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Howl's Moving Castle

Following Sen to Chihiro (Spirited Away), Howl's Moving Castle is Hayao Miyazaki's latest feature anime with Studio Ghibli, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones.

The heroine of the story is a young hatmaker called Sophie, who, after an encounter with the attractive Wizard Howl, was paid a visit by the Witch of the Wastes and her minions. The witch was jealous of Sophie and cast a spell on her to turn her into a bent-backed old woman. In confusion, and hoping to find a cure for the spell, Sophie set out in search of the Wizard Howl.

On her way, she met and helped a hopping scarecrow, whom Sophie named Turniphead. Turniphead led Sophie to Howl's castle, which was a visually grotesque jumble of messy machinery. In the castle, which was suprisingly homey compared to the monstrous exterior, Sophie met the fiesty flames demon, Calcifer, who fuels the energy of the moving castle. She also made friends with Wizard Howl's help, Markl, who has a magical cape that sprouts him a giant moustache. Sophie assumes the postition of the house cleaner, joining this somewhat dysfunctional family.

We learn later on in the story that almost all the characters are under some kind of spell (must be some kind of trend) including the Wizard Howl's, who has the ability to shapeshift into a feathered flying predator. Wizard Howl's was approached by 2 warring countries to join the war, and in cowardice, sends Sophie as his mother to reject the appointment. The plot thickens as Sophie meets the Madame Suliman. Howl and gang then tries to escape from everybody else. That was when the story gets weirdly confusing yet pleasantly entertaining.

The main attraction of the movie is probably the fantastical castle, which opens its main door to anywhere Howl wills it to. The castle has a variety of staircases and endless rooms, secret tunnels leading to elsewhere. A visual feast for Miyazaki fans.