Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is my personal favorite out of Miyazaki's films. And I must say, out of Miyazaki's typical female protagonists, Sophie is definitely my favorite. She's typical in that she learns to take command of a situation at the end of the film, similar to how Sheeta does in Castle in the Sky. However, she is unique in that she is the most dependent female protagonist of Miyazaki's works (besides Lana from the anime Future Boy Conan). She pretty much admits that she wouldn't be the same without Howl, showing how devoted she is to him.
Even though the film is named after Howl, and even though Sophie is the main protagonist, I would have to argue that it is Calicifer who keeps the story together. This is symbolized by how he keeps the castle together and moving. So in a way, Calicifer is the storyteller, while the Castle is the story. The castle starts off as a mysterious place. Then as the climax arises, the castle falls apart, and at the most critical point in the story, it crumbles, with only a single board left moving. And at the end, when everything is solved, the castle returns to its original state and even flies off into the distance.
Miyazaki's films are known to end not like mainstream films, with a flashy conclusion and everything being perfect. His films usually end with things almost returning to its original state, nothing beyond then how it started. Therefore, the implication at the end of Howl's Moving Castle, with the characters forming a family unit and with the castle being able to fly, shows that Miyazaki is branching off in this film to become more mainstream. Majority of people do like happy, reassuring endings and that is exactly what Howl's Moving Castle has. Perhaps this is why it made so much and why it is considered one of Miyazaki's most successful film.

9.5