Howl's Moving Castle had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 5 September 2004, and was theatrically released in Japan on 20 November 2004. In 2013, Miyazaki said the film was his favorite creation, explaining 'I wanted to convey the message that life is worth living, and I don't think that's changed.' The movie is thematically significantly different from the book while the book focuses on challenging class and gender norms, the film focuses on love, and personal loyalty and the destructive effects of war. The film contains feminist elements as well, and carries messages about the value of compassion.

It also explores the theme of old age, depicting age positively as something which grants the protagonist freedom.

Miyazaki stated that he 'had a great deal of rage' about the Iraq war, which led him to make a film which he felt would be poorly received in the US.

Influenced by Miyazaki's opposition to the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003, the film contains strong anti-war themes. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king. The film tells the story of a young, content milliner named Sophie who is turned into an old woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. The story is set in a fictional kingdom where both magic and early 20th-century technology are prevalent, against the backdrop of a war with another kingdom. The Japanese voice cast featured Chieko Baisho and Takuya Kimura, while the English dub version starred Jean Simmons, Emily Mortimer, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Josh Hutcherson and Billy Crystal. The film was produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. The film is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. Howl's Moving Castle ( Japanese: ハウルの動く城, Hepburn: Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

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