“Howl’s Moving Castle(Studio Ghibli Official)” is an animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 2004.
This time, I’d like to reflect on the charms and story of “Howl’s Moving Castle” by looking back at its characters and their voice actors. What kind of people were the characters in “Howl’s Moving Castle”?
Please be aware that the following text contains sudden spoilers.
*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “【ハウルの動く城】登場人物＆声優情報一覧とキャラクター考察そして人物相関図“
Let an AI walk you through the highlights of this post in a simple, conversational style.
- “Howl’s Moving Castle” Main Characters & Voice Actors List
- Character & Voice Actor Profiles and Analysis
- Howl | Voice Actor: Christian Bale
- Sophie | Voice Actors: Emily Mortimer & Jean Simmons
- Witch of the Waste | Voice Actor: Lauren Bacall
- Calcifer | Voice Actor: Billy Crystal
- Markl | Voice Actor: Josh Hutcherson
- Turnip Head | Voice Actor: Crispin Freeman
- Madame Suliman | Voice Actor: Blythe Danner
- Heen | Voice Actor: Dee Bradley Baker
- Kosho | Voice Actors:(N/A)
- King of Ingary | Voice Actor: Mark Silverman
- Lettie | Voice Actor: Jena Malone
- Honey | Voice Actor: Mari Devon
“Howl’s Moving Castle” Main Characters & Voice Actors List
| Name | Age | Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
 Howl | 27 | Christian Bale |
 Sophie | 18 (90) | Emily Mortimer (young) Jean Simmons (old) |
 Witch of the Waste | ? | Lauren Bacall |
Calcifer | ? | Billy Crystal |
 Markl | ?[1] | Josh Hutcherson |
 Turnip Head | ? | Crispin Freeman |
 Madame Suliman | ? | Blythe Danner |
 Heen | ? | Dee Bradley Baker |
- [1]
- In the original novel, he is 15 years old. He appears much younger in the film.
Character & Voice Actor Profiles and Analysis
Howl | Voice Actor: Christian Bale
Howl’s Basic Information
The protagonist of the story. He is an excellent wizard and also possesses beautiful looks.
Howl resides in the “Moving Castle,” where he lives with Calcifer and Markl.
However, although it’s called a “castle,” its exterior is a hideous collection of junk, a far cry from Howl’s beautiful appearance.
This ultimately symbolizes that the true nature of Howl’s inner self is represented by the “Moving Castle” as a collection of junk.
In other words, he isn’t living with any particular conviction, but rather adorns himself with vanity, much like his bloated “Moving Castle,” trying to escape all responsibility.
This fundamental irresponsibility, or perhaps carelessness, led to the tragedy of being “stalked by the Witch of the Waste.” He couldn’t just get involved out of curiosity and leave it at that. Well, I feel a slight bit of sympathy for Howl being stalked by someone like her, but he brought it upon himself.
For such a Howl, Sophie’s appearance must have been a great blessing. He finally found a purpose and meaning in life.
And amidst this, the “Moving Castle” seen at the end of the story, while still retaining a slight ugliness, has been stripped of its useless vanity and shows a highly functional form, suggesting a fundamental change has occurred.
In the story’s finale, since he can no longer use Calcifer like a slave, does this mean the castle is now moved by the combined power of Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer?
In any case, the organized state of the castle seems to strongly reflect Sophie’s influence.
Ultimately, the story can be summarized as “a handsome man, Howl, gets captured by a plain girl,” but Howl wasn’t the only one captured by Sophie. I’ve summarized this in the following article:
What a fearsome woman she is.
Sophie | Voice Actors: Emily Mortimer & Jean Simmons
Sophie’s Basic Information
The other protagonist of the story (or rather, it’s pretty clear she’s the main one). She runs a hat shop inherited from her father (her stepmother is the nominal owner).
While not having any particular complaints, she lives with a sense of unfulfillment.
Because she met Howl, Sophie incurs the vengeful jealousy of the “Witch of the Waste” and is turned into an old woman (it’s all Howl’s fault).
Though momentarily daunted by this situation, she miraculously comes to terms with it at an incredible speed and decides to go to Howl.
The story progresses with Sophie unexpectedly reverting to her younger self from time to time, and it’s one of the joys of watching to think about “what triggers it?” I’ve summarized my personal view in the following article:
What do you all think?
Witch of the Waste | Voice Actor: Lauren Bacall
Witch of the Waste’s Basic Information
A witch who relentlessly pursues Howl after he “got involved with her” in the past.
As for what this “involvement” was… according to producer Toshio Suzuki, she was Howl’s first sexual experience.
It would be a common story if it were Howl who couldn’t forget his first, but for the Witch of the Waste, who took it, to be the one who can’t forget Howl, he must have been a beautiful young man (or boy?) even back then.
And most importantly, it’s significant that there was a time when even the Witch of the Waste was someone Howl would want to get involved with.
Right, Howl? I believe in you.
Calcifer | Voice Actor: Billy Crystal
Calcifer’s Basic Information
A fire demon who is used as the power source for the “Moving Castle” due to a contract with Howl.
He is dissatisfied with being overworked—naturally—and tries to trick Sophie into helping him escape.
Towards the end of the story, his true nature, or rather the details of his contract with Howl, are revealed. It turns out that Howl had given him his heart.
Moreover… it’s revealed that it was Sophie who gave Calcifer his name.
Early in the story, Howl mentioned, “Calcifer listened to you well,” and this was the trick behind it.
“Howl’s Moving Castle” contains elements of a time loop story like this.
Markl | Voice Actor: Josh Hutcherson
Markl’s Basic Information
A resident of Howl’s “Moving Castle.” The circumstances of how he came to live there are not revealed in the movie, but inferring from the story, he might be a “war orphan.”
Markl also has some knowledge of magic, as he is shown transforming into an old man early in the story.
Turnip Head | Voice Actor: Crispin Freeman
Turnip Head’s Basic Information
A mysterious scarecrow who appears from the beginning of the story.
From his first appearance, he seemed to have taken a liking to Sophie, and only at the very, very end is it revealed that he was the prince of the neighboring kingdom.
It seems he was turned into a scarecrow by Suliman, which means she was holding the prince of the neighboring kingdom hostage. But if so, why was the scarecrow in such a random place? Well, perhaps for Suliman, it didn’t matter where he was in the country, but this part remains a mystery to me.
Madame Suliman | Voice Actor: Blythe Danner
Madame Suliman’s Basic Information
Howl’s mentor and the head of the magic school. She is an extremely skilled sorceress and also the Royal Sorceress.
From her first appearance to the end, she is a poker-faced individual who rarely changes her expression, but she is also a person whose true intentions are unknown.
Like the Witch of the Waste, she desires Howl and wishes for him to work as her right-hand man. It seems Howl is indeed a talented wizard.
Heen | Voice Actor: Dee Bradley Baker
Heen’s Basic Information
A dog that, for some reason, started following Sophie when she visited Suliman as Howl’s substitute.
His true identity was a spy for Suliman, but he was eventually captured by Sophie and became a resident of the “Moving Castle.”
Kosho | Voice Actors:(N/A)
Kosho’s Basic Information
Suliman’s attendant Kosho. They are probably wizards.
For some reason, they all have the same face, which leads me to mischievously suspect that this might have been Howl’s appearance in his youth (though his hair color would be different).
Perhaps Suliman, just like the Witch of the Waste, can’t forget “Howl as a man.”
King of Ingary | Voice Actor: Mark Silverman
King of Ingary’s Basic Information
The king who, from the moment he appeared, made me think, “So it’s his fault~.”
He exudes a very innocent atmosphere, but had his personality been just a little different, the war situation would surely have been completely different.
Lettie | Voice Actor: Jena Malone
Lettie’s Basic Information
Sophie’s younger sister who works at a cafe in town. She is also the cafe’s poster girl.
She has a very flashy appearance, the complete opposite of Sophie. However, that may not be what she herself desires.
One could see a contrast there between the sister who can fully play the role of a “poster girl” and Sophie, who cannot bend her own self.
Where does the truth lie?
Honey | Voice Actor: Mari Devon
Honey’s Basic Information
Sophie’s stepmother. She resembles Lettie, but they are not related by blood. She is the formal owner of Sophie’s hat shop.
She seems to leave the shop’s management entirely to Sophie and spends her time having fun… but people become like that when they have some unfulfilled desires.
Think about it: just because she married a hatter doesn’t mean she knows anything about hats or has ever run a business. While her husband was alive, there might have been things she could do, but once he was gone, there was nothing left for her. It’s not unreasonable to think she’d leave it to her eldest daughter, who knows about these things.
In a way, Honey and Sophie are two sides of the same coin; their dissatisfaction and escape routes just manifested differently on the surface.
In other words, everyone has their own story.
The images used in this article are from the “Studio Ghibli Still Images” collection.
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