"So good that it shames virtually every animated film made since Miyazaki's last film, Spirited Away, graced movie screens in 2002." Jeffrey M Anderson COMBUSTIBLE CELLULOID "The film is an organic, childlike wonder, fabulously unpredictable and seethingly inventive." Michael Atkinson VILLAGE VOICE "This magical adventure delivers the goods." Ken Fox TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE "A gorgeous, life-affirming piece whose anti-war message is particularly timely." Dan Jardine CINEMANIA "One of the best films of the year with its rousing treatment of caretaking, aging, anti-war sentiments, and the bounties of the heart." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH

"The story works on many levels, including as an anti-war fable, but its central theme is about the matchless power of love." Robert Roten LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE "...a beautifully wrought, intoxicatingly dreamlike parable of personal and social maturation." Frank Swietek ONE GUY'S OPINION "Miyazaki continues to astonish with the sheer artistry and breadth of his vision." Timothy Knight REEL.COM "With its bold screen-filling imagery, this is definitely a movie to be relished on the big screen." GLOBE AND MAIL "It's entrancing, with more magical and laugh-out-loud moments than any other animated feature so far this year." Jeff Vice DESERT NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY

The Inside Story

"It's like a combination of Beauty And The Beast and The Wizard Of Oz with an extra dose of comedy - not a bad mix for an entertaining fairy tale." Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone THEMOVIECHICKS.COM

Those who are long time fans of Hayao Miyazaki will of cousre be familiar with his work. Those who aren't will discover through his latest animated film that they have really missed out on something very special, because there is no-one, at this time, who can match the creative talent of Miyazaki. He is a wizard. A wizard who after fourty years still relies on the skill of hand drawn imagery, not that he doesn't think there is a place for CGI. "Actually I think CGI has the potential to equal or even surpass what the human hand can do. But it is far too late for me to try it." "The world is changing. I have been very fortunate to be able to do the same job for fourty years. That's rare in any era." These are quotes attributed to the Master who works without a finished script. "I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film," Miyazaki said in an interview after the acclaimed "Spirited Away" was released. "I usually don't have the time. So the story develops when I start drawing storyboards. The production starts very soon thereafter, while the story boards are still developing. We never know where the story will go but we just keeping working on the film as it develops. It's a dangerous way to make an animation film and I would like it to be different, but unfortunately, that's the way I work and everyone else is kind of forced to subject themselves to it." And he doesn't see himself as a story-teller either. "I'm a man who draws pictures," he says. "However, I do believe in the power of story. I believe that stories have an important role to play in the formation of human beings, that they can stimulate, amaze and inspire their listeners." One important aspect of his films is that they always carry a strong message. In the case of "Howl's Moving Castle" it is an anti-war message which seems quite fitting considering the war currently being raged in Iraq. Over the years, Miyazaki has gathered a huge following of animation fans with films such as "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" [1986]; "My Neighbor Totoro" [1988]; "Princess Mononoke" [1997] and "Spirited Away" [2001]. His work has been rewarded with many Awards. His greatest success came with the release of "Spirited Away" which was honoured with Best Picture at the 2001 Japanese Academy Awards, Golden Bear (First Prize) at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival, and the 2002 Academy Award ® for Best Animated Feature. Winning the Oscar ® was a huge milestone because it was the first Oscar ever awarded to any anime production." There was another milestone in Miyazaki's film career which should not be overlooked. "Spirited Away" took $US267.77 million dollars at the Japanese box-office surpassing the previous record holder "Titanic" which had taken $US208 million. Not a bad effort for someone who came out of retirement to make what was a truly stunning film. And by the way, "Spirited Away" wasn't the only film Hayao Miyazaki film to receive the Best Film Award at the Japanese Academy Awards. "Princess Mononoke" took top honours in 1997. "Howls Moving Castle" opened to Japanese audience on November 20th 2004 to huge success. In two days it took $US12.33 million dollars. Little wonder! This is a remarkable piece of work. The characters, the color and imagery are outstanding. The storyline fascinating and enthralling. Those who have seen "Spirited Away" will need little encouragement when it comes to recommending "Howl's Moving Castle". Those who are not familiar with Hayao Miyazaki will discover it's a wonderful, magical experience. Meet The Author Diana Wynne Jones was raised in the village of Thaxted, in Essex, England. She has been a compulsive storyteller for as long as she can remember enjoying most ardently those tales dealing with witches, hobgoblins, and the like. "However, I was extremely dyslexic," says Diana, "so when I told my parents I wanted to be a writer, they just laughed." In spite of this, between the ages of twelve and fourteen, the young writer completed two epic tales scrawled in a total of twenty copy books. This taught her from an early age the invaluable lesson of how to finish a book." Ms Jones, who was born in August 1934, lives in Bristol, England, with her husband, a professor of English at Bristol University. They have three sons and two granddaughters. "I decided to be a writer at the age of eight, but I did not receive any encouragement in this ambition until thirty years later. I think this ambition was fired-or perhaps exacerbated is a better word-by early marginal contacts with the Great, when we were evacuated to the English Lakes during the war. The house we were in had belonged to Ruskin's secretary and had also been the home of the children in the books of Arthur Ransome. One day, finding I had no paper to draw on, I stole from the attic a stack of exquisite flower-drawings, almost certainly by Ruskin himself, and proceeded to rub them out. I was punished for this. Soon after, we children offended Arthur Ransome by making a noise on the shore beside his houseboat. He complained. So likewise did Beatrix Potter, who lived nearby. It struck me then that the Great were remarkably touchy and unpleasant (even if, in Ruskin's case, it was posthumous), and I thought I would like to be the same, without the unpleasantness."
"I started writing children's books when we moved to a village in Essex where there were almost no books. The main activities there were hand-weaving, hand-making pottery, and singing madrigals, for none of which I had either taste or talent. So, in intervals between trying to haunt the church and sitting on roofs hoping to learn to fly, I wrote enormous epic adventure stories which I read to my sisters instead of the real books we did not have. This writing was stopped, though, when it was decided I must be coached to go to University. A local philosopher was engaged to teach me Greek and philosophy in exchange for a dollhouse (my family never did things normally), and I eventually got a place at Oxford."
"At this stage, despite attending lectures by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, I did not expect to be writing fantasy. But that was what I started to write when I was married and had children of my own. It was what they liked best. But small children do not allow you the use of your brain. They used to jump on my feet to stop me thinking. And I had not realized how much I needed to teach myself about writing. I took years to learn, and it was not until my youngest child began school that I was able to produce a book which a publisher did not send straight back."
"As soon as my books began to be published, they started coming true. Fantastic things that I thought I had made up keep happening to me. The most spectacular was Drowned Ammet. The first time I went on a boat after writing that book, an island grew up out of the sea and stranded us. This sort of thing, combined with the fact that I have a travel jinx, means that my life is never dull."
Visit Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones". Copyright © 2005 HarperCollins Publishers Crew Bytes "HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE" was .......
directed by Academy Award ® winner Hayao Miyazaki ["The Castle of Cagliostro", "Castle in the Sky", "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away"]; screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki ["My Neighbor Totoro", "Crimson Pig", "Whisper of the Heart", "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away"]; adapted from the novel by 1977 Guardian Award winner Diana Wynne Jones ["Archer's Goon", "Fire and Hemlock", "Castle in the Air" and "The Merlin Consipracy"]; edited by Takeshi Seyama ["The Witch's Express Mail", "Princess Mononoke", "Samurai X: The Motion Picture", "Spirited Away" and "Steamboy"]; original music by Joe Hisaishi [“Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind", "Brother", "Spirited Away" and "Welcome to Dongmakgol"]; produced by Rick Dempsey ["My Neighbor Totoro", "Crimson Pig", "Whisper of the Heart" and "The Cat Returns"], Ned Lott ["Crimson Pig"] and Toshio Suzuki ["The Raccoon War", "Spirited Away", "Whisper of the Heart" and "Innocence"]. Voice Cast Bytes "HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE" stars the voices of .......
Jean Simmons ["The Big Country", "Spartacus", "Divorce American Style", "How to Make an American Quilt" and "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"]; Emily Mortimer ["Elizabeth", "Notting Hill", "Bright Young Things" and "Dear Frankie"]; Josh Hutcherson ["American Splendor", "One Last Ride", "The Polar Express" and "Kicking & Screaming"]; Christian Bale ["Captain Corelli's Mandolin", "Reign of Fire", "The Machinist" and "Batman Begins"]; Billy Crystal ["Analyze This", "America's Sweethearts", "Monsters Inc" and "Analyze That"]; Blythe Danner ["The Proposition", "The Love Letter", "Meet the Parents", "Sylvia" and "Meet the Fockers"]; Crispin Freeman ["Spirit of Wonder: Miss China's Melancholy ", "Geobreeders", "Big O" and "Slayers Premium"]; Jena Malone ["Life as a House", "Cold Mountain", "Saved!" and "Pride & Prejudice"]; Liliana Mumy ["The Santa Claus 2" and "Cheaper by the Dozen"]; Mari Devon ["Space Adventure Cobra", "Bastard!!", "Batman & Mr Freeze: SubZero" and "Heroes of Might and Magic IV"] and Lauren Bacall ["Key Largo", "How to Marry a Millionaire", "Murder on the Orient Express", "The Mirror Has Two Faces" and "Dogville"] as Wicked Witch of the Wasteland. What It's All About

"Decades from now Howl’s Moving Castle will be looked back at as a classic." Devin Faraci CHUD

The dark shadow of war is slowly spreading across the land. Sophie is 18 and works as a milliner in her deceased fathers business. While walking through the city Sophie is accosted by soldiers. Just as things get out of hand a handsome young stranger comes to her rescue. Using his magical powers may seem to have saved the moment but there are dark forces at work. No sooner has Sophie returned to the Hat Shop than a visitor arrives. It is the Wicked Witch of the Wasteland. She casts a spell on Sophie changing her from an attractive teenager into an old lady of ninety. Sophie is forced to flee the city. It would not be prudent for people to discover what has happened. She seeks out Howl and becomes the housekeeper of his mechanical moving castle. Howl always seems to be disappearing but Sophie is kept busy keeping up with the demands of a hot-headed fire demon named Calcifer. But life in Howl's Castle has its rewards. The castle travels across the countryside far and wide to many beautiful places. As Sophie adjusts to her new life, she begins to find herself thinking more and more of Howl. Could she be falling in love. If only Howl could see her real self. Perhaps then they would both find happiness. The Verdict "Hayao Miyazaki has done it again. "Howl's Moving Castle" is a spirited, imaginative and very colorful tale that will appeal to the child within us all. The voice cast is (to say the least) superb, the images are stunningly beautiful and the storyline is stirring. A love story set against the background of war, this is Miyazaki's best work to date, unleashing the child within yet again. If this film doesn't blow you away, then nothing will! Highly recommended." The Voice Cast

Jean Simmons Emily Mortimer Mari Devon Lauren Bacall Christian Bale Billy Crystal Blythe Danner Crispin Freeman Josh Hutcherson Jena Malone Liliana Mumy Mark Silverman

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Old Sophie Young Sophie Honey Witch Howl Calcifer Madam Suliman Prince Turnip Markl Lettie Madge King

The Crew Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki Adapted from the novel "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones Produced by Rick Dempsey/Ned Lott/Toshio Suzuki Original Music by Joe Hisaishi Film Editing by Takeshi Seyama Casting by Ned Lott Production Management Post-Production Manager David Candiff Post-Production Supervisor Cory Hansen Run Time 119 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Nibariki - GNDDDT - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved