Howl’s Moving Castle

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Howl’s Moving Castle's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Howl’s Moving Castle completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 25 September 2005.

Overall comments and recommendations

Created in the style typical of Japanese cartoons, enshrouded in mystery, packed with sorcery and a fair bit of violence this animated feature is not for youngsters but will be enjoyed by older children and adults.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Howl’s Moving Castle contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Based on the novel by Diane Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle is an animated feature which tells the tale of Sophie, an ordinary, simple and plain girl who works in the hat shop owned by her family. A sorcerer saves her from a sticky situation and inadvertently places her in the path of the vengeful Witch of the Waste who casts a spell on her, giving her the appearance of a 90-year-old woman.

Sophie sets out to find a way to undo the spell and takes shelter in an enchanted castle that can move from place to place at a moment’s notice. There she meets Howl, the vain, kind and gifted sorcerer who enchanted the castle, Markl, his young apprentice, and Calcifer, a living, talking fire that controls the castle. Sophie appoints herself as the castle’s cleaning lady and finds herself caught up in a world at war, where she must confront the King’s corrupt sorceress Madame Suliman, and the past in.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is a fair amount of violence in this film, including:

• Numerous characters have spells forced upon them.
  
• Rumours are widespread that Howl tears the hearts out of pretty girls.
  
• Sophie angrily slams the table, causing items to be thrown down.
  
• Some cities are bombed and others are shown on fire.
  
• Aircraft battle one another in the sky.
  
• A bombed out ship is towed into the harbour while the harrowed sailors scurry towards land.
  
• Howl is repeatedly chased and attacked by flocks of enemy birds.
  
• numerous explosions near the moving castle, as houses are ripped apart.
  
• Sophie crashes a small aircraft into the castle.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned scenes, the film contains many scenes that could be potentially terrifying to young children, including:

• The first scene of the film contains a strange, beast-like, motorized, city coming out of the fog while foreboding music plays in the background. We soon learn that this is Howl’s Moving Castle, but it nevertheless remains ominous and creepy. Many children could be scared by the combination of visual images and intense music.
  
• There are numerous transformations throughout the film. Howl transforms from a human to a huge, claw-footed, black bird. The more often that he does this, the more painful it appears to be. Markl changes into a cloaked, bearded midget. The youthful Sophie changes into a 90-year-old woman, while the Prince of a neighbouring kingdom is changed into a turnip-head scarecrow. The Witch of the Waste has henchmen who change into black blobs.
  
• The black blobs appear to materialise out of the walls as they chase a terrified Sophie and Howl through the city. They cut them off, block their escape and seem to come out of nowhere, multiplying in the process.
  
• Two soldiers stop Sophie on her way to see her sister. They try to ‘pick her up’ asking all sorts of personal questions, saying how cute she looks, especially when she is scared. Though Sophie is begging them to leave her alone, they grab her arm and refuse to let her go. Howl comes to her rescue but Sophie is clearly upset.
  
• Eyes eerily pop out of the fire and a voice begins talking to Sophie. We later learn that this is a friendly fire named Calcifer, but initially the scene could disturb some young children.
  
• Howl gets depressed and begins melting into a pile of green goo. Calcifer begins to panic, as the goo gets closer to the fire because it will put out his flames and then they both will die.
  
• The Witch of the Waste sits in a chair, during a visit to the King’s castle, where large rays of light spring up all around her. She appears to be in great pain as she takes on her true age and is hideously transformed.
  
• As the moving castle disintegrates, Sophie is cast off into the darkness and falls down a steep cliff, crashing to the bottom of a rocky ravine. She thinks that she may have inadvertently killed Calcifer and through him Howl. While she is uninjured from the fall she is extremely distraught.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Some younger children in this age bracket could still be disturbed by the above mentioned scenes.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

There is nothing in this movie that would scare children over the age of thirteen.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in this movie.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity in this movie, although there is one scene where the audience sees a full view of Howl’s buttocks after he has taken a bath.

Use of substances

The Witch of the Waste smokes a cigar.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language in this movie.

The movie's message

The movie’s main message is that physical beauty and physical power are fleeting, whereas inner beauty and inner strength are not, and that the most powerful magic can live in the human heart. The movie also shows that people who may at first appear unattractive and uncertain, may be the most beautiful and courageous of all once you take the time to look more closely.

Parents may wish to highlight that Sophie’s kindness, selflessness and compassion for others leads her to accomplish the unimaginable. The film provides an opportunity for parents to discuss the topics of vanity and aggression and to reinforce the idea that inner behaviour is of far more importance that outer beauty.