Art of Howl's Moving Castle
/Howl's Moving Castle is an animation fantasy movie written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. It was produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. The film is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. Influenced by Miyazaki's opposition to the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003, Howl's Moving Castle contains strongly anti-war themes. Miyazaki stated that he "had a great deal of rage about [the Iraq war]," which led him to make a film which he felt would be poorly received in the US. It also explores the theme of old age, depicting age positively as something which grants the protagonist freedom. The film also carries messages about the value of compassion. In 2013 Miyazaki said the film was his favorite creation, explaining "I wanted to convey the message that life is worth living, and I don't think that's changed." The movie is thematically significantly different from the book; while the book focuses on challenging class and gender norms, the film focuses on love, and personal loyalty and the destructive effects of war. The pictures on this page are a collection of artworks created for this movie.
THE STORY
Sophie has an uneventful life at her late father's hat shop, but all that changes when she befriends wizard Howl, who lives in a magical flying castle. However, the evil Witch of Waste takes issue with their budding relationship and casts a spell on young Sophie, which ages her prematurely. Now Howl must use all his magical talents to battle the jealous hag and return Sophie to her former youth and beauty…
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