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Howl's moving castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) - Chieko Baisho, Takuya kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Hayao Miyazaki

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste (Akihiro Miwa/Lauren Bacall) was another matter. After 50 years of quiet, it was rumoured that the Witch was about to terrorise the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl (Takuya kimura/Christian Bale), who, it is said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters - Sophie (Chieko Baisho/Emily Mortimer), Lettie (Jena Malone) and Martha - and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning. In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Howl's moving castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film animation anime fantasy magic wizard witch walking house spell

Persons of interest

Chieko Baisho .... Sophie
Takuya Kimura .... Howl
Akihiro Miwa .... Witch of the Waste
Tatsuya Gashuin .... Calcifer
Ryunosuke Kamiki .... Markl
Mitsunori Isaki .... Koshou
Yo Oizumi .... Kakashi no Kabu
Akio Ôtsuka .... Kokuou
Daijiro Harada .... Heen
Haruko Kato .... Madam Suliman
Jane Alan .... Honey
Lauren Bacall .... Witch of the Waste
Christian Bale .... Howl
Billy Crystal .... Calcifer
Blythe Danner .... Madam Suliman
Crispin Freeman .... Prince Turnip
Josh Hutcherson .... Markl
Jena Malone .... Lettie
Emily Mortimer .... Young Sophie
Liliana Mumy .... Madge
Mark Silverman .... King
Jean Simmons .... Old Sophie
Diana Wynne Jones .... Author
Cindy Davis Hewitt .... Screenwriter
Donald H Hewitt .... Screenwriter
Hayao Miyazaki .... Screenwriter
Hayao Miyazaki .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Howl's moving castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) official movie sites:

Australia
International

Howl's moving castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) film production notes
Howl's moving castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro) QuickTime movie trailers
Awards and film festivals:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - Oscars) 2005: Nominated: Best animated feature film of the year (Hayao Miyazaki)
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Awards 2006: Nominated: Best Animated Film
Annie Awards 2005: Nominated: Best Animated Feature, Directing in an Animated Feature Production (Hayao Miyazaki), Writing in an Animated Feature Production (Hayao Miyazaki, Donald H Hewitt, Cindy Davis Hewitt)
Australian Effects and Animation Festival (AEAF) 2005: Nominated: Best Feature Film - Animation
Cinematic intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2005: Nominated: Best film - subtitles, Best film - Animation
Mainichi Film Concours 2005: Won Reader's Choice Award Best film (Hayao Miyazaki)
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2005: Nominated: Best animated feature
Sitges Catalonian international Film Festival 2004: Won: Audience Award Best Feature film (Hayao Miyazaki); Nominated Best Film (Hayao Miyazaki)
Sydney Film festival 2005: Closing night film
Venice Film Festival 2004: Won: Golden Osella; Nominated: Golden Lion (Hayao Miyazaki)

NB: Japanese language dialogue with English language subtitles or English language dub
See also Steamboy
Studios and distributors:

Madman Cinema * The AV Channel

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Wow. Howl's moving castle is almost as good as Princess Mononoke (Mononoke hime) and Miyazaki's spirited away (Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi). It's an awesome animation that takes you places you haven't been before while remaining close to the things you thought that you knew... Hayao miyazaki just keeps on providing the goods.