Howl's Moving Castle | Book Versus Movie

Howl's Moving Castle is one of my absolute favorite stories and I have such a huge appreciation for both the book and the movie despite their differences. I had so much fun revisiting both for this video! Do you have a favorite version? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Howl's Moving Castle Book:
© 1986 Diana Wynne Jones / Greenwillow Books (US)
Cover Art © 2008 John Rocco

Howl's Moving Castle Movie:
© 2004 Studio Ghibli / Walt Disney

INSTAGRAM: @lexieslibrary_​

[sin]

Howls moving castle has always been my favorite studio ghibli movie so I def had to give the book a try, and I was not disappointed. The book, imo, was even BETTER than the movie and to this day its still my favorite book ever! I still love the movie. You can tell that it's made by a Japanese staff because the characters are more calm and humble compared to the book. Howl in the movie is charming and just mysterious, but in the book he's an eccentric, very VERY overly dramatic, emotional, and boy is he just the funniest character I have ever come across from. I was surprised to see how different the plot was from the movie but that's what made reading the book even better, because aside from the beginning, the plot was completely new to me and I didn't feel like I was reading a story I already knew the ending to, it was a whole new experinece. A favorite quote is where Howl tells Sophie "Is that all you can do in the face of tragedy? Make toast!" lool

[tayloredwards]

I actually like both versions. They're really special in their own way. 📘

[July-A]

I love when she called him a 'slither-outer'. That is my favorite thing in the whole book.

[BunniesXO]

This book has always been my Pride and Prejudice, my safe haven, the book I read over and over again. It's dark, it's moody and it's gutwrenching and beautiful. I loved your description 💖

[chocobere]

In the book I love that Sophie's world has these weird superstitious beliefs like "eldest children never amount to anything much", which Sophie believes and is resigned to, until the spell happens and she is now not only the eldest but elderly!
I like how the book shows the characters fighting against life's expectations for them, Sophie of course when she is old and feels more empowered, but also both her sisters Lettie and Martha scheming and identity-swapping to live their best life. :) Every main character gets a transformation.

[kscgcdm]

Sophie in the book was more interesting because we got to see her progress from someone who was afraid to express her own mind and instead allows herself to be influenced by others, to someone who knows her own mind and thinks for herself. Book Howl, too, is more complex and interesting because of his curse to always find love that will betray him. He hides behind clothes and beauty treatments to get someone to love him then fears betrayal when the girl loves him back so he betrays that love first. At the end of the book, he changes from someone who hides from commitment to someone who is willing to sacrifice for the good of others. When Sophie is willing to give him up even though she loves him, he realizes that this is one woman who will not betray him. Sophie’s relationship with her sisters and stepmother is more complex and interesting in the book as well. She learns to see them as they are, not who others say they are and finds they all love and care about her, even though they aren’t perfect. She is able to give them love in return. The movie trivializes the importance of these relationships to Sophie’s growth. I like the book and the movie, but the movie misses the point of the book completely. I really found the transformation from a young woman into an old one absolutely fascinating. The villain of the book wants to be forever young and the protagonist wanted to be old. Jones used an ingenious plot twist there, why would a young person want to be old?

[spriken]

I think Sophie has magic in the movie too, but it wasn't as in the face with it as in the book.
It shows most with her ability to manage/talk up Calucifer and at the very end when she gave the heart back to howl and also wished for both of them to live.

[Veilstrike]

loved this, and i totally would sit through an hour long video about the differences haha.

[luneluna]

The fact that in the book it’s Howl who was hitting on Sophie and called her a mouse is so freaking funny to me😭😭😭😂😂😂

[HellsOperative]

My take on howles singular movie meltdown was more or less "the straw that broke the camels back". My reasoning is because of just how stressed he seems given his and the world's situation of chaos and war. With howl in the middle of all of it. Stopping entire bomb brigades, being stalked by, and constantly afraid of sulamin, his heart has belonged to a fire demon since childhood, and he takes all the hardship with a smile on his face. He doesn't even indulge in his on goings during his trips out. He comes in from one said trip, takes a bath and dyes his hair only to find its now red. The horrible things he endured all come playing in his mind and has an out of character moment as we all can be known to do during times of high stress. I think his one and only bratty moment in the film adaptation was to emphasize just HOW much pressure he was under.

[ejderhaz]

Oh my God, I've been obsessed with the book for so long and no one around me has read it so I can't talk about it, or the differences between the book and the movie. I LOVED listening to you talking about it, you literally made my day. I'm so glad to have found your channel!!! Thank you so much! It was fun.

[CelynBrum]

Most Dianna Wynne Jones books have a multi-dimensional/magical many-worlds setup. I read a lot of her books when I was young and Howl being from Wales registered as "oh, THERE'S the multiverse" to me when I read it 😆

[garrettgibbons]

Such a good recap! I love your thoughts!

One thing you might have forgotten about the book is that Howl was hired by the king to find a way to move his armies quickly, and Howl kept trying to slither out of the responsibility because he didn’t want anything to do with the looming war. He ended up making Seven League Boots as a result, and that’s what got him nearly appointed as royal wizard.

Though he wasn’t the peace-loving nobleman of the anime, he did want to avoid the war (more out of avoidance), and there definitely was a war subtext to most of the book (though nowhere near what we see in the movie).

I wish Sophie’s sisters had gotten some justice in the movie!

[mmsteph]

It has been so long since I've read the book, this is such a nice recap

[kellytaylor]

Loved you going over both <3 I love them both as sort of, different endearing works in their own right. I do think Howl is still 'kind' in the book. Micheal even defends against calling him 'wicked' because he's kind to them, and does good things. Mostly he's annoyed about him chasing after girls, and seeming to only care about that. The flaws about him are still that he's a coward- in ways. If it's against something equal or more powerful than him, he has to trick himself. Looking at it, whenever he actually does know someone needs help, he helps them. He doesn't charge people of poor backgrounds for help.

I also feel like the way Sophie can be, does warrant some of the rudeness from Howl. She relentlessly cleans and doesn't really ask questions or respect boundaries. She also doesn't tell the truth/lies/chooses not to tell them important things in the book. I like the fact that she has flaws like Howl has flaws in the book. I think in the book, some of the messages are that communication is important. If Howl was truthful about what he was doing, and Sophie actually told them things, a lot of the conflicts might not have been less extreme.

I do like in the movie that Sophie ends up not being scared of the scarecrow for long, since it's really never done anything bad to her.

[RealHumanBeanU]

The book's finale is so incredible! I thought everything and everyone came together really well in the end compared to the movie, especially in regards to the scarecrow

[keturahspencer]

I love both versions, but I like the book better. I do wish the plot had stayed closer to the book. I felt the plot in the movie was a statement on war, and the plot in the book was moreso a out Howl and Calcifer trying to break their contract before they turned. I also thought that the witch of the waste's fire demon was an amazing character that would have been a welcome addition to the movie. Concerning Howl coming from Wales, that makes him more magical in my opinion. How did someone from our world find or make a portal to another world? Why are we robbed of seeing Sophie freak out in a car?

[ihatesparkleemojis]

i just recently read the book and i thought it was super interesting how michael was kind of replaced in the movie. don’t get me wrong markl is cute and all, but i kinda wish we could’ve seen him adapted as michael instead🤧

[FatCatSnuggles]

I don't feel that the bird transformation has anything to do specifically with Calcifur. It seems to represent how he turns himself into a monster to protect Sophie and other people. Just like how the other wizards turned themselves into monsters to fight for the kings. The only reason he doesn't completely transform seems to be because of Sophie and her help.

[justgoto]

I really liked the book! Definitely very different but I really liked the banter between Howl and Sophie! It doesn’t really feel like much of a romance until when howl pops the question at the end, but I didn’t really care because I found their banter so fun to read!