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[merylsilverburg]

Well, I just finished watching "Howl's Moving Castle" (Japanese DVD release) and I have a one question based on the film, if anyone can please help answer it:

Spoiler: show

How did the war start and what is the war about? Is it because of the Scarecrow Prince?

I did have a lot of questions of the film, but then I found them out on other sites. It ends up, unfortunately, that the book and film are completely different and the film is more of an "inspiration" from the book, rather than an "adaptation" as so many sites mentioned.

Now, I must go and check out the book, as I heard it's supposed to clear up a lot of questions in the film.

What did I think of the film? It's a magical fairytale, simple as that. It's really good, the beginning was wonderful, it draws you in, the characters are lovable (even the super-vain Howl). The only problem was the loose-ends, the unanswered questions, and certain subjects they left out, which makes the story and character development all the more confusing. This is why I can understand why a lot of people were criticizing Miyazaki and this film. The movie still retains some of that "Miyazaki-magical" feeling, but it's not so much expressed as in "Spirited Away" for example.

[kupoartist]

It's a lovely film to watch, but yeah, you have to ignore the plotholes and loose-ends. I'm not sure about what the war is about, though I think that is kind of the point in a way: it's a pointless war that Howl doesn't want to be part of. I got the book for christmas but i'm only a chapter in... and to me, it seems like there isn't actually a war! Perhaps it was something Miyazaki invented and then explained poorly? Not my favorite Ghibli film (Princess Mononoke > Kiki's Delivery Service > Grave of the Fireflies > Howl's Moving Castle) but yeah, it's still a great watch.

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by kupoartist

It's a lovely film to watch, but yeah, you have to ignore the plotholes and loose-ends. I'm not sure about what the war is about, though I think that is kind of the point in a way: it's a pointless war that Howl doesn't want to be part of. I got the book for christmas but i'm only a chapter in... and to me, it seems like there isn't actually a war! Perhaps it was something Miyazaki invented and then explained poorly? Not my favorite Ghibli film (Princess Mononoke > Kiki's Delivery Service > Grave of the Fireflies > Howl's Moving Castle) but yeah, it's still a great watch.

Yes, I know the war is rather pointless and that's why Howl has no intention of joining forces with Suliman, but I just wanted to know why the silly war started to begin with. And yes, in the book, there is no war...this was a part of Miyazaki's creation. I read in a magazine interview that Miyazaki wanted to re-create the war scenes that he experienced as a child in Japan and how war is pointless, which is why he added it into the film.

Like you kupo, this film isn't really my favorite Ghibli...I was very disappointed to find that after watching it, I wasn't left with that pure "magical" feeling...I think it's because the characters, though they interacted quite well with one another, felt too under-developed. I felt like I was simply watching what was going on without real feeling...which is
something I always look forward to in Ghilbi-Miyazaki films.

Also, I felt a bit disappointed in Miyazaki's intentions. It seems that the viewer is expected to read the book first in order to capture the spirit of the film...which isn't smart to do since not all of us will read the book beforehand. Then, I also felt Miyazaki chose this book adaptation as a way to express his views/thoughts on certain subjects he feels strongly or bitter about: war, love, etc. The ending is what I felt a bit sad about...mainly because it's supposed to be a "happy ending" but it seems he was "poking fun" at the cliched happy endings...so, watching the ending in Howl's didn't make me believe it was a truly happy ending since Miyazaki seems to detest such things, but did it to prove a point about life and true love. I hope I made sense there.

Anyway, I might change my mind about it after I read the book, I don't know. I just wished Miyazaki had followed the book's characters a bit more. I enjoy watching developing relationships between two opposite characters, such as Howl and Sophie.