Which one do I recommend? Both are amazing works.
#WATCH HOWLS MOVING CASTLE MOVIE MOVIE#
The book has a different objective, which is touched on slightly in the movie - for Sophie to realize her worth. Miyazaki intended for the movie to have anti-war themes and challenge gender/age norms, so the real villain of the movie is the unnecessary fighting and loss of life. On the topic of villains, there is no clear villain in the movie. The movie, however, fails to mention that Sophie has some magic herself, which is why she charms things to life. When watching the movie, I noticed that Sophie's old age receded whenever she was happy or did something out of character for her, aka whenever she stood up for herself. Sophie's strong-minded nature is featured much more often in the book, though the movie showed this occasionally through the curse. The author, Diana Wynne Jones herself, has found Howl and Sophie of the film version to be "gentler and more noble than the characters in my books." Howl spends his time courting many girls, including Sophie's sister, Lettie, and argues much more often with Sophie. Perhaps the biggest character difference can be seen in their characterizations. In the movie, Wizard Suliman is described as Howl's former teacher instead of Mrs. Sophie's sister play a bigger supporting role in the book, and even interacts with Michael and Howl at some points. Sophie only has one sister, Lettie (no Martha!) in the movie and she is barely mentioned. Markl is Michael Fisher in the book, and he is described as being in his teens in the book, whereas in the movie he is much younger. Character wise, there are some characters left out or merged in the movie.
Fearing her family will find her unrecognizable, she sets out and finds herself in Wizard Howl's 'moving' castle.įrom here, the similarities end. However, this changes when the Witch of the Waste curses Sophie, turning her into an old woman who cannot speak of her curse to anyone. She feels that she will spend the rest of her days making hats in the hat shop her father left to her family. The general premise of both book and movie is that Sophie Hatter is the eldest daughter who does not believe she has anything to achieve, as she is the oldest. Studio Ghibli films will always hold a special place in my heart.
I saw bits and pieces, but being able to watch it with knowledge of the book helped me love it even more. movie feature for the blog, and because I love Studio Ghibli movies, my first book/movie I will be comparing is Howl's Moving Castle.įun fact - I never really watched Howl's Moving Castle in its entirety until now. This will be my first time doing a book vs. However, there are spoilers ahead! Be warned. I'll be comparing one book and its movie counterpart - discussing key differences and similarities as well as explaining which one I liked better. Welcome to my first feature, To Watch or To Read?