Can we talk about the fact that Sophie tells howl to find her in the future and his first words to her are “there you are sweetheart I’ve been looking everywhere for you” LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME he spent his whole life searching for her 😭😭😭
Just to clear up how confusing the political background of the movie is- Miyazaki made it partly as a critique of the Iraq War! He even rejected to show up at the Oscars when he won because of America's involvement. So a huge theme in the movie is how pointless and draining war is, something that roots back in Miyazaki's childhood during WWII
A favorite TH-camr of mine actually did a breakdown of the movie, book, and backstory about this. Mind you, it was made somewhat recently, but its really good.
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Love this movie. The books are even more batshit crazy, somehow. Howl's a narcissistic brat that was a rugbyman in Wales before deciding to isekai himself to this place and Sophie's a magical red head with one hell of a temper and even bigger self esteem issues. Also. Sweetie. EVERYTHING is hand drawn.
Some fun facts about the movie: 1. It's based on a book that sort of parodies(?) (its not really a parody, but it points out a lot of tropes and cliches) the fantasy genre. I've heard the plot makes complete sense there. Ghibli basically took all the cool scenes and none of the plot lol. 2. As per the book, it's set in Wales! Like, modern-day Wales 3. The American release wanted to edit it heavily, like they often did back then, and Ghibli mailed them a fucKING KATANA WITH A LETTER SIMPLY SAYING 'No Cuts.' WTF??
The Katana story is from the Princess Mononoke production. The person who wanted the cuts was HARVEY WEINSTEIN of all goddamn people. He wanted that film trimmed down to 90 minutes from 138.
I remember reading somewhere that the book was based on Castle in the Sky (another Ghibli movie about a, you guessed it's a flying castle) but I'm positive that was a Tumblr post so don't quote me on that
The whole "fantastic but people within the setting treat the fantastic as commonplace" is a genre called Magical Realism. It's a very fun genre to write, we covered it in writing class my freshman year of college.
I think some animes do that too? Like Black Clover is a strong fantasy with a hero's journey but nobody gives a fuk about the magic, it's the main character's non-magic nature which makes him strange lol
Latin American magical realism having a huge fanbase in Japan, to the point that they revived the genre and took it beyond literature is something I will forever love.
Magical Realism and Urban Fantasy are among my favourite tropes, there's so much to explore and so much that can be said with them! One of the reasons I love this film.
Sometimes a family is you, a beautiful mess of a man that turns into a bird, his young apprentice, a man cursed to be a turnip on a pogo, the sentient fire demon he enslaved and a shadow of the witch that cursed you.
I’m just saying, Christian Bale’s voice did something to me when I watched this movie for the first time as a kid and I have NEVER been the same since 😂
True true. In my country’s dub, he actually sounds like a nice sweet guy the first time he came onto the screen. When I first watched the English version few days ago, I was shocked, because the dialogue was somewhat different from my country’s. And in the alleyway, he sounded like a total creep, not to mention him kind of sarcastically saying “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tOrMeNt my friend”. That was sooo weird…
It’s so funny to see Danny react exactly the same way I did to the first scenes with Howl 😂 first with the “who is this man, why is he talking to her” then to the “oh well hello there sir, I can be your girl 😍”
It's weird because the book it's based on has a rather intricate plot that's only gradually revealed, and halfway through the story, Miyazaki went, "Nah, we're not doing that!" and completely changed everything in the second half.
Miyazaki has always been more about making the characters complex and the story simple, which is why so much stuff like the prince going missing, the war, and the politics take a major backseat to everything. Although, Miyazaki should have just had two nations being at war and left it at that. Because bringing in the other stuff from the novel only goes nowhere and ends up being unnecessary.
I've heard someone say that the book is how sophie sees everything and the movie is how howl sees it and I can 100% see that, howl was an absolute brat in the books most of the time and would def romanticize himself in his head
It’s actually based off of a book by Diana Wynne Jones. The book goes a lot deeper into the political part of it and explains more about the curse. In the book Sophie is a witch herself she just doesn’t know it yet. It is her lack of self-esteem that truly puts the curse on her which is why the witch of the waste couldn’t undo the curse. In the end Sophie finding her confidence breaks both her curse and Howls. :)
Dude you NEED to see Spirited Away. If you’re looking for wild ghibli movies, the character design and existence of the world is nuts. If you haven’t already, of course. Or even if you have! I’d personally love to see your take on that childhood favorite!
I read once that Miyazaki was a kid during WW2. He experienced the worst of times during what should’ve been his whimsy years. That’s why he’s so dang good at writing magical, serious, loving stories.
Anyone else notice how good storytellers are people who have gone through some sh!t in life? JK Rowling: Lost loved ones at a young age and endured an abusive husband. Suzanne Collins: Witnessed her father go through PTSD and alcoholism after his time in Vietnam. J. RR Tolkien: Fought in World War I.
Another surprising voice actor in this is the voice of Markl, the little apprentice boy. He's voiced by Josh Hutcherson who plays Peeta in the Hunger Games movies.
It’s so wild to find out actors/voice actors actually played certain characters in movies you’ve seen a million times when they were kids and you not making the connection. Same thing happened to me when I found out Mae Whitman (Katara, 2012 April O’Neil, Amity) was the president’s daughter in Independence Day
I love the little detail of Sophie gradually getting younger as the film goes on as she slowly becomes more confident in herself. At the beginning when the witch first curses her, she appears are 80-90 years old (possibly revealing how she feels on the inside) but as the movie goes on (like right after they face Soloman) Sophie appears around 40-50 years then returns to her normal age during the climax. It shows how she slowly grows more confident in herself. It could also pay homage to a plotpoint in the books. I haven't read them fully myself, but I do remember a friend explaining how in the books Sophie is actually a witch too and that's part of the reason the curse eventually fades without Howl or the witch doing anything. I personally like to think of it as a little mix of the two. 😁👍 awsome reaction and commentary man. If you like this, I highly recommend watching Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away.
Love watching reviewers blame Gibblie and Japan for the insanity of Howl's Moving Castle while the novel readers are complaining that it could have been weirder and miss the Wales references.
2:50-3:00 My genuine reaction to that was, "Ya didn't check the cast list before watching? You think having Christine Bale in this flick is nuts, well we got a baby Josh Hutcherson playing Markl!" Ahahah love ya, Danny, keep being your wonderful self.
So fun facts 1) The movie is based off of a book by the same name written by Diana Wynne Jones. Howl and Sophie appear as minor characters in 2 more of her books. 2) Both Miyazaki and Diana Wynne Jones were survivors of WW2. Diana used her works to make a place for people to escape from the realities of war while Miyazaki made it a point to include the horror of war in his works so that people would not forget. The possibility of "war" was one line in the books and its inclusion in the movie skews a lot of character motivations. Howl especially is a lot less "tragic hero" and a lot more "hot mess/drama queen". 3) The book manages to be even crazier and has even richer world-building on account of being longer. If you are interested in learning more about the dog, the scarecrow, Calcifer, the magic portal door, and the witch getting her just desert go and read the book. 4) Diana loves both versions of the story despite them being so different. She said once that the book is how Sophie would tell the story and the movie is how book Howl would tell the story. So with a tone of scenes highlighting his attractiveness and a random background war thrown in for flavor.
12:15 I can't remember which interview it was, but I remember one of the main focuses for Lady Eboshi's design in Princess mononoke was "make her look as COOL as possible" lol.
This is the kind of movie you can watch several times and learn something new about it. You’ll never get bored of it. At least in my opinion. The animation is lovely, the voice acting is superb, and there is so much going on that you feel like it’s an actual world. 10/10
Howl's Moving Castle is my comfort film, even when the world is going to absolute shit, Sophie never loses hers. She's such a great character and even though it is wildly different from the book, it is just a good. I'm surprised you didn't comment on the music since its such an iconic track for Ghibli, but the whole movie is a lot so that made sense XD
Okay this is literally like my favorite movie ever so a few fun facts: 1: it’s actually based off of a book! The book us 10x more confusing, but I quite liked it. 1a:The entire war theme was not in the book, but was put in by miazaki for portraying anti-war themes. 1b:The author actually didn’t picture the castle having legs, but instead would float everywhere. 1c: howl was actually like a modern day college student lol. He created a portal to a new world, being the one we see him in. 1d: in the book, he carries around a guitar, and on one of the covers you can see it’s a bright red strata-caster electric guitar. 1e: in the book, Markl is actually called Michael, and is 15 instead of like 9. 1f: Sophie actually had 2 sisters, one being a half sister. 2: after my watching it (literally) 10 times, there are some scenes that hint at howl liking Sophie from the beginning, and Sophie falling for him gradually. For example, what’s the VERY first line he says to Sophie? “There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere” (or something along those lines). We know however that she went back in time and told child howl to “find [her] in the future”. Sooooo conclusion? He was looking for her this entire time. Additionally, the reason the war was going on(you can hear two background characters mentioning it towards the beginning of the movie) is because the neighboring kingdom’s prince had gone missing, and they had accused them of kidnapping him, when in reality, he had just gotten cursed and was turnip head. Oh! Also, the voice of Markl is the actor of Peta from the hunger games, but as a child. Anyways, seriously my favorite favorite movie. 10/10, would recommend!
I love the type of shows that just throw into the middle of something and barely explain things, because that's just how the world goes. It isn't my favorite Ghibli movie, mine is Ponyo for nostalgia reasons, but I do love Howl's moving castle.
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NOOO I’m watching this video 12AM, trying *desperately* not to laugh, while my family thinks I’m asleep just a curtain away for them to see/ hear me. This straight up one of the funniest reviews I have EVER seen. And I’m super impressed by how you were able to fit a 2-hour long film into 20 minutes! Btw princess Mononoke is also my fav Ghibli film after howl’s moving castle.
You’ve got to read the book too- in the book Sophie has magic that exists intrinsically so the more confidence she gets the more the curse starts to break.
It’s interesting you said Howl has a “rockstar attitude” because that’s basically his angle in the book this movie is based on. I think In the book Howl even had a guitar
If you’re going to do more Ghibli movies I recommend ‘Porco Rosso’. It’s fun and lighthearted with some great characters. Definitely one of my favourites, up there with ‘Princess Mononoke’ of course.
I cannot recommend enough that you listen to the Howl's Moving Castle audiobook narrated by Jenny Sterlin! It is the best audiobook in existence, and it's also different enough from the ghibli movie to be a whole new experience!
13:16 had me laughing so hard, i was wheezing, crying and clutching my stomach. Im still having random bouts of laughter as i write this, thats how hard it hit me 😂😂😂 I think bc its such a sweet touching moment ("cause we're a family!") followed by an unexpected dub of Danny casually thirsting over Howl as Sophie. Thank you for making this video Danny, and thank you for the inevitable random fits of laughter I'll surely have thru out the rest of my day thinking about ur commentary, but mostly 13:16😂
It's hidden deep in the aside chats - The war was kicked off because "a prince in the neighboring country has gone missing" and all the finger pointing begins, so all the magic people get drafted. The prince was Turniphead, which is why he dropped the "I'll go stop the war now" at the end.
the turniphead twist is so badly foreshadowed lmao, there's like. one sentence said referencing the missing prince in the first five minutes of the movie and,,, that's it
Because this is mostly from Sophie's perspective, she wasn't that aware of the politics leading to the war, and it was indicated that Turniphead seemed interested in Sophie after she rescued him from rotting upside down in a Bush, it's also interesting his "true love" wasn't reciprocal, it didn't need to be for the spell to be broken. I find it interesting how this could be remade from Howl or the Prince's perspective (the latter would be very different, seeing why and who cursed him, then going on his quest to find his True Love only for how when he finds her she's also cursed, and when she finally breaks his curse turns out the wizard Howl has already stolen her heart. He accepts this with surprising grace however)
'Why is this lady growing Armins' caught me so off guard I somehow managed to slam my face into my desk and then proceeded to laugh hysterically for the next minute.
This has always been my favorite Ghibli film (and film in general, though I'm not much of a movie person). I love the casual magic, the found family, the strangeness, and I love how it manages to be small and huge at once. Its weirdness is a draw for me, but I do understand that disconnected plots like this aren't for everyone!
The movie is based on a 3 trilogy book series with howls moving castle being the first of three? The authors name is Diana Wayne Jones. It's a good series been since high school since I've seen it. * edit Also Danny I don't watch many youtubers. Like any. Legit your the only one I put time aside for. Lol keep it up my dude.
Dude, Danny THANKS MY BOI!!!!! Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite studio Ghibli movie. I didnt even know Christian was in this movie. I love it for the story and the amazing animation that was put into it.
All the little details that are put into this movie make me love it so much. Like how howl built the entire castle and traveled everywhere just to find her. And how calcifer let Sofie into the castle because he has howls heart. The list goes on and on and every time you watch it you find something new
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I’m this movie after watching it a few times, and I’ve watched it plenty, this whole movie is a time loop type scenario, where howl is searching for Sophie all of their lives and the time line repeats like a fated love, a cursed love… it’s unfortunate and tragic
I didn't realise Mark Hamill was Muska in Laputa(Disney version) until this year and I've been watching it my whole life. So many good actors do voice acting in dubs
If it feels like the two plots are entirely separate it’s because. They are. The war plot wasn’t in the original media The book is really quirky and Sophie’s narration is wonderful! I highly reccomend it in book form as well, even if I do love the movie
Nearly end of the film Sophie: "It's me Sophie! I know how to help you now! Find me in the future! " Beginning of the film Howl: "There you are sweetheart sorry I'm late, I was looking everywhere for you" There are a lot of sorta easter eggs that you discover while rewatching the film like this, or the fact that Howl build a moving castle just to look for sophie, didn't make alliances because he didn't know which was Sophie's city and WAITED and SEARCHED her his whole life, i cannot-😢❤ Thus movie has my heart, forever❤
I was wheezing throughout the whole video - especially with they alley scenes 🤣🤣🤣 Wolf Children might be something you're interested in reacting to, next. Keep Up The Good Work~!
2:23 I laughed way to hard at that😂😂😂 Edit: I don't think I have ever continuously laughed all the way through a blind reaction. Thank you😂 this was amazing!!
One of the reasons the movie may seem quite confusing is that it is actually a remake of a book named howl’s moving castle but they could not include all of the political aspects in it because the movie would be too long
It’s so trippy being named similarly to this character (Sophia), constantly being told to have better self esteem, and to suddenly hear that from the video too. There’s no problem with it! I just found it funny 😅
I grew up watching Studio Ghibli movies in general but this one was always on in one way or another. I was giggling the whole time watching your reactions! This was honestly so fun, being able to watch this through your eyes and hearing your takes made my whole day!
Saw your thumbnail and realized I've actually never seen the movie, despite hearing about it/having it on my watchlist for years, so I watched it before your review & I gotta thank you for that -- I was grinning like a little kid for almost the full 2+hrs! Great review, as always! ^u^
Fun Fact: One of the customers in Lettie's shop asks if they have "Lettie-shaped cookies"... What's worse is that she actually turns around to get some for the guy...
If you haven't seen it, you GOTTA see Spirited Away! It's my absolute favorite movie of all time with fantastic world building, characters, and themes!
"Calsophie" was right there and you went with "Sophalcipher"? Regardless, this is the best movie review I've ever seen and I was gasping for breath by the end with how hard I was laughing.
This is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Always hits me in the feels. Edit: For me, Sophie's low self-esteem is totally relatable, and that moment when she cries bc of Howl's breakdown bc of his hair, totally there with her the first time. Like, dude.
Hi Danny! Ugh this was such a good reaction video. I really didn’t want it to end😭 Your reactions and analyses were so on point; I absolutely agree with everything and I just kept laughing throughout. I'm probably going to bingewatch some other reaction series of yours tonight, like TGCF and others I recognise. Thanks for your hard work!❤❤❤
The war was literally About the missing Prince, aka turniphead. You can hear people discussing it in the beginning, the other country blaming them for the prince going missing, saying they kidnapped him.
My favorite Ghibli moving is The Secret World of Arietty, it's so visually interesting and beautiful and just a cute movie of forbidden friendship. It's very sweet. Even if you don't want to react to it, I recommend you to definitely watch on your own at least once :)
Danny Motta, simping over Howl's voice while staring into the camera with big brown eyes and lashes longer than my attention span, got me clutching my pearls and fanning myself.
The book HMC is adapted from is actually part of a series, and it's one of my all-time favorites. The author lived through ww2 and that shapes her narratives, in a way that is very different from Miyazaki's experiences and the Iraq war commentary. Miyazaki changed a lot from the second half, and I feel that Sophie's character got lost by the wayside. If you have the time, I'd love to see you do a comparison between the book and the movie, eventually.
fun fact, this is miyazakis love movie to the book, which is the original. If you pick up a newer copy of the book you can read a cute interview that he and the author had on the back
You should keep the trend going and watch naausica valley of the wind. Its my absolute favorite movie made by miyuzaki (technically not ghibli i think cause it predates it, one of the older ones but undeniably beautiful)
Also as a fun fact, the studio would not make naausica animated without having a manga before hand so miyuzaki said "bet" and made it a manga that sold really well and representing it, they never asked him to do that again lol
I love this movie as well as the book it’s VERY loosely based on. The movie takes a few characters and the setting to make it’s own story. I like the movie for its own story but it’s definitely not like the book at all. If you have the time, I recommend reading the book, it’s amazing.
In the book the war was meant to be as a far off thing that the characters were only casually reminded off every so often, but Miazaki changed it as a statement against the US's envolvmebnt in the Iraq war. Diana Wynne Jones critiqued the changes to her story but she found it beautiful anyway. Also the book ends with Sophie spelling a cane to life and it kicks the witch of the waste's sisters ass
![HOW HOWL WAS SUPPOSED TO LOOK... [book versus movie: Howl's Moving Castle]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/itQYOXDaLfc/mqdefault.jpg)
Can we talk about the fact that Sophie tells howl to find her in the future and his first words to her are “there you are sweetheart I’ve been looking everywhere for you” LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME he spent his whole life searching for her 😭😭😭
I KNOW!! It's so sweet!!
Also banging everything in a skirt
I LOVE THAT PART
I literally never put that throwaway line together with that other one, good lord!!
♡
“Can Christian Bale say anything without me being terrified or turned on?” No, no he cannot.
The man only has two settings
😂😂
@@dragonstouch1042
1) Batman madness
2) Sexy man
3) Hey Paul
"back off, lady, he's mine. I mean Sophie's" god, if that ain't a mood
For whatever reason "Oh no, she got babushka'd!" made me absolutely lose it 😂
same XD
Ditto
Just to clear up how confusing the political background of the movie is- Miyazaki made it partly as a critique of the Iraq War! He even rejected to show up at the Oscars when he won because of America's involvement. So a huge theme in the movie is how pointless and draining war is, something that roots back in Miyazaki's childhood during WWII
A favorite TH-camr of mine actually did a breakdown of the movie, book, and backstory about this. Mind you, it was made somewhat recently, but its really good.
@@shana-na1.056 with Cindy?
@@shana-na1.056 movies with Mikey?
Thanks for the information
@@shana-na1.056 who?
I think "oh never mind he's sexy" sums up all of our first reactions to Howl lol, I love this movie.
"That's my girl." STOP THE WAY I SLAMMED MY TABLE 💳💥💳💥💳💥💳💥💳💥💳💥💳💥
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I love the 16 odd minutes of you just simping for Howl and his voice and the rest of it just you supporting Sophie absgajsks
that's a whole mood
That’s just me the whole movie. Simping for Howl and vigorously cheering on Sophie. ❤❤❤❤
@@JonihnHart Howl just has it going on!❤
Love this movie. The books are even more batshit crazy, somehow. Howl's a narcissistic brat that was a rugbyman in Wales before deciding to isekai himself to this place and Sophie's a magical red head with one hell of a temper and even bigger self esteem issues.
Also. Sweetie. EVERYTHING is hand drawn.
Not to mention the real reason why the dog and the scarecrow are like that
@@Damned_afterall THAT TOO !!
Can't forget that Howl's beautiful bedroom is a replacement for the spider infested book one
I’m on chapter one of the book. Should I be scared for excited for the plot?
@@angelicafandino9877 Both! :-)
Danny's energy for Christian Bale, I'm here for it😆
He looks like a Final Fantasy character
"He sounds like a 40 year old in a 20 year olds body"
Oh Danny, I think you would LOVE Aaravos
Dragon prince reference I like you
@@Extinct-Lizard You have a Nico Di-Angelo profile picture, I like you.
@@Obsessedwithanimation been a really long time but i also enjoy this reference and i just finished that show
Some fun facts about the movie:
1. It's based on a book that sort of parodies(?) (its not really a parody, but it points out a lot of tropes and cliches) the fantasy genre. I've heard the plot makes complete sense there. Ghibli basically took all the cool scenes and none of the plot lol.
2. As per the book, it's set in Wales! Like, modern-day Wales
3. The American release wanted to edit it heavily, like they often did back then, and Ghibli mailed them a fucKING KATANA WITH A LETTER SIMPLY SAYING 'No Cuts.' WTF??
Howl is from somewhat modern day wales and they go there a few times in the book the whole book isn’t set there
i need a sourse for the katana letter. Thats way to cool to not be true
The Katana story is from the Princess Mononoke production. The person who wanted the cuts was HARVEY WEINSTEIN of all goddamn people. He wanted that film trimmed down to 90 minutes from 138.
I remember reading somewhere that the book was based on Castle in the Sky (another Ghibli movie about a, you guessed it's a flying castle) but I'm positive that was a Tumblr post so don't quote me on that
Plot in the manga is basically Howl being a player ditching women lmao
The whole "fantastic but people within the setting treat the fantastic as commonplace" is a genre called Magical Realism. It's a very fun genre to write, we covered it in writing class my freshman year of college.
I didn't know that so thanks for sharing.
I think some animes do that too? Like Black Clover is a strong fantasy with a hero's journey but nobody gives a fuk about the magic, it's the main character's non-magic nature which makes him strange lol
magical realism is definitely one of my favorite genres
Latin American magical realism having a huge fanbase in Japan, to the point that they revived the genre and took it beyond literature is something I will forever love.
Magical Realism and Urban Fantasy are among my favourite tropes, there's so much to explore and so much that can be said with them! One of the reasons I love this film.
"BACK OFF LADY HES MINE- I MEAN SOPHIE'S!" he never fails to make me laugh😂
Sometimes a family is you, a beautiful mess of a man that turns into a bird, his young apprentice, a man cursed to be a turnip on a pogo, the sentient fire demon he enslaved and a shadow of the witch that cursed you.
Don't forget your ex wizard master's runaway spy dog
I’m just saying, Christian Bale’s voice did something to me when I watched this movie for the first time as a kid and I have NEVER been the same since 😂
Awoken something in me
*my whole world was shook*
"That's my girl."
Kid me: 😳
True true. In my country’s dub, he actually sounds like a nice sweet guy the first time he came onto the screen. When I first watched the English version few days ago, I was shocked, because the dialogue was somewhat different from my country’s. And in the alleyway, he sounded like a total creep, not to mention him kind of sarcastically saying “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tOrMeNt my friend”. That was sooo weird…
@@Lo_. hes ment to be super insecure
It’s so funny to see Danny react exactly the same way I did to the first scenes with Howl 😂 first with the “who is this man, why is he talking to her” then to the “oh well hello there sir, I can be your girl 😍”
It's weird because the book it's based on has a rather intricate plot that's only gradually revealed, and halfway through the story, Miyazaki went, "Nah, we're not doing that!" and completely changed everything in the second half.
Honestly while a faithful adaptation would be good to I’m glad he did. His version is also really good and having both is nice
Miyazaki has always been more about making the characters complex and the story simple, which is why so much stuff like the prince going missing, the war, and the politics take a major backseat to everything. Although, Miyazaki should have just had two nations being at war and left it at that. Because bringing in the other stuff from the novel only goes nowhere and ends up being unnecessary.
I've heard someone say that the book is how sophie sees everything and the movie is how howl sees it and I can 100% see that, howl was an absolute brat in the books most of the time and would def romanticize himself in his head
It’s actually based off of a book by Diana Wynne Jones. The book goes a lot deeper into the political part of it and explains more about the curse. In the book Sophie is a witch herself she just doesn’t know it yet. It is her lack of self-esteem that truly puts the curse on her which is why the witch of the waste couldn’t undo the curse. In the end Sophie finding her confidence breaks both her curse and Howls. :)
CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW DRAMATIC HOWL IS THRU THIS WHOLE ORDEAL LIKE🤣🤣🤣I love him so much
He is even worse in the book and Sophie is 100 times more spiteful. She literally cuts up one of his best suits to use for scraps.
No the way i would almost kms if my hair goes differently than what i wanted he just like me frfr
@@freshoffthehook904Omg the blue and silver suit 😂😂😂
“A man dressed as a nutcracker” had me laughing out loud! It’s funny cause it’s true 🤣
tbh I don't know if I ever saw/ noticed that until he pointed it out XD
"SHE GOT BABUSHKED!" Was the best expression I've ever heard 😂
Dude you NEED to see Spirited Away.
If you’re looking for wild ghibli movies, the character design and existence of the world is nuts.
If you haven’t already, of course. Or even if you have! I’d personally love to see your take on that childhood favorite!
Words cannot with how much I would freaking love if he did
I read once that Miyazaki was a kid during WW2. He experienced the worst of times during what should’ve been his whimsy years. That’s why he’s so dang good at writing magical, serious, loving stories.
Also is that Sayonara Gokko I hear in the background at the end?
Anyone else notice how good storytellers are people who have gone through some sh!t in life?
JK Rowling: Lost loved ones at a young age and endured an abusive husband.
Suzanne Collins: Witnessed her father go through PTSD and alcoholism after his time in Vietnam.
J. RR Tolkien: Fought in World War I.
Did you know when Christan Bale applied to be in this movie, he wasn't expecting to play Howl. But thank God he did because his voice is amazing.
Another surprising voice actor in this is the voice of Markl, the little apprentice boy. He's voiced by Josh Hutcherson who plays Peeta in the Hunger Games movies.
WHAT!
Why did u just pull that outta ur ass 💀😭
WHAT??? I didn't know that!
WHAT HIM?!
It’s so wild to find out actors/voice actors actually played certain characters in movies you’ve seen a million times when they were kids and you not making the connection. Same thing happened to me when I found out Mae Whitman (Katara, 2012 April O’Neil, Amity) was the president’s daughter in Independence Day
This is actually based on a novel which is honestly 1000% more nuts. Like the scarecrow is the product of almost Frankenstein like necromancy
Actually it’s somewhere between necromancy, voodoo and making a chimera
I love the little detail of Sophie gradually getting younger as the film goes on as she slowly becomes more confident in herself. At the beginning when the witch first curses her, she appears are 80-90 years old (possibly revealing how she feels on the inside) but as the movie goes on (like right after they face Soloman) Sophie appears around 40-50 years then returns to her normal age during the climax. It shows how she slowly grows more confident in herself.
It could also pay homage to a plotpoint in the books. I haven't read them fully myself, but I do remember a friend explaining how in the books Sophie is actually a witch too and that's part of the reason the curse eventually fades without Howl or the witch doing anything. I personally like to think of it as a little mix of the two.
😁👍 awsome reaction and commentary man. If you like this, I highly recommend watching Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away.
Love watching reviewers blame Gibblie and Japan for the insanity of Howl's Moving Castle while the novel readers are complaining that it could have been weirder and miss the Wales references.
"Sophie push her off!!" my mom said the same thing when she watched this movie XD
2:50-3:00 My genuine reaction to that was, "Ya didn't check the cast list before watching? You think having Christine Bale in this flick is nuts, well we got a baby Josh Hutcherson playing Markl!" Ahahah love ya, Danny, keep being your wonderful self.
So fun facts
1) The movie is based off of a book by the same name written by Diana Wynne Jones.
Howl and Sophie appear as minor characters in 2 more of her books.
2) Both Miyazaki and Diana Wynne Jones were survivors of WW2. Diana used her works to make a place for people to escape from the realities of war while Miyazaki made it a point to include the horror of war in his works so that people would not forget. The possibility of "war" was one line in the books and its inclusion in the movie skews a lot of character motivations. Howl especially is a lot less "tragic hero" and a lot more "hot mess/drama queen".
3) The book manages to be even crazier and has even richer world-building on account of being longer. If you are interested in learning more about the dog, the scarecrow, Calcifer, the magic portal door, and the witch getting her just desert go and read the book.
4) Diana loves both versions of the story despite them being so different. She said once that the book is how Sophie would tell the story and the movie is how book Howl would tell the story. So with a tone of scenes highlighting his attractiveness and a random background war thrown in for flavor.
12:15 I can't remember which interview it was, but I remember one of the main focuses for Lady Eboshi's design in Princess mononoke was "make her look as COOL as possible" lol.
This is the kind of movie you can watch several times and learn something new about it. You’ll never get bored of it. At least in my opinion. The animation is lovely, the voice acting is superb, and there is so much going on that you feel like it’s an actual world. 10/10
Christian Bale’s voice was perfect for Howl’s character. Loved it! And Sophie’s voice is so soothing!
Howl's Moving Castle is my comfort film, even when the world is going to absolute shit, Sophie never loses hers. She's such a great character and even though it is wildly different from the book, it is just a good. I'm surprised you didn't comment on the music since its such an iconic track for Ghibli, but the whole movie is a lot so that made sense XD
Okay this is literally like my favorite movie ever so a few fun facts:
1: it’s actually based off of a book! The book us 10x more confusing, but I quite liked it.
1a:The entire war theme was not in the book, but was put in by miazaki for portraying anti-war themes.
1b:The author actually didn’t picture the castle having legs, but instead would float everywhere.
1c: howl was actually like a modern day college student lol. He created a portal to a new world, being the one we see him in.
1d: in the book, he carries around a guitar, and on one of the covers you can see it’s a bright red strata-caster electric guitar.
1e: in the book, Markl is actually called Michael, and is 15 instead of like 9.
1f: Sophie actually had 2 sisters, one being a half sister.
2: after my watching it (literally) 10 times, there are some scenes that hint at howl liking Sophie from the beginning, and Sophie falling for him gradually.
For example, what’s the VERY first line he says to Sophie? “There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere” (or something along those lines). We know however that she went back in time and told child howl to “find [her] in the future”. Sooooo conclusion? He was looking for her this entire time.
Additionally, the reason the war was going on(you can hear two background characters mentioning it towards the beginning of the movie) is because the neighboring kingdom’s prince had gone missing, and they had accused them of kidnapping him, when in reality, he had just gotten cursed and was turnip head.
Oh! Also, the voice of Markl is the actor of Peta from the hunger games, but as a child.
Anyways, seriously my favorite favorite movie. 10/10, would recommend!
"Why is this lady growing armin's?"
don't mind me as i cackle my way through this reaction XD
I love the type of shows that just throw into the middle of something and barely explain things, because that's just how the world goes. It isn't my favorite Ghibli movie, mine is Ponyo for nostalgia reasons, but I do love Howl's moving castle.
8:02 Howl fr be like: "Feeling depressed. Might turn into a minecraft slime block"
This movie is unbelievably amazing and I’m glad you liked it
Danny: This word is really well fleshed out I feel like this could be part of a series
Me: DANNY ITS A BOOK SERIES
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"Oh! He's back for revenge!" 🤣🤣🤣 I was NOT prepared for that line. 🤣
NOOO
I’m watching this video 12AM, trying *desperately* not to laugh, while my family thinks I’m asleep just a curtain away for them to see/ hear me.
This straight up one of the funniest reviews I have EVER seen. And I’m super impressed by how you were able to fit a 2-hour long film into 20 minutes! Btw princess Mononoke is also my fav Ghibli film after howl’s moving castle.
You’ve got to read the book too- in the book Sophie has magic that exists intrinsically so the more confidence she gets the more the curse starts to break.
I think it's also subtly implied that she accidently either cursed herself or at least sustained the curse by herself.
It’s interesting you said Howl has a “rockstar attitude” because that’s basically his angle in the book this movie is based on. I think In the book Howl even had a guitar
Yep he had a guitar he couldn't play.
If you’re going to do more Ghibli movies I recommend ‘Porco Rosso’. It’s fun and lighthearted with some great characters. Definitely one of my favourites, up there with ‘Princess Mononoke’ of course.
I agree Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke are both great movies
Its sad that not many talk about porco rosso
Porco Rosso's so good! too bad a lot of people haven't heard of it
Everyone always talks about "thats my girl" but "you're being so... obedient" literally made my kick my feet and squeal
I cannot recommend enough that you listen to the Howl's Moving Castle audiobook narrated by Jenny Sterlin! It is the best audiobook in existence, and it's also different enough from the ghibli movie to be a whole new experience!
Yes! It’s sooo good
Ooh I gotta find the audiobook version!
13:16 had me laughing so hard, i was wheezing, crying and clutching my stomach. Im still having random bouts of laughter as i write this, thats how hard it hit me 😂😂😂
I think bc its such a sweet touching moment ("cause we're a family!") followed by an unexpected dub of Danny casually thirsting over Howl as Sophie. Thank you for making this video Danny, and thank you for the inevitable random fits of laughter I'll surely have thru out the rest of my day thinking about ur commentary, but mostly 13:16😂
It's hidden deep in the aside chats -
The war was kicked off because "a prince in the neighboring country has gone missing" and all the finger pointing begins, so all the magic people get drafted. The prince was Turniphead, which is why he dropped the "I'll go stop the war now" at the end.
YES I LOVE HOWLS MOVING CASTLE I’m excited to see you watch it >:D(LOOK AT THE PICTURE IN THE BACKGROUND I LOVE IT LOL)
Same
the turniphead twist is so badly foreshadowed lmao, there's like. one sentence said referencing the missing prince in the first five minutes of the movie and,,, that's it
Caught me by surprise
Because this is mostly from Sophie's perspective, she wasn't that aware of the politics leading to the war, and it was indicated that Turniphead seemed interested in Sophie after she rescued him from rotting upside down in a Bush, it's also interesting his "true love" wasn't reciprocal, it didn't need to be for the spell to be broken. I find it interesting how this could be remade from Howl or the Prince's perspective (the latter would be very different, seeing why and who cursed him, then going on his quest to find his True Love only for how when he finds her she's also cursed, and when she finally breaks his curse turns out the wizard Howl has already stolen her heart. He accepts this with surprising grace however)
'Why is this lady growing Armins' caught me so off guard I somehow managed to slam my face into my desk and then proceeded to laugh hysterically for the next minute.
This has always been my favorite Ghibli film (and film in general, though I'm not much of a movie person). I love the casual magic, the found family, the strangeness, and I love how it manages to be small and huge at once. Its weirdness is a draw for me, but I do understand that disconnected plots like this aren't for everyone!
I love your humour, something I really need during some rubbish times. You're so funny and your reactions are just brilliant, love it ❤️😂
The movie is based on a 3 trilogy book series with howls moving castle being the first of three? The authors name is Diana Wayne Jones. It's a good series been since high school since I've seen it.
* edit
Also Danny I don't watch many youtubers. Like any. Legit your the only one I put time aside for. Lol keep it up my dude.
*Wynne
This is my favorite all time movie. Your commentary is spot on. Thank you for this. I needed a good cackle with my coffee this morning.
Dude, Danny
THANKS MY BOI!!!!! Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite studio Ghibli movie. I didnt even know Christian was in this movie. I love it for the story and the amazing animation that was put into it.
All the little details that are put into this movie make me love it so much. Like how howl built the entire castle and traveled everywhere just to find her. And how calcifer let Sofie into the castle because he has howls heart. The list goes on and on and every time you watch it you find something new
they did sections of the castle on pieces of glass then layered them and moved them around to mimic motion
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2:50 You immediately recognized Christian Bale while I'm still thinking of 2:23 trying to place Ron Stoppable's voice actor.
"I've never been so intimidated by a man dressed as a nutcracker" 😂 I love your sense of humour
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I’m this movie after watching it a few times, and I’ve watched it plenty, this whole movie is a time loop type scenario, where howl is searching for Sophie all of their lives and the time line repeats like a fated love, a cursed love… it’s unfortunate and tragic
I didn't realise Mark Hamill was Muska in Laputa(Disney version) until this year and I've been watching it my whole life. So many good actors do voice acting in dubs
I love this so much. This has made my day. I have had a bad day, so thanks.
If it feels like the two plots are entirely separate it’s because. They are. The war plot wasn’t in the original media
The book is really quirky and Sophie’s narration is wonderful! I highly reccomend it in book form as well, even if I do love the movie
Nearly end of the film Sophie: "It's me Sophie! I know how to help you now! Find me in the future! "
Beginning of the film Howl: "There you are sweetheart sorry I'm late, I was looking everywhere for you"
There are a lot of sorta easter eggs that you discover while rewatching the film like this, or the fact that Howl build a moving castle just to look for sophie, didn't make alliances because he didn't know which was Sophie's city and WAITED and SEARCHED her his whole life, i cannot-😢❤
Thus movie has my heart, forever❤
I was wheezing throughout the whole video - especially with they alley scenes 🤣🤣🤣
Wolf Children might be something you're interested in reacting to, next.
Keep Up The Good Work~!
DUDE HIS FRUSTRATION WITH SOPHIE BEING OLD AND THAT WHOLE SPELL IS EXCATLY HOW I FELT. I WAS LITERALLY SCREAMING AT HER BEHIND THE SCREEN
2:23 I laughed way to hard at that😂😂😂
Edit: I don't think I have ever continuously laughed all the way through a blind reaction. Thank you😂 this was amazing!!
One of the reasons the movie may seem quite confusing is that it is actually a remake of a book named howl’s moving castle but they could not include all of the political aspects in it because the movie would be too long
It’s so trippy being named similarly to this character (Sophia), constantly being told to have better self esteem, and to suddenly hear that from the video too. There’s no problem with it! I just found it funny 😅
I grew up watching Studio Ghibli movies in general but this one was always on in one way or another. I was giggling the whole time watching your reactions! This was honestly so fun, being able to watch this through your eyes and hearing your takes made my whole day!
14:21 that "BASCUSE ME" got me
Saw your thumbnail and realized I've actually never seen the movie, despite hearing about it/having it on my watchlist for years, so I watched it before your review & I gotta thank you for that -- I was grinning like a little kid for almost the full 2+hrs! Great review, as always! ^u^
Fun Fact: One of the customers in Lettie's shop asks if they have "Lettie-shaped cookies"... What's worse is that she actually turns around to get some for the guy...
If you haven't seen it, you GOTTA see Spirited Away! It's my absolute favorite movie of all time with fantastic world building, characters, and themes!
"Oh no she got babushkad!" Beautiful
4:30 "oh no she got babushkaed" was hilarious haha (I hope that's in one of your youtube shorts clips)
"Calsophie" was right there and you went with "Sophalcipher"?
Regardless, this is the best movie review I've ever seen and I was gasping for breath by the end with how hard I was laughing.
This is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Always hits me in the feels.
Edit: For me, Sophie's low self-esteem is totally relatable, and that moment when she cries bc of Howl's breakdown bc of his hair, totally there with her the first time. Like, dude.
7:20 missed opportunity to say “fowls moving castle” 😔
Hi Danny!
Ugh this was such a good reaction video. I really didn’t want it to end😭
Your reactions and analyses were so on point; I absolutely agree with everything and I just kept laughing throughout.
I'm probably going to bingewatch some other reaction series of yours tonight, like TGCF and others I recognise.
Thanks for your hard work!❤❤❤
The scene where Howl first comes through the black door and stransforms back tho..
I think I pulled a muscle in both of my sides laughing silently and long at "goopy carnival workers".🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Danny, you are absolutely the best!!
The reason why this movie is so dense with world-building is because it’s based off a book (very good, highly recommend)
The war was literally About the missing Prince, aka turniphead. You can hear people discussing it in the beginning, the other country blaming them for the prince going missing, saying they kidnapped him.
My favorite Ghibli moving is The Secret World of Arietty, it's so visually interesting and beautiful and just a cute movie of forbidden friendship. It's very sweet. Even if you don't want to react to it, I recommend you to definitely watch on your own at least once :)
Danny Motta, simping over Howl's voice while staring into the camera with big brown eyes and lashes longer than my attention span, got me clutching my pearls and fanning myself.
The book HMC is adapted from is actually part of a series, and it's one of my all-time favorites. The author lived through ww2 and that shapes her narratives, in a way that is very different from Miyazaki's experiences and the Iraq war commentary. Miyazaki changed a lot from the second half, and I feel that Sophie's character got lost by the wayside. If you have the time, I'd love to see you do a comparison between the book and the movie, eventually.
fun fact, this is miyazakis love movie to the book, which is the original. If you pick up a newer copy of the book you can read a cute interview that he and the author had on the back
Fun fact: this movie was based on a book. And the book is WILD. It's great
I love watching people react to magical movies like these, but your reaction to it is also SO funny 😆😆 you’re genuinely. hilarious
You should keep the trend going and watch naausica valley of the wind. Its my absolute favorite movie made by miyuzaki (technically not ghibli i think cause it predates it, one of the older ones but undeniably beautiful)
Also as a fun fact, the studio would not make naausica animated without having a manga before hand so miyuzaki said "bet" and made it a manga that sold really well and representing it, they never asked him to do that again lol
Farmin Armins is one of my favourite lines
HE DIDNT INCLUDE THE FALLING TOWEL SCENE. I FEEL CHEATED
Hearing Howls voice is like being wrapped in a warm scarf. I love him so much.
I love this movie as well as the book it’s VERY loosely based on. The movie takes a few characters and the setting to make it’s own story. I like the movie for its own story but it’s definitely not like the book at all. If you have the time, I recommend reading the book, it’s amazing.
In the book the war was meant to be as a far off thing that the characters were only casually reminded off every so often, but Miazaki changed it as a statement against the US's envolvmebnt in the Iraq war. Diana Wynne Jones critiqued the changes to her story but she found it beautiful anyway.
Also the book ends with Sophie spelling a cane to life and it kicks the witch of the waste's sisters ass