Sophie and Howl

Howl’s Movie Castle is a Japanese animated fantasy film that was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. The film, which is set in a fictional kingdom, tells the story of Sophie, a young hatter who became an old woman following a curse by a witch. Sophie is the main character in this Japanese animated fantasy film, which includes other main characters like Howl. Prior her turning into an old woman by a witch’s curse, Sophie was a young woman living in Market Chipping, a small town in the fictional kingdom of Ingary (Suzuki & Miyazaki, 2004). Since she lived in this fictional kingdom of Ingary, Sophie was predestined to never discover her fortune. On the contrary, Howl is a powerful wizard living in the same fictional kingdom of Ingary. While he was initially known as Howell Jenkins of Wales, Howl is one of the loose fraternity of wizards in this fictional film.

Even though Sophie and Howl lived in the same land of Ingary, there are some significant differences between them as shown in the film. The first difference between these two main characters is their self-confidence as they live their lives in Ingary. Sophie was initially reserved and lacking self-confidence while Howl is confident throughout the film. While Sophie became more confident and strong-minded after being turned into an old woman, Howl is confident throughout because of his natural talent for magic. Secondly, while Sophie had a habit of being impulsive in her actions and was constantly feeling guilty after doing a wrong thing, Howl had a tendency of going out with girls and jilting them and did not feel guilty of his actions. Third, Howl was aware of his magical talent and powers while still young and began studying it to an extent that he wrote his college thesis on magical charms and spells. On the contrary, Sophie discovered that she possessed magical abilities and powers later in life and used them unwittingly.

Reference

Suzuki, T. (Producer), & Miyazaki, H. (Director). (2004). Howl’s Moving Castle [Film]. Japan: Studio Ghibli.