Howl's Moving Castle & The Cat Returns: Political Echoes and Feline Shenanigans

Discover the world of Studio Ghibli like never before with our passionate guest, Sebby Phantom, as she guides us through the enchanting realms of "Howl's Moving Castle" and "The Cat Returns." What makes Sophie's transformation so compelling, and how do the whimsical characters like Howl, Calcifer, and Turnip Head contribute to the film’s magical allure? With Sebby’s deep admiration for these films, you’re guaranteed to gain fresh insights into the intricate character dynamics and the profound themes of love, identity, and courage that are woven into Miyazaki’s storytelling tapestry.

Further enriching our conversation, we explore the differences between Howl’s cinematic adaptation and his literary origins, highlighting the film’s unique narrative choices. But that's not all—our discussion takes a timely turn as we reflect on the current political environment, drawing parallels with the war-torn backdrop of Howl’s world and offering a thoughtful critique of past and present political landscapes. Join us for this insightful episode that beautifully blends film analysis with a hopeful examination of reality, and find out why these Ghibli masterpieces are worth revisiting again and again.

Chapters

• 0:01 Howl's Moving Castle Review Discussion
• 13:41 Howl's Moving Castle Review and Discussion
• 22:38 Political Reflections on Howl's Moving Castle

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome back to the Zone Podcast, the show for nerdy news and reviews. I'm Jet Black Extreme and this time we're going to do something a little different. We're going to do another double feature. We're on a roll with these double features when it comes to the Studio Ghibli movies, but this time let's talk about Howl's Moving Castle, and since this is Sebby Phantom's favorite Movie out of the Studio Ghibli movies maybe favorite movie Of all time, I don't know. You know what I'm just gonna go ahead and let her lead on this review. So, sebby, if you don't mind, take it away.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Thank you so much, jb, and you are correct, this is my favorite movie of all times oh well, there you go so how's moving castle?

Speaker 2: 0:53

first off, I want to say this is loosely based off of a 1986 novel written by diane win jones um, but this was released back in 2004 by Miyazaki, as you know. But the main plot is that Sophie she's a hatter and the eldest of three sisters she encounters a wizard named Al on her way to visit her sister Letty. Upon returning home, she meets the witch of the ways that turns into a 90 year old woman. To try and to break the curse, she sets off on an adventure through the countryside, meeting a living scarecrow who she calls Turnip Head, because she doesn't really like turnips, which ends up leading her to Howl's Moving Castle. She enters and, of course, she meets the amazing and powerful fire demonine Calcifer. Sophie then announces that she's going to be hiring herself as the Cleaning lady and decides that she's going to make herself Breakfast for her and Markle.

Speaker 2: 1:58

Meanwhile, sophie's nation is caught into a war with the Neighboring kingdom, which is searching for their missing prince. The king summons Hal to fight and Hal decides to send Sophie to the king under the pretense that she's his mother, and she tells that Hal's way too much of a coward. And she meets Solomon, the king's head sorceress and also the witch of the waste also comes to visit Solomon as well. Solomon punishes the Witch of the Waste by draining her and turning her into a very arably woman. And of course, solomon quickly finds out that this is not House Mother, but in fact Sophie. As they continue on, she finds out that Hal has two different Aliases, which is Jenkins and Pendragon, which of course you know the door With the magic little Little door and allows you to go into Different parts of the area area kind of like a portal selection function type thing correct.

Speaker 2: 3:10

Right, there's, like I said, there's the one where pendragon's from jenkins, then there's the black void and then there's just the outside where the house castle's, just walking around. Um, sophie then finds out that the reason why Calcifer and how are so close together is because Calcifer and how made a deal and he doesn't have a heart. Calcifer has it. Later on they found out that the town, sophie's town, is going to be bombed by enemy aircraft and Solomon's henchmen start to attack the house and Sophie's hat shop. Hal goes out to protect the group and then, once she realizes that everyone needs to get out of the house, she removes Calcifer, which collapses. The castle, the Witch of the Waste, realizes that Calcifer has Hal's heart and decides to grab the fire demon setting, setting herself on fire. In a panic yeah, in a panic Sophie decides to pour water on the witch and, unfortunately, douses Calcifer. Sophie ends up Falling into a chasm and being separated from the group, leaving her and the dog Keen.

Speaker 2: 4:29

Following the charmed ring that how gave her during the escape from solomon. Sophie wanders into a scene from the past, finding a young hal catching a falling star which would be considered calcifer, and gives him his heart, and, of course, sophie calls for him to find a way to the future and is quickly teleported back. Um, after she decides to get back, the witch returns hal's heart, placing it back inside hal and reviving him and freeing calcifer, even though, of course, calcifer decides to stay anyway. Um, after kissing turnip head, he turns back to his human form. Who somehow guess what? He's the missing prince from the enemy kingdom. And of course he reveals that only a true love kiss can break his curse. Of course he promptly heads home to cease the war and solomon watches through the crystal globe and decides to also end the war as well. And of course, at the end the castle soars away and Hal and Sophie kisses on the castle balcony.

Speaker 1: 5:34

This is such a good movie. Yeah, it was a very good movie, let me talk about what.

Speaker 1: 5:42

I thought about this movie. Go right ahead, sophie, fairly balanced, kind of remind me of a trend with the female protagonists in the show. I'm not sure my bad the movies where it seemed like they're perfectly imperfect, like you can tell that they have some flaws, but also it's like it's fair to have those flaws, like say, for instance, like with sophie. The one thing that kind of weirded me out is how sometimes she had like she had like 88 seats where she just wanders off for no fucking reason. I'm like, okay, somebody put this lady on a leash. But uh, outside of that, bro, okay. Also I I was kind of getting confused as hell when it seemed like she kept slipping from going from old to young and I'm like, okay, you need to pick a lane lady pick an age yeah, now that's all I got for sophie.

Speaker 1: 6:40

How okay he had me in the first half, not gonna lie like I mean ultimately I still like how. But it's more like he just seemed like such a cool guy at first, you know, when he had his blonde hair, whatnot. But as soon as Sophie rearranges uh, potions or shampoo, whatever you want to call it in his bathroom and it's like, oh no, my hair turned orange. I told me why'd you do this to me? I'm like, oh, I thought I was helping. I'm like, no, you ruined it. I'm not beautiful anymore, I don't deserve to live anymore. And then the castle started crumbling. I'm like, bro, you are being a real drama queen. I'm like you just shattered the illusion for me. I thought you were cool. No, no, no, he's all right. But I was like, hey, yo, and that's another thing.

Speaker 1: 7:31

Man Calisopher said that, oh well, he was like this too when a girl broke his heart. I'm like, really, really, you just going to break down that. You just going to fold that easily over little shit. Like, I'm sorry, but bro, get together. But outside of that, I also like how he reminds me of Irregular at Magic High School, to where in that anime, essentially, kids are going to school to you know, master their magic and whatnot, but the overarching theme is that the government wants to use these children to fight their wars. To use these children to fight their wars. And you could say that, uh, in this film, I like how, when this film was being produced, miyazaki made it very clear that he was anti-war, especially with the iraq war going on in 2003 or so. Uh, it's like anti-war propaganda here and I'm digging it. But also there's a matter of it's exploring the theme of old age, uh, and how you can like be positive about it. You know, like it kind of grants sophie a little freedom in that aspect. Uh, it's about feminism elements. It has, um, messages about compassion. It also challenges, uh, class and gender norms, uh, focusing on love and personal loyalty, the destructive effects of war.

Speaker 1: 9:07

Honestly, I dare say that this is the most ghibli movie of all the ghibli. They just had a little bit of everything where it's like we were talking about. My neighbor told her how it's like the most coziest or it's like the most simple, and then spirit of the way just kind of felt like, okay, it had a little bit more sauce behind, uh, that simple premise that it had, where it's like, okay, they're just visiting this temple and that's you know. Uh, chihiro got swept into all that bullshit. But uh, I dare say that this is the most ghibli, because even though when it slows down it's like, okay, they're cooking food or how's just in this cozy ass bed or they're just chilling in one of the realms that how like the visit and whatnot, and just kind of feels like, okay, it can seem kind of cozy when it wants to be, but when it's time to like get into the action, like how transforms to his bird and also kind of like how, how got that same thing going on with the symbiote in the marvel universe, where the more you wear the symbiote, the harder it is to take it off. So I kind of like how there's like little stakes involved where each time he transforms it's getting hard to turn back. So you gotta be very careful about the battles you get into, which is also why he doesn't like war, because it just implies that you gotta keep using his magic and therefore he just becomes this monster, kind of like his old colleagues, where it's like man. They're not even human anymore. I don't fuck with them anymore.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Oh, the witch of the waste. Real funny how we were talking about I think it was ponyo well, it was mixed up ponyo and spirit away to where I was getting, like ursula vibes, from a little mermaid where she looked most like ursula in a sense, especially like oh, ew, like that part when they were meeting up with solomon and she was like walking up the steps and she was like sweating real bad. I'm like, oh, just like a fountain of sweat and fat. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be too mean, but it just wild. But you know, once she became an old woman, like she kind of chilled out up until that part about uh, taking house hard because you know how, and the witch of the ways they had like a thing going on.

Speaker 1: 11:30

I like how, how was like a little fuck boy at that one point to where he was like oh well, you know, I thought she was Beautiful. But when I met her I'm like man, I got catfish, fuck all this. And then she was like uh, uh, you can't do this to me. And Essentially she wanted the heart. And that's another funny thing, how the way she was trying to be so Obsessive over that heart in that moment Kind of give me golem vibes From Lord of the Rings, where it's like I was like Bro, you are fucking Burning alive over this heart. Let it go, please. Um, oh, the casting, bro. Listen, I was so taken aback I did not know that Christian Bale was Hal, billy Crystal was Calcifer, we got fucking D Bradley Baker as Heen. Like really, these guys, okay, okay, and you know what. This just reminds me? The Prince Turn up head. Let's go ahead and talk about the Cat Returns. Okay, okay, and you know what this just reminds me? The Prince Turnip Head.

Speaker 1: 12:38

Let's go ahead and talk about the Cat Returns while we're at it, because I was also watching that too. It's based on Whisper of the Heart, but essentially it's about how this girl, haru, has this ability to talk to cats and she saves the cat from being hit by a truck and then, by the cat saving, uh, being thankful and whatnot, uh turns out to be Luna, the prince of the cat kingdom, and, as things, uh, the cats go out to give her all these gifts and whatnot. But it's like this implication that, oh well, we want you to marry the prince, and her mixed reply is like oh, I'll take that to yes, and I was like no, you're a cat, I'm a human. That's not going to work up until she became half cat and they still try to force her to marry the cat. But eventually she meets Baron and that's the cat that she actually starts to like more, and also like Mutsu in this one. Oh, real quick.

Speaker 1: 13:41

I like how, when the king was gonna pull up on Haru and he had like those secret service cats like you know, the black cats with like the white stripes and triangles, almost like kind of look like a black suit, kind of like like a black suit, kind of like something Secret Service men would wear, and I swear to God, the funniest part about that whole movie was when some stray cats was walking up trying to see, hey, what's going on over here?

Speaker 1: 14:06

And then the Secret Service cat took one of those stray cats and cheated him into the hotel. Hey, you know what this movie gets a four out of five stars just for that moment, because I'm like, hey, that made me bust out laughing. I was like, hey, yo, I was not expecting that at all. But ultimately, funny movies for the most part I kind of like the simplicity of, you know, using magic and whatnot, like secret world or whatnot that was in the cat returns, but moving back into house moving castle, where it's clear that magic and technology is both intertwined and coexisting, and whatnot. Ultimately, house moving castle definitely is a 5 out of 5 star movie because, like I said before, it had it all.

Speaker 2: 15:01

Sebi anything you want to add on no, this will always be a 5 out of 5. I love the cat. Return also has like a very hyped up cast as well. Anne Hathaway, tim Curry, kirsten Bell, kirsten Sutherland like they have like an amazing cast.

Speaker 1: 15:21

Andy Richter Really.

Speaker 2: 15:22

Yes, Judy Greer, Like I don't understand, okay, oh, god damn. I don't know how they get the most beefed up cast in any Studio Ghibli movie, but they always tend to do it.

Speaker 1: 15:42

What can we say? If Studio Ghibli pull up to you and you're like, hey, you want to be in a movie? I'm like, I don't say it no more.

Speaker 2: 15:51

Where do I sign?

Speaker 1: 15:53

Because it's like a Studio Ghibli movie, is like a guaranteed banger, so it's almost like a free paycheck if you get a job doing that exactly.

Speaker 2: 16:02

You should go read the book for Howl's Castle, though. You should go read it. It's totally different from the movie in the character plot. The plot summary itself is the same, but let's just say Howl is, howl is horrible in the movie. I mean in the book instead of the movie.

Speaker 1: 16:24

Oh, he's worse in the book.

Speaker 2: 16:25

He's selfish and Mean and he's a coward yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:33

Let's talk about that real quick, how he made it a point to where Look, I'm a coward, in fact, you know what Pretend to be my mother. Go up to Solomon and say that. Oh well, you know, pendragon, he's a cowardly boy.

Speaker 1: 16:49

You don't want him fighting your war, right? Nah, nah, nah, hold on, you're not his mother, you know. But how, it's like God damn, like when you first meet him he seems really cool, but then it's like the more he started talking and like Doing his little meltdowns. It was almost like Just a little meltdowns and shit. It was almost like just a little drama queen that Sophie had to take care of half the time, you know, but uh, it's only even that one part to it, even when he was fighting. It's kind of funny how, uh, sophie was like I think I like you better as a coward because you are fucking reckless. When you're locked in, I always use the. The heart is a heavy.

Speaker 2: 17:39

Think I like you better as a coward because you are fucking reckless when you're locked in. I always use the heart is a heavy burden. I use that quite a bit and you have to watch. This is how I watch Howl's Moving Castle. You have to watch it and then you have to watch it again, because at the end, when Sophie goes, find me in the future Howl. And then in the beginning, when how goes, find me in the future Hal. And then in the beginning, when Hal goes up to Sophie, he goes.

Speaker 1: 18:03

I've been looking for you forever, oh yeah, okay, I can understand that, like movies Tend to do that, sometimes Some shows too but mainly movies Are notorious for Like I still remember like kind of glancing over uh, 50 shades of gray, where, okay, when uh the dude and the girl meet each other and girl gets into the elevator and they just say each other's names and you see him, like oh well, they're intrigued by each other at first, but then by the end of the movie they do the same shit and now it's more like, oh well, you know, their relationships now strain based on the events that happened. So I kind of get that. Yeah, like it's more those things where you gotta watch it at least twice to fully understand what happened yep yeah, I understand, fully understand what happened.

Speaker 1: 19:03

Yep, yeah, I understand. Was there anything else?

Speaker 2: 19:06

Nope, that's it. I appreciate you for allowing me to take the reins on this review, though, JP.

Speaker 1: 19:13

Of course, of course, and honestly I'm kind of surprised it didn't go long. I mean, what can I say? Like I'm so used to us doing like one hour reviews or what, that just feels weird when it just seems like damn, it's like barely even been 30 minutes, like y'all kind of falling off on this I'm like, but then again like no, no, no, it's more. Like at this point we're trying to practice more brevity with our reviews, to where we're not trying to bog y'all down. We know y'all got work and other responsibilities, if anything, we just appreciate y'all for stopping by. If you're like I don't know at the gym or you're studying, or maybe you're in the middle of your commute, or maybe just like listen to podcasts, like hey, maybe those assholes that I like put out a new episode. Let me check that out real quick.

Speaker 2: 20:09

I don't know, I don't know. I would say listen to our own podcast on the way to my job.

Speaker 1: 20:15

Yeah. So I'm like you know, whenever you can I'm not gonna hold a gun to your head to listen to our podcast, you know. But yeah, like brevity, like sometimes some reviews like we don't need to go into it too much, like even though, yeah, like we don't need to go into it too much, like even though, yeah, like an hour sounds good, like if you're like doing something specific to where, like okay, how can I like, like I said, with the gym, like normally people work out for like a solid hour and I'm like, hey, the whole time you just listen to our podcast you know, I'm like, hopefully we don't make you laugh too much, to a point to where you start losing your focus and I hate for you to be like you're getting your reps in um, you know, at the um, at the bench, you know your bench presses, and then you probably get to a point to where, like um, you want to laugh but it's like, oh well, hold on, I need to put this shit down before y'all kill me.

Speaker 1: 21:24

But yeah, like I guess we can just go ahead and close it out. Sebi, I do thank you for leading this time and I thank you, dear listener, for tuning in to another episode of the Zone Podcast. Fair warning, we are going to take a little break from podcasting Well, not necessarily More. Like I might be working on some things in the background, so you can probably check out any new episodes that come up in between Thanksgiving and leading up to Christmas on Patreon. There should be links attached to the description if you want to check out our Patreon.

Speaker 1: 22:09

Most of the episodes are free to watch, so don't worry about about. Oh, you have to pay money to listen, not all of them. The only ones that I would put on a paywall is the really spicy after dark specials, to where we just go on off budget hell. We might talk about what went down with the election, how we feeling about all that, but that'll probably be an after dark special at best. We're Not trying to be a political Podcast, it's more like a. Well, you Know, I feel like there's just Some things that in the political Aspect we just can't let it Slide. And also I kind of appreciate Reviewing house movement council In hindsight because the way Things are looking, I Kind of hoping that we don't have another war going on, because I don't know about, you say, but it just feels like every time a Republican's in office there's always a war or an impending war going on. You ever notice that?

Speaker 1: 23:10

I don't know I don't know, maybe I'm bugging, yeah, so let's just go ahead and close this out. You go ahead. Have yourself a good morning, good afternoon and good evening, dear listener. Remember to stay nerdy and that great things are coming, but, most importantly, you take it easy.

Speaker 2: 23:34

Bye, bye.