In conversation with some friends of mine over the weekend we landed on the subject of Studio Ghibli. I’ve only seen one film from the studio, Spirited Away. My friends are huge fans though, so we asked which ones should we see next? In other words, what were their top faves. Howl’s Moving Castle definitely came out on top. I spend a lot of time writing these What All Fanboys Know posts about a lot of popular pop culture film. What I tend to overlook is the huge (and growing) fanbase behind anime, Japanimation, and Studio Ghibli. So, today I’m going to start correcting that! Today we’re going to explore some fun facts behind the making of Howl’s Moving Castle!
You name it, I’ll voice it! Christian Bale is one of the many people who became a huge fan of Spirited Away upon its release. When the casting call came for English speaking actors to lend their voice, Bale threw his name in the hat to play any role. It turns out he landed one of the leading roles-Howl.
Ghibli meets Bat…men. Bale, also well known for the iconic role of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s films, isn’t the only Dark Knight actor to lend their voices to Studio Ghibli films. Michael Keaton also lent his voice to the film Porto Rosso.
The growl. In fact, it can be argued that Bale perfected is gruff-often parodied-Bat-growl, on Howl’s Moving Castle. Consider it the first time anyone heard Bale’s unforgettable growl.
First there was the book. Before it became a film, Howl’s Moving Castle was a book. Author Dianne Wynne Jones wrote and was published it in 1986. Jones had no input into the making of the film because she said, “I write books, not films…” Still she was confident the film would be just as fantastic as her book is.
Second pick. Miyazaki, while synonymous with Studio Ghibli, wasn’t the first pick to direct the movie. Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, Mirai, Girl Who Leapt Through Time, & The Boy and the Beast) was set to direct. Only after he left the production abruptly was Miyazaki signed on.
Here comes success… When the film was released in Japan in 2004, it brought in a 1.48 billion yen in box-office revenue and was screened to a total audience of 1.1 million people in its first two days of release. This was a new record for a Japanese film, even surpassing the record previously set (also directed by Miyazaki with Spirited Away) by 40%
It’s so quiet. In the film, Howl’s house is made from paper mache. That’s why, even though Howl’s castle is huge it’s relatively quiet when it moves. It is Miyazaki’s way of expressing this fact through sound design on the film.
So there’s our short list of fun facts that all Fanboys already know about Howl’s Moving Castle! How big of a fan are you? How many facts did you already know?