Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Howl's Moving Castle rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.2/10· 507K votes

Rotten Tomatoes88%

Metacritic82%

TMDb8.387/10· 11K votes

With 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.2/10 on IMDb and 82/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About Howl's Moving Castle

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

Cast of Howl's Moving Castle

• 

  Chieko Baisho

  as Sophie (voice)

• 

  Takuya Kimura

  as Howl (voice)

• 

  Akihiro Miwa

  as Witch of the Waste (voice)

• 

  Tatsuya Gashuin

  as Calcifer (voice)

• 

  Ryunosuke Kamiki

  as Markl (voice)

• 

  Mitsunori Isaki

  as Kosho (voice)

• 

  Yo Oizumi

  as Prince Justin / Turnip Head (voice)

• 

  Akio Otsuka

  as King of Ingary (voice)

• 

  Daijirō Harada

  as Heen (voice)

• 

  Haruko Katō

  as Madame Suliman (voice)

• 

  Makoto Yasumura

  as (voice)

• 

  Manabu Muraji

  as (voice)

Howl's Moving Castle facts

Original title

ハウルの動く城

Budget

$24M

Box office

$236M

Our take on Howl's Moving Castle

Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 animated fantasy follows Sophie, a quiet young milliner who is transformed into an old woman by a witch that curses her in her shop. Seeking a way to break the spell, she crosses paths with the wizard Howl and is drawn into his resistance against fighting a war for the king. Rendered in Studio Ghibli's lush, hand-drawn detail, the film moves with dreamlike logic through a world of walking castles and shifting identities. Its themes of aging, self-worth and refusing violence give it real tenderness. Ideal for viewers who love imaginative, warm-hearted animation over tightly plotted adventure.