The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Howl's Moving Castle
Fantasy · Animation · Adventure · 2004
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
Movie details
Howl's Moving Castle
“The two lived there.”
2004 Fantasy · Animation · Adventure 1h 59m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
8.4 / 10
Community rating
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Howl's Moving Castle?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Hayao Miyazaki
Written by
Hayao Miyazaki
Chieko Baisho
Sophie (voice)
Takuya Kimura
Howl (voice)
Akihiro Miwa
Witch of the Waste (voice)
Tatsuya Gashuin
Calcifer (voice)
Ryunosuke Kamiki
Markl (voice)
Mitsunori Isaki
Kosho (voice)
Yo Oizumi
Prince Justin / Turnip Head (voice)
Court is in session
Put Howl's Moving Castle on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.