Scene Analysis for Howl’s Moving Castle, Flower Field scene
Growing up, this movie has held a special place in my heart. It is one of the movies that has contributed to my interests in filmmaking and animation. This movie was released back in 2004 and still holds up well, as do most of the movies produced by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. This movie also has underlying themes of being anti-war, influenced by Miyazaki's, director of howl’s moving castle, distaste of the united states’ invasion of Iraq in 2003. Set in a fantasy kingdom where both magic and early 20th-century technology are prevalent, the movie follows a young girl named Sophie Hatter, who was cursed by the witch of the waste to be a ninety-year-old woman. Realizing that no one was going to break the curse for her, she sets out on a mission to break the curse herself. Eventually, she comes across the moving castle of the mysterious, reclusive wizard, Howl Jenkins, and begins working for him as his housemaid while trying to find a way to break her curse and the curse that howl is under as well. Much like the other films produced by Studio Ghibli, the film was produced digitally, but the original backgrounds were drawn by hand and painted before being digitized, and the characters were also drawn by hand before scanning them into the computer. This is the style that Studio Ghibli uses most and many other examples of their creative and beautiful aesthetic can be seen in their many other well-known movies. However, I think Howl’s Moving Castle might be one of the best examples of what they can do at Studio Ghibli.
At this point of the movie of the scene I have chosen, the war occurring between the neighboring kingdoms has progressed into more of an artistic dramatization where the neighboring kingdom’s king has been trying to summon Howl, as well as other witches and wizards in the kingdom, to fight in the war. After running away from this for a long time, Howl decides to make the castle more fitting for Sophie while he is gone, all the while thinking that he might not be able to return to the castle due to his curse getting worse. This scene shows Howl taking Sophie to a special flower field, where he had grown up, as a gift for her to remember him by. As the scene plays out, he shows her this beautiful landscape that he had opened for Sophie to enjoy as well. Overall it can be seen as very romantic until the end which focuses on the reality they are facing with the dramatic entrance of flying warships from both neighboring kingdoms as the ships intrude into the beautiful scenery.
One of the first things that I always tend to notice about this scene is the music. During this scene, the main score begins to build and plays as a non-diegetic motif to showcase the importance of the scene as this score occurs in multiple scenes in this movie in such a way. It builds up as the scene progresses showing the beautiful landscape of the flower field. The score in this scene, however, is being played in a softer tune to add an almost romantic feel to it as this movie is technically a more romantic-centered movie compared to other movies Studio Ghibli had produced before this one. In my opinion, not only is the main score of this movie a perfect accompaniment to the plot with its whimsical feel from the orchestra of violins, piano, and cellos, it also plays a big part in highlighting the relationship between Sophie and Howl. The main score plays for the first time when Howl and Sophie meet after Howl saves her from some men who were harassing her. It continues to play whenever an important scene between Sophie and Howl happens. With its whimsical and romantic feelings, it brings together both of their characters and personalities. The whimsical and dramatic parts of the score are fitted more into Howl's character and how he can be over the top and act before he thinks with his magic and with how he reacts to things. The more romantic and calming parts of the score are a reflection of how Sophie reacts calmly to most of the situations that occur around her.
Another clear intention from the creators of this movie is how Sophie’s age changes throughout the scene. Throughout the movie, this physical age change happens during pivotal and deeply emotional scenes. However, this scene specifically has the most instances where this happens to Sophie. It’s never clearly stated as to why the age she resembles shifts throughout the movie, however, it is suggested that in the movie adaptation that she changes depending on how she is expressing her love for Howl. As the scene goes on and they both walk through the field of the flowers, there are shots specifically not showing either of their faces until an above shot of Sophie turning around happily as her younger self. You do not see Howl’s face for a little while after that but you can still hear his voice. They specifically show only Sophie because at the moment the scene is acknowledging very clearly how much her curse changes the way she looks and how close she is to breaking it. By the end of the scene, she is turning back into her older self, and the way they choose to show it was intentional. The shot is an over-the-shoulder shot of Sophie while Howl watches her. The subtle movements as we watch Sophie hunch down, reflect her age changing back to older and illustrated her discouragement and being unsure of her relationship with Howl even with him reassuring her that he thinks she is beautiful. This makes each shot of her changing between ages in this scene meaningful.
Visually most of the shots in this scene are meant to show off the beautiful scenery that was hand-painted. However, it also works as a good scene to show how much Sophie does mean to Howl. Throughout the movie, Howl seems to be in his little world trying to work and do things all by himself because that was what he grew up doing. Even in this scene, he is still trying to hide things from Sophie by fixing everything and making a peace-filled place for her without him. At this point in the movie, he has been running away from things and trying to do things on his own without any regard for other people. Now he has someone important to him and something he wants to fight for, so knowing he might not be able to be there for her, he still wants to make something for her to remember him. He even states that he used his magic to make the scenery full of flowers and bright colors so Sophie could come to look at them and even suggests that this place he creates will help distract her from him being gone. Not only did he make a special place for Sophie to come to, but it replicates where he grew up living as a young child. It’s another way of him showing her how important she is to him by bringing her to a place that is just as important to him. Although he is still keeping his distance by not letting her know what is going to happen, he is letting her into his world more than he has done with anyone else before.
The different varieties of colors and vastness of the landscape play a big part in making this scene a little more romantic. The coloring for each flower and strand of grass with soft tints of the colors like white and pink are closely related to the idea of romance regardless of the culture the movie was made in. While the clouds and blue sky moving in the background of each shot make the scene soft along with the score being played work well to set the mood, the color palette also emphasizes the mood for each character. The coloring was explicitly enhanced so it does not overshadow or detract from the main point of this scene which is Sophie and Howl. The specific shots looking up at Sophie and Howl show how the world is continually changing and moving while they are having this moment together. As the scene goes on, the coloring is still there however, once the war machines fly over, the scenery seems to lose its vastness and the two characters become very small compared to the world by the end.
Continuing to discuss the ending of the scene, the sound and music make a big change as Howl notices the war machine. You can tell the mood has shifted before they even show what Howl is looking at. After Sophie transforms back to the older version of herself and Howl begins to notice something off in the distance, the beautiful score disappears completely from the scene as all you can hear is the loud sound of the warships flying above them. Sound design-wise, this seems to be very intentional as not only does it clearly shift the characters attention from each other to the war that is looming over them, but it also helps the audience know that the romantic mood is over and there is a bigger issue than Sophie and Howl’s relationship. Not only do the visuals indicate a shift in the narrative of the warships becoming bigger and making both characters seem small, but also the sound design helps further the point.
Overall, there are some big points in this scene that reflect both Sophie and Howl’s character development and the relationship between one another. The passion of Hayao Miyazaki, the director, and all the people that had to work and make this movie adaptation is shown clearly through the visuals and design of each shot in just this scene alone. Even Miyazaki said in 2013 that this film was his favorite creation, explaining "I wanted to convey the message that life is worth living.” This scene is a clear example of their work through the sound design, color combinations, scenery, and attention to detail.