An in Depth Comparison of Howl’s Moving Castle
Warning: Contains spoilers for both Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and the Studio Ghibli film of the same name
My first introduction to Howl’s Moving Castle was through the novel that the Studio Ghibli film is based upon. The author, Diana Wynne Jones, is one of my favorites. Every story she wrote had the most creative world building. They were so rich in detail that she wrote many books following different characters within those worlds that she already built. Even though you had to grow to love the new characters, it was still familiar and usually beloved faces would pop in again.
Generally when there exists a book and a film people ask, which is better? More often than not the answer is the book. In this case I argue both are equally delightful. The animated film of course has its differences from the book but it keeps the essence of the story making it one of the best book to film adaptations I’ve ever seen. Both tell a story of self discovery and love that grows over time.
The first half of the film is nearly identical to book, minus some complicated details surrounding Sophie’s family and past history. With the film you miss out on the fact that Sophie is the oldest of three. While Sophie stays to work at the hat shop, one sister is sent to apprentice at the bakery as we see in the film and one is sent to apprentice with a witch their mother knows.
Almost all the elements of the book are present within the film but certain pieces were rearranged to fit the film narrative. The Witch of the Waste is described as a beautiful young woman in the book while in the film her features are over exaggerated and larger than life. The film depicts a country at war whereas in the book it’s only a potential outcome if Prince Justin isn’t found. The Prince himself has a more complicated series of events befall him in the book. Sophie does not easily befriend the turnip head scarecrow but he is just as persistent to be noticed in the book as in the film. That his spell is broken by “true love’s kiss” in the film is probably my least favorite change Studio Ghibli made to the story overall.
Howl’s teacher is not the Witch Suliman in the book but rather a different witch by name of Mrs. Pentstemmon who Sophie does speak with on her way to see the King. There is in a fact a mysterious Wizard Suliman that went missing prior to the Prince’s disappearance that provides another subplot throughout the book. Sophie’s meeting in the film is an amalgamation of her two meetings in the book. Michael is aged down in the film which makes him an innocent side character and also removes an subplot involving Sophie’s family. A fun piece of information that is missing from the film altogether is Howl’s sister’s family in Wales where he originates from.
All these differences are minor in the overall grand scheme. They craft their own narrative of the same story. The biggest difference between the two narratives is the villain to defeat. In the film we see the Witch of the Waste go through her own journey from being an evil witch to a tame old woman. Madame Suliman plays what could be argued as a villainous role but is more meddling than anything. The true obstacle our protagonists need to overcome is their own inner demons and insecurities. In the book the Witch of the Waste and her fire demon are the clear villains. Howl is constantly trying to outrun the curse she placed upon him. Ultimately it follows a traditional story arc of good overcoming evil.
Image credit: Amazon.com 
Image credit: Studio Ghibli
No matter if you’re a fan of the book or the film both stories are beautifully told. For a full appreciation I recommend both reading and watching. Perhaps read the book set to the film score in the background. Each gives us something new to consider about the story. Studio Ghibli gave us an iconic castle that is it’s own character and brought out our imagination through captivating animation. Diana Wynne Jones created the characters and the story that we love. Together we have been gifted a masterpiece.
Nice comparison! I personally love that one of the marks of a Ghibli film is a “villain” who appears bad but is never truly evil, and usually ends up reformed in the end.