'Howl's Moving Castle' at 20: Find Me in The Future

Two decades after its release, Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece from Studio Ghibli makes its way to the silver screen once again

- RUDRAA ABIRAMI SUDARSHAN

Studio Ghibli films have always found a special place in the hearts of Hayao Miyazaki fans, as his fanbase expands globally. As one of the beloved classics from the Ghibli stable, Howl's Moving Castle celebrates its 20th anniversary, the animated film is being rereleased in theaters worldwide starting Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.

Based on an English fantasy novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, the story follows the adventures of a milliner, young Sophie whose humdrum life is totally turned upside down after an accidental encounter with the mysterious caped stranger Howl Pendragon who rescues her from unwanted attention.

Tokuma Shoten (a Japanese publishing house) would send Miyazaki children's books every month for film inspirations. Howl's Moving Castle was one among those books. What fascinated Miyazaki about the English fantasy novel was the idea of a giant moving castle. When Miyazaki delved into the source material, he explored and expanded on the premise of the story turning it into something more intense, philosophical and metaphorical.

From a simple fantasy story, Howl's Moving Castle evolved into a complex narrative on war, peace and personal growth.

The film's centerpiece is that of war and peace. However, in the original book, the war was only at the fringes of the main plot. Howl's job was to simply find the missing brother of the king. Howl's mysterious, abrupt disappearances in the book were attributed to his Casanova persona. In the film, this facet of his personality was significantly toned down and the reason for his surreptitious departures were heroic quests to put an end to the war that is raging.