Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is Hayao Miyazaki's most recent film. Though not as acclaimed as Spirited Away, Howl's has still won numerous awards and was nominated for an Oscar in 2006.

Plotline
Howl's follows a nineteen-year old girl named Sophie as she is entangled with the infamous wizard, Howl. Howl saves Sophie from some soldiers one day, but she is not aware who he is until she is paid a visit by the Witch of the Waste. The Witch places a curse on Sophie, forcing the girl to appear as an aged crone in spite of her youth. Sophie is not able to speak of her curse to anyone. Disparate, she flees into the Waste where she comes upon Howl's giant, moving castle. Sophie hitches a ride and is discovered by the cursed fire demon, Calcifer, who makes the castle run.

Sophie and Calcifer make a deal to each discover as much about each other's curse as possible in hopes of undoing both of them. When Howl discovers Sophie in his castle, he allows her to stay as a cleaning woman. The movie follows Sophie's adventures alongside Howl as she discovers that he is under his own curse.

The film contains many larger commentaries on societal problems, including the prevalence of war, vanity, and materialism.