Book to movie adaptations are nothing new, and neither is comparing the movie to the source material! Howl’s Moving Castle started as a book written by Diana Wynne Jones published in 1986 and was later adapted into a film by Hayao Miyazaki which was released in 2004. I’ve been a steadfast fan of Studio Ghibli films since I was young and I was given My Neighbor Totoro and watched it as much as possible. Later on, films like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Castle in the Sky joined the ranks. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I started expanding past those and watching others like Spirited Away, Ponyo, and, of course, Howl’s Moving Castle. The moment I learned that the latter was based on a book, I knew I had to read it and compare. So, without further ado, a spoiler free comparison of Howl’s Moving Castle: the books vs. the movie!
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The Plot
Among the ones I’ve compared, this movie adaptation is largely faithful to the source. The parts where the movie diverges from the book are not unfounded leaps, but clearly inspired by other aspects of the source material. My impression was definitely that they removed aspects of the book, like plot lines and characters, more than they added new ideas; I’m tempted to say they replaced or melded certain characters or plots to make the movie less convoluted. Out of some of the book plots that were a shame to remove from the film, the full lore of the Witch of the Waste and Sophie’s sisters has to be among the highest. They added a wonderful element to the world building and finale that I think would have been wonderful to see animated. Regardless of the reduced role and removed aspects of these plot lines, their influence can still be identified in the final product of the movie.
The characters
Regarding the characterizations, Howl and Sophie are much more chaotic in the book than in the movie. Howl is extremely dramatic, vain, dishonest, cowardly, and flighty (or a slithererouter as Sophie would say). Sophie, on the other hand, is much more stubborn and brazen in the book. She doesn’t hesitate to call out and be openly curious, much to the dismay of secretive Howl. Howl is also Welsh! The black exit on the castle door is never quite properly explained in the movie, however in the book it leads to the real world. Howl is running away from the real world and practicing magic in the lands we recognize from the movie. His sister, niece, and nephew remain in Wales and he visits them often, which we only find out because of Sophie’s nosiness. Sophie’s innate magic is also more explored and discussed in the book. Oh, and did I mention that Sophie is ginger instead of a brunette?
In regard to secondary characters, Calcifer remains widely unchanged, personality wise though he has a slightly different physical appearance. Howl’s apprentice, which we know as Markle in the movie, is called Michael in the book and he’s 15, not a child. The author also delves into his backstory. The Witch of the Waste has simultaneously similar and completely different roles in the story, but its heavy spoilers for the book, so I won’t be going into it. The turnip-headed scarecrow and the dog are both characters that appear in both the book and movie, but their stories and related plots differ.
The ending
Where the movie diverges the most from the book is regarding the finale and Howl and Sophie’s romance. Because of certain plot and characterization changes that happened from book to movie, the finale does change almost entirely, and their confession is much more chaotic. In an interview with the author that is included in my copy of the book, Diana Wynne Jones stated that Howl and Sophie’s characters are portrayed as more noble in the movie than in the book and I think that’s why the confession scenes are so different. From my perspective, the movie is also more focused on Howl and Sophie’s romance than the book which validates the differences made from book to movie.
Personally, I preferred the book to the movie purely in regard to the story. I love convoluted stories and the movie simplifying the book’s plot docked the one point needed to untie them. The film is by no means a bad movie or even a bad adaptation, I just like drama. I highly recommend you watch the film and read the book simply for the experience of comparing both and adding the extra knowledge and context from the book to the movie.