Howl's Moving CastleMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Howl's Moving Castle."

Gifts + Promos

Fandango Gift Card

Give the gift of movies with Fandango Bucks Gift Certificates! Design your own gift card, or choose from our collection.

Rock of Ages GWP

Buy Rock of Ages tickets to any Regal Theater Showing & receive a FREE song download!

Madagascar 3 Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a wild family getaway to San Diego!

Need Help?
Go
Avg. Critic Score: 80 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
9 OK for kids 9+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Parse it any way you like, Miyazaki's gifts as an animator place him in a category of his own. To see his latest film is to be somehow reminded of Italians who could hear Verdi's operas as soon as they were sung or English readers who could experience the novels of Dickens episode by episode. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    The worldview, the sense of childlike fun shaded with adult melancholy, and the joyful, serene attention to visual oddity and wordless beauty could only be made in Japan. And, specifically, made by Hayao Miyazaki. Read full review

  • 90
    The New York Times | Dana Stevens

    Sophie, in both her incarnations, joins an impressive sisterhood of Miyazaki heroines, whose version of girl power presents a potent alternative to the mini-machismo that dominates American juvenile entertainment. Not that children are the only viewers likely to be haunted and beguiled by Howl's Moving Castle - all that is needed are open eyes and an open heart. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    There's a word for the kind of comic, dramatic, romantic, transporting visions Miyazaki achieves in Howl's: bliss. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Clever and often enchanting. Read full review

  • 80
    Variety | David Rooney

    The tireless volley of ideas and inventions make this a delight that should connect with kids and adults in both dubbed and original-language versions. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    A wise and wonderful parable. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Richard James Havis

    Consequently, though it's difficult to work out what's going on, it's never boring. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    While the movie contains delights and inventions without pause and has undeniable charm, while it is always wonderful to watch, while it has the Miyazaki visual wonderment, it's a disappointment, compared to his recent work. Read full review

  • 20
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    Miyazaki, like an evil sorcerer, has plucked the heart out of Jones's story and left it there to die. Read full review

View more reviews for Howl's Moving Castle on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 9+ Charming Miyazaki fairy tale for tweens and up.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie includes mildly scary figures (featureless blob-men, wraithlike wizards, explosions and war scenes) and a couple of dark night scenes. Its primary imagery is magical and whimsical, including the rather charming titular castle, which clatters and wheezes, walking on mechanical legs.
  • Families can talk about this movie's basic themes: appearances can be deceiving, inner selves are more important than what you look like, and generosity (what the movie refers to as "heart") ensures that good will, eventually, be done. How does the movie define family? What does it mean to grow old, whether magically or naturally?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: Howl must learn to be generous; witches are mean.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Explosions and war scenes (no bodies), some mildly scary blob-men.
  • sex false0 Sex: Not an issue
  • language false0 Language: Very mild.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Howl's Moving Castle Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

Go 820 fan reviews

Critics say

Go See all critic reviews

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook