Movie Information
Overall Rank: 169
Average Rating: 3.2/4
# of Ratings: 395
Theatrical Release Date: 06/10/2005
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime, Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey
Actors: Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall, Emily Mortimer, Jena Malone
Plot: A young woman finds herself the receipient of a curse and seeks out the secretive wizard Howl in order to break the spell.
Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
3.5/4
Logan D. McCoy - wrote on 07/09/2019
Full of the inspiration, magic, and beauty Hayao Miyazaki features are known for.
Rating of
2.5/4
Unknown - wrote on 04/14/2014
This is my first experience with acclaimed filmmaker Miyazaki, and it most likely won't be the last. Everything about the artwork of this animation is so precise. The colors and moving images are arresting in their simple yet detailed expression. The story is quite creative, to say the least. Not much is ever explained about the 'how' and 'why' of certain characters. I would've liked for some actual rules to be established with the magic element. The mythology is muddled. The characters are distinctly individual. Each has their own quirky personality that adds different shades to the offbeat humor.
Rating of
3.5/4
worleyjamers - wrote on 06/29/2013
My very first Miyazaki film, and what a spectacle it was. The animation was absolutely gorgeous; there is truly nothing else like it out there. When it comes to foreign films, I always try to skip dubbed versions and just go along with subtitles; I wish I would have done the same here. At times the script was very cheesy, and I can't help but think that the Japanese to English translation attributed to that. Also, the story got very confusing, especially at the end. Overall though, I absolutely loved this film. Breathtaking and beautiful!
Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3.5/4
Lesser but still charming Miyazaki film
JTurner - wrote on 05/31/2009
Based on Dianna Wynne Jones' beloved novel, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE is the ninth animated feature from Hayao Miyazaki. It's about a young girl who becomes cursed with old age by a jealous witch; to break the spell she must travel to the titular structure and deal with its enigmatic owner, the charming yet mysterious wizard Howl and his carping fire demon, Calcifer. While I was admittingly disappointed with this movie upon my first viewing (I was expecting another action-adventure story along the walls of PRINCESS MONONOKE and CASTLE IN THE SKY; this film concludes in a more drawn-out manner than SPIRITED AWAY did), it has nonetheless grown on me and is very much another Miyazaki masterpiece. It's an undeniably gorgeous film, with imaginative set pieces and charming, characters that come …
Rating of
3/4
Creative and fun
TheWolf - wrote on 08/02/2007
Normally I am not a big fan of this type of Japanese Animation. It always reminded me in the style of a number of poorly made American rip off's of good Japanese cartoons, but i have to say that Howl's Movie Castle surprised me. I found it to be a very interesting story and that it had a lot of great scenes. The idea was very creative and it really brought about a beautiful story that was well told. I guess the first thing that caught my attention was Billy Crystal doing one of the voices and because I really enjoy his type of humor, it helped pull me into the story a lot faster than I would have normally been.
The animation is very well done, being that I am always looking for new things in the field of animation I have to say that there were a number of things that had me completely …
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