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Physical Metamorphosis in Howl's Moving Castle

Page history last edited by Kathryn Hansen 14 years, 3 months ago

In the beloved Japanese animated film Howl’s Moving Castle by Hayoa Miyazaki nearly every character, certainly every main character, can be seen going through some sort of physical metamorphosis. Not only are these changes visually interesting and play up to the unique narrative of the film, but they also help in character development and let us better understand the true qualities of the character as it is reflected in their personal appearance.

 

Sophie

The character that undergoes the most number of changes over the course of the film is Sophie. She begins the film as a young woman with long brown hair. Quickly into the film Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste and we then see her portrayed as a very old woman with heavy wrinkles and a hunch in her back. After this curse has been set Sophie can be seen in a number of ways: a young girl with brown hair, an older woman perhaps 20 to 30 years younger than what is seen in the first transformation with far fewer wrinkles and much better posture, a young woman much like she first appeared but with gray or silver hair, as well as with short hair when her long locks are cut off by Calcifer. Some may say that Sophie appears looking younger than how she did when the film begins. These different appearances can be seen in the stills below.

 

 

But what do these different transformations mean in association to the film’s story? On the basic level the ways in which we see Sophie is a representation of how she sees herself throughout the film. The fluctuations in her outward appearance come from fluctuations in her self esteem and attitude. Sophie does not see herself as beautiful or important when the film begins. This is reflected with her change into the very old woman directly after the Witch of Waste casts her curse. It is times when Sophie feels love, courage, pride, and true happiness that she lets her guard down and becomes her true self. These are the times where she is portrayed as a younger, beautiful woman or even girl.

 

Howl

Howl and Sophie are related in that they both are unhappy with the way they look. While Sophie’s character basically accepts the fact that she thinks she is not beautiful, Howl does not. Howl uses magic and potions to keep his appearance in the exact way he approves of. He is horrified when “grandma” Sophie cleans his bathroom and the potions end up turning his hair from a golden color to a deep black. Interestingly enough, Howl can see Sophie’s true beauty even through the mask of an old woman and Sophie accepts and loves Howl regardless of his hair color and mysterious behavior.

 

 

Howl also undergoes a physical metamorphosis into the large black bird. This façade is terrifying, intimidating but also somewhat beautiful and mysterious. These words seem to fit the description of Howl himself as a character. His alter-ego is, in a sense, an extension of who he really is, even though he may not particularly agree with this description. When Howl goes to a dark place (in his life) and feels lost and hopeless the bird creature he becomes looks more frightening and even slightly sickly. When Howl has gained confidence and feels courageous, rushing to save Sophie when the war has broken out in the streets, his bird self appears more heroic, proud, and healthy. Calcifer warns Howl that if he doesn't stop changing into his bird form it could be dangerous and he could lose the ability to appear as he really is in human form. The longer he stays in the bird form the greater the chances are that he will forget who he truly is and be imprisoned in the bird form. This result is seen in some wizards when Howl visits the "black portal." The importance of knowing yourself and who you truly are, as well as never losing hold of that knowledge is a theme Miyazaki seems to be implementing through this portion of the film.

 

Witch of the Waste

Another character that undergoes a physical transformation is the Witch of the Waste. She changes from a tall, middle aged, stout woman to a shorter, still stout elderly woman when her magic is taken from her. While the transformation comes from her magic being revoked her appearance still echoes the theme Miyazaki has laid out in the film of the reflection of how one feels and who one is can be seen in their outward appearance. The Witch of the Waste surely feels diminished and lost after being stripped of her power. She is shown as an old woman with dementia-like tendencies. Her evil ways are stripped with her powers. This plays up her being “lost” in this new world without the use of her magic. She no longer feels the need to be rude without the force of her magic. Or perhaps she has forgotten her evil ways in her old age? A piece of her old self shows through when she is tempted with the presence of Howl’s heart at her grasp. This could be explained by way of this obsession with Howl being so deep rooted that the temptation of taking his heart was instinctual rather than a conscious effort to be wicked.

 

 

Markl

In a small way Markl undergoes a metamorphosis when he disguises himself as an elderly man various times through the film. He changes his appearance intentionally without the aid of magic so his metamorphosis is different from the other characters but still pertinent to this appearance theme of the film. Sticking to Miyazaki’s theme this change in appearance is a reflection of how Markl sees himself. Markl is surrounded by adults and is very mature for his young age. It could be said that he has somewhat of an old soul.

 

 

Calcifer

Calcifer undergoes a change from his fire demon appearance to the look of himself as a fallen star near the end of the film. This metamorphosis is present in the film as a story or narrative device but it is unclear how his transformation plays into the theme Miyazaki plays with throughout the film that the outer look of a character is a reflection of their inner feelings and attitude.

 

 

Turnip Head

As a final stretch it should be noted that the prince or “turnip head” also undergoes an appearance transformation. While his story is not central to the story of the film, not fully discussed, viewers should be aware that his change constitutes another metamorphosis that occurs in the film. 

 

Comments (1)

Sean Desilets said

at 5:13 pm on Dec 10, 2009

* What a page!
* I feel foolish offering suggestions, because this page *rocks*, but I could imagine the page containing two other kinds of interpretation:
* A discuss of what these transformations mean when taken as a whole. Why, in words, does the film contain so much transformation?
* Systematic interpretations of how these transformations operate in the narrative (though the page does good work on this with Sophie and Howl.

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