- WHAT ARE WITH THE DEMONIC ELEMENTS IN HOWLS MOVING CASTLE MOVIE MOVIE
- WHAT ARE WITH THE DEMONIC ELEMENTS IN HOWLS MOVING CASTLE MOVIE SERIES
Unlike the last example of book to anime adaptation, Howl’s Moving Castle is a feature film which means it has a much shorter time to tell the story than the 24 episodes of Gankutsuou. No right or wrong answers here, only opinions and debate – and box office sales figures if you are cynical. Of course there will be people who disagree with this, after all, the creative medium is a subjective one. It is nigh on impossible to get the visuals to match the varied pictures the readers will create in their heads, but if you can convey the feeling the book creates for the reader than a good sixty percent of the battle is won in the adaptation.
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Capturing the essence of the book is the trick. Soon Sophie is involved in breaking more curses than just her own.Īnd that is the secret of a successful adaptation in my mind, not to mention the thing you will be told over and over by teachers of screenwriting. Unable to stay at home, Sophie sets out to find a way to break the curse and finds herself pretending to be a cleaning lady in the Moving Castle owned by Wizard Howl, a selfish character who eats woman’s hearts, apparently. Howl’s Moving Castle follows the story of Sophie Hatter, aged 18 until she falls foul of The Witch of the Waste who places a curse on her, aging Sophie to around 90.
WHAT ARE WITH THE DEMONIC ELEMENTS IN HOWLS MOVING CASTLE MOVIE SERIES
I’m tackling this next because a) this is the adaptation that got me thinking about this little series and b) I have just finished reading the book, kindly lent to me by the person who also sparked the idea for examining anime adaptations. This time I’m looking at one of the most well known anime adaptation of a western book, Howl’s Moving Castle directed by Hayao Miyazaki based on the book of the same title by Dianne Wynne Jones. In the first post of the series I explained a little of my love for anime and then analysed Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo.
WHAT ARE WITH THE DEMONIC ELEMENTS IN HOWLS MOVING CASTLE MOVIE MOVIE
For while the book is about Sophie, the movie is about Howl…and how he would ultimately see himself: a hero.Here is part two of the blog series where I take a look at creative adaptation through showcasing some anime adaptations of western books.
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So, if you look at the tale between these two lenses, you’ll enjoy both the book and the movie. Sophie is selfless and relentless, and the book is a jewel at showing thos. While these elements of Sophie survive in the movie, many of her motivations are around protecting Howl…not others. Her jealousy of Howl with other girls is slowly building in the background, while she focuses on forcing herself into the life of the castle. I think what makes the book so much better than the movie is Sophie’s autonomy. In the end, all the pieces of the puzzle come together seamlessly, leaving no stone overturned in Sophie’s adventure to find herself. No wonder Miyazaki took some creative liberty with airships and other technology, because there’s no reason those pieces of equipment couldn’t exist.ĭianna Wynne Jones creates a wonderful story that I didn’t want to put down (or, stop listening to) leaving hints along the way. It leaves much of the world to the reader’s imagination though: doors connecting to our world, steampunk elements flowing through the landscape, and bustling cities. The witch of the waste and her demon are sinister villains who haunt the landscape.
![what are with the demonic elements in howls moving castle movie what are with the demonic elements in howls moving castle movie](https://i2.wp.com/blerdyotome.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/howl-3.jpg)
Imagine a young man throwing fits over ever possible scenario, not the smooth “sexy” fellow represented by the movie (I mean, Christian Bale as Howl…come on!): this is the true Howl, and the Howl that Sophie sees.Ī whimsical world follows Sophie through her adventures with Howl, Calcifer, Michael (whom Mikhal replaced in the movie), her sisters, a scary scarecrow, and a dog-man. The book, especially when narrated by Jenny Sterlin, shows a story of a whiny wizard who gets whipped into line by a young-turned-old woman who has little confidence in herself. One recommendation I heard was to think of the book as Sophie’s point-of-view and the movie as Howl’s point-of-view, and that serves as a great analysis between the two. Some people might disagree with me on this of course, but personally I liked the book way more than the movie, which is true with many stories, but I wanted to state that right away.ĭon’t get me wrong, the movie is wonderful on its own. In retrospect, I am glad that I hadn’t, because it only made the book so much better – and much fresher. While I was certainly aware of the movie, and had it on my “to-watch” list for many years, I actually had not watched it prior to reading this book. Most people know Howl’s Moving Castle from the 2004 Miyazaki Film.