The film received critical acclaim, with particular praise toward its visuals and Miyazaki's presentation of the themes. It went on to gross $190 million in Japan and $236 million worldwide, making it one of the most commercially successful Japanese films in history. Howl's Moving Castle premiered at the 61st Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2004, and was theatrically released in Japan on 20 November 2004. In 2013, Miyazaki said Howl's Moving Castle was his favorite creation, explaining, "I wanted to convey the message that life is worth living, and I don't think that's changed." The film is significantly thematically different from the novel while the novel focuses on challenging class and gender norms, the film focuses on love, personal loyalty and the destructive effects of war.
The film contains feminist elements as well, and carries messages about the value of compassion. It also explores the theme of old age, depicting age positively as something which grants the protagonist freedom. Miyazaki stated that he "had a great deal of rage" about the Iraq war, which led him to make a film which he felt would be poorly received in the United States.
Influenced by Miyazaki's opposition to the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003, the film contains strong anti-war themes. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king. It tells the story of Sophie, a young milliner who is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. The film is set in a fictional kingdom where both magic and early twentieth-century technology are prevalent, against the backdrop of a war with another kingdom. The Japanese voice cast featured Chieko Baisho and Takuya Kimura, while the English dub version starred Jean Simmons, Emily Mortimer, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Josh Hutcherson and Billy Crystal. The film was produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. It is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. Howl's Moving Castle ( Japanese: ハウルの動く城, Hepburn: Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
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