Howl’s Moving Castle, on the other hand, almost glorified their wizards and witches, with Howl being akin to a boogieman. Growing up, I saw that other media heavily demonized wizardry and made it something to be seen in shadows and heard with hushed tones. Up to that point, the work that Studio Ghibli produced was mainly silly tales about ghosts (Spirited Away) and a girl raised by wolves and a young man afflicted by an ancient curse that’ll slowly kill him (Princess Mononoke). I was also blown away by the very realistic and human look on events as opposed to carrying on a very silly aesthetic that was common in shows and movies that were animated at the time. I first watched it in my room and allowed myself to be surrounded by the marvellous art design and characters. The film is a very touching tale, and struck a deep chord with me the first time I watched it over the summer. During this journey, Sophie learns what it means to accept true inner beauty, and Howl learns to stop running from his fears. In order to break the curse, Sophie then begins working for Howl while trying to find out how to break the curse placed on him by a self-described “powerful and scary fire demon” named Calcifer. Howl crosses paths with Sophie after she is cursed by the Witch of the Waste to look like a 90 year old woman. Set in a fictional world where corrupt monarchs abuse the immense power of witches and wizards for political power, the story follows Sophie, a milliner (hat-maker), and Howl, a mischievous and handsome wizard. The film is an adaptation of English author Diana Wynne Jones’ book of the same name. In 2004, he unleashed unto the world a project that had been in production since 2001, Howl’s Moving Castle.

One man who beautifully chastised this war was none other than legendary animator, director, and producer Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿). However, this war was unlike any other in the amount of public information leaked and public scrutiny it faced in both its birth and death. Bush was debating invading Iraq from the day that the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened. The war was given a large amount of media coverage in the beginning because then-President George W. Lasting from 2003 to 2011, it took anywhere between 34,000 and 37,000 lives. The Iraq War was a brutal conflict that spanned a majority of our lives as current college students.

Wizard howl howl's moving castle