile	Re: 霍爾的移動城堡 Howl's Moving Castle(世界の約束)	#7
Home away from home Joined: 2006/6/29 22:52 Group: Registered Users Posts: 1051 Level : 28 HP : 0 / 689 MP : 350 / 35952 EXP : 58	Kathy, Thank you too. I enjoy the song!! Posted on: 2006/11/5 2:48

123 Profile	Re: 霍爾的移動城堡 Howl's Moving Castle(世界の約束)	#8
Home away from home Joined: 2006/1/17 19:32 Group: Registered Users Moderators Posts: 2215 Level : 38 HP : 0 / 935 MP : 738 / 50012 EXP : 43	Thank you bo bo geo's help for translating the lyrics to share. 世界の約束 涙の奥にゆらぐほほえみは Though faltering, a smile is managed amidst tears 時の始めからの世界の約束 That’s when our accord begins いまは一人でも二人の昨日から Though alone, I savour the togetherness of the past. 今日は生まれきらめくNevertheless the future shall be beauteous 初めて会った日のように As though when we first met 思い出のうちにあなたはいない Your expression seems petered out in my reminiscence そよかぜとなって頬に触れてくるBut I see a light wind sweeping and bringing comfort to you 木漏れ日の午後の別れのあともAlthough we parted on a sultry afternoon where the sun rays peeped through the space between the thick foliage 決して終わらない世界の約束 But our accord shall never end いまは一人でも明日は限りない Though alone but tomorrow is boundless あなたが教えてくれたYou once told me 夜にひそむやさしさThat darkness in the night reposes sweet tenderness 思い出のうちにあなたはいないYour expression seems petered out in my reminiscence せせらぎの歌にこの空の色にBut I remember you singing at the at the stream, under the clear blue sky 花の香りにいつまでも生きてIn the whiff of those flowers, lively forever and ever Posted on: 2006/12/11 18:09

Elinor Profile	Re: 霍爾的移動城堡 Howl's Moving Castle(世界の約束)	#9
Home away from home Joined: 2006/6/29 22:52 Group: Registered Users Posts: 1051 Level : 28 HP : 0 / 689 MP : 350 / 35952 EXP : 58	Thank you so much!! Geoette, Kathy and Tim. Attach file:   Thank you.JPG (37.20 KB) Posted on: 2006/12/11 21:02