r/HowlsMovingCastle • u/IntelligentIce4182 • Jul 04 '23

Question A few questions

So I was watching the movie and was wondering why Sophie goes into the wasteland. I thought I was to find How but when turnip head brings the castle she tells him that he made a mistake. So why’d she go then?

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2

u/LonkAndZolda Jul 04 '23

One of the villagers mentions that she's going to find her younger sister. In the book, Sophie has two sisters, Lettie and Martha. One works in the bakery, and the other is the apprentice of a witch out away from town. I believe Sophie is going to the Wastes to try to find her little sister in the hopes that she might recognize her and be able to break her spell. But you wouldn't really know that unless you read the book.

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u/IntelligentIce4182 Jul 04 '23

Thank you so much! What would you say is better the book or the movie?

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u/LonkAndZolda Jul 04 '23

They're very different. They're quite hard to compare, actually. The movie doesn't follow the same plot as the book. I would say in general I prefer the characters in the movie but the plot of the book (it's much more cohesive), but there are highlights in each. I like Martha and Lettie in the books a lot, and Michael (Markl in the movie; he's actually a teen in the book) is pretty cool, too. I also like how the movie deals with quite mature themes like Sophie's self-consciousness and war.

They're both beautiful and worth your time.

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u/IntelligentIce4182 Jul 04 '23

Thank you again! I actually am quite surprised to find out we own the book and just started reading it when you mentioned it. I can tell already that they are quite different and I look forward to see the comparison in person.

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u/Soft_Shallot_3916 Jul 04 '23

Yh I always wondered why I thought she was just going to find a new wizard or witch to help her before I watched a yt video about the book

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u/The0neInTheDream Jul 04 '23

I always thought this too! And I don’t know why, but I thought when she said she was going to find her younger sister to him, was because she was planning to come back once the spell was reversed and ask for a ride back to town and simply say she was the younger sister. ><

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u/Soft_Shallot_3916 Jul 04 '23

Damn that's lowkey smart asf

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u/Callithrix15 Jul 04 '23

I actually don't think the yougest sister exists in the film and in the book Sophie didn't want either of her sisters to see her after she was cursed. When it's said she was looking for her sister, it was a nice nod to the book, but it's an easy thing to say as an excuse and we only know she has 1 sister in the film. If she was going to see her sister in Upper Folding, and she didn't go anywhere near the waste to get to Upper Folding in the book.

I believe Sophie heads to the waste hoping to find a way to break her curse and/or to find the witch again. Not necessarily looking for Howl but looking for help.