The Art of Howl's Moving Castle (Studio Ghibli Library)

Product Information

Originally written by Welsh author Diana Wynne Jones in 1986 this book was adapted into an animated film by Japanese film-maker Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. In both versions Sophie, the main character, is cursed into the body of an old crone and thrust into a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and love. Sophie before and after the curse (Sourced from Howl’s Moving Castle animated by Studio Ghibli) For Diana, it was her childhood spent in Wales, the Lake District, famous for its witches, and a number of other places that expressed itself in Howl’s Moving Castle. In the book Howl takes Sophie to Wales to visit his sister’s family. Diana paints a charming if a bit drizzly Wales, sharply contrasting our reality with Sophie’s enchanted realm. The Witch of the Waste (Sourced from Howl’s Moving Castle animated by Studio Ghibli) Flying City Plan • Shiki-Jitsu ( Studio Kajino) • Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence • Nasu: Summer in Andalusia • Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase • Portable Airport • Red Crow and the Ghost Ship • Space Station No. 9 • The Red Turtle

Animage • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga) • Starting Point: 1979-1996 • Turning Point: 1997-2008 • Kaze no Kaerubasho • People of the Desert • The Age of the Flying Boat • Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Data Notes • To My Sister • The Journey of Shuna • Studio Ghibli's Trajectory as Seen on Animage (1984-2011) • The Art of My Neighbor Totoro • The Art of Castle in the Sky • The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service • The Art of Porco Rosso • Princess Mononoke: The First Story • The Place Where Totoro Was Born • The Bountiful Food of Studio Ghibli • Children's Picture Book Ghibli's Dining Table Earwig and the Witch Every story holds little pieces of their creators and the best adaptions also incorporate parts of the adaptor. When examining Howl’s Moving Castle, it is easy to see the lives of Diana Wynne Jones and Hayao Miyazaki reflected in their work. Nandarō • On Your Mark • Ghiblies • Film Guru Guru • Ghiblies Episode 2 • Imaginary Flying Machines • The Invention of Imaginary Machines of Destruction • The Whale Hunt • Koro's Big Day Out • Mei and the Kittenbus • Looking for a Home • The Day I Bought a Star • The Night of Taneyamagahara • Water Spider Monmon • Iblard Jikan • A Sumo Wrestler's Tail • Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess • Treasure Hunting • Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo • Boro the Caterpillar Ingary | Market Chipping | Cesari's | Hatter's Hat Shop | The Waste | Porthaven | Star Lake | Kingsbury | Royal Palace | Howl's Castle | Howl's Bedroom | Cave of Mind | Secret Garden | Howl's Cottage

Book to film adaptions are essentially an act of translation. As with languages, each medium has its own limitations and advantages. But is a successful adaption just about accurately representing the original story? As translators must navigate cultural disparities and idioms, adaptors must transform the mental experience into a visual and audio one.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Video Game) • Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu • Jade Cocoon 2 • Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color • Ni no Kuni (Series) • Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn • Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant KingdomThe Story of Yanagawa's Canals (1987) • Miyazaki and Kurosawa Fireside Chat (1993) • Ghibli Was Born This Way: A Birth Story Spelled Out With Reproduced Images (1998) • World Journey of My Memory / Journey of the Heart (1998) • How Princess Mononoke Was Born (2001) • Lasseter-San, Arigato! (2003) • Hayao Miyazaki Produces a CD (2004) • Yasuo Otsuka's Joy of Motion (2004) • Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum (2005) • Ghibli: The Miyazaki Temple (2005) • The Work of Toshio Suzuki (2006) • Scenery of Ghibli (2006) • A Ghibli Artisan – Kazuo Oga Exhibition – The Man Who Painted Totoro's Forest (2007) • How Ponyo Was Born (2009) • Poppy Hill - 300 Days of War Between Father and Son (2011) • Ghibli's Bookshelf (2011) • The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013) • Until The End of The Creation of When Marnie Was There (2015) • Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (2016) • NHK Image File: I Want To Meet This Person - Isao Takahata, Animation Film Director (2018) • 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki (2019) Howl’s curse is represented visually with an ability to transform into a bird-like creature when he indiscriminately fights war planes to protest the on-going war. As the film progresses, this form becomes more and more monstrous. As a review by The Readventurer comments, ‘it was a really interesting way to show him losing the fight against his curse’. It is in these small changes that Miyazaki skilfully navigates the treacherous waters of adaption. Howl’s Transformation (Sourced from Howl’s Moving Castle animated by Studio Ghibli) To answer that question, we must first consider why we enjoy adaptions – I believe it is so we can re-live the story. Book lovers will be very familiar with the impossible wish to re-read a book as if it were the first time. However, in the film Miyazaki leaves Sophie un-magical and, through a series of events, casts The Witch of the Waste in a more sympathetic light. He also creates a new antagonist, Madam Suliman, by combining two characters from the book. This is to make room for the entire war he adds into the story. In the book, there is a potential war brewing but Miyazaki brings this to the forefront of the film with bombs, gunships and a draft of wizards. The film carries a strong anti-war message which is a common theme in many of Miyazaki’s films. Some people believe that this means a successful adaption must follow the original and frown upon any disparities. However, it is the differences, the unexpected surprises, that allow us to re-experience the magic of the story. Howl’s Moving Castle is a great example of this. Howl and Sophie (Sourced from Howl’s Moving Castle animated by Studio Ghibli)