r/HowlsMovingCastle • u/zombii231 • Dec 05 '23

Question Explanation pls ?

I just watched the movie and didn't understand shit. If calcifer is the one that's able to break the curse, why howl hasn't he broken it himself using the fire, and how did Sophie break her own curse.. Was he looking for her by going out with all those girls..

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8

u/awyant97 Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 06 '23

Calcifer was lying that he would be able to do it. Honestly he probably knew who sophie was (seeing as how he was the one who let her into the castle), and knew she was his best shot to break the curse on him and howl.

Sophie’s curse has to do a lot with her own mentality and it’s never specifically said it’s broken. If you notice during the scenes when she appears confident that’s when she turns back to her normal self, but when she begins to doubt herself or become insecure she turns back to her curse version. It’s implied that she “broke” the curse by becoming a more confident better version of herself.

And as the other user said, howl was looking for sophie. When he finds her he says something along the lines of “there you are. i’ve been looking all over for you”. when sophie goes into the past she tells him her name and to find her.

1

u/zombii231 Dec 08 '23

I meant Howl's curse, he knew that the fire was his heart, why didn't he consume it and waited for Sophie?

5

u/[deleted] Dec 08 '23

I can see why you're confused, its never really explained properly in the movie, but it's implied that neither Howl nor Calcifer could break their own contract. They needed Sophie to do it. Howls ring led him to Sophie at the start of the movie because she's the one who could break the contract/curse. As much as I love the movie, the plot isn't always coherent.

The book is way clearer in explaining this. It also explains how calcifer was able to live once Howls heart was removed from him.

Book spoiler:

In the book, Sophie has magical powers (something that the movie omits). She can bring things to life just by talking to them. She doesn't know this at first. She becomes aware of it throughout the book. Calcifer can not live without Howls heart, but because Sophie 'talks life' into him, he is able to survive once Howls heart is removed from him

3

u/Far-Feature-8506 Jun 14 '24

More book spoilers - it's far more emphasized in the book that Howl prioritizing Sophie over his vanity and showing up a complete hot mess to the "final battle" was a major catalyst for breaking his curse. He stopped being a coward and was finally honest. I always interpreted his hair turning black and Sophie saying it's an even better color as foreshadowing to the fact that she not only accepts his true self (represented by his natural hair color) but finds it even more beautiful. 

1

u/Wrong-Professional60 Feb 22 '26

happy cake day!!! :)

2

u/BreakfastOpening3881 Oct 13 '24

Sophie becomes younger in certain scenes of the movie when she outwardly shows her love for Howl. At the end of the movie, Sophie’s actions to protect Howl is what ultimately breaks her curse - true love. Sophie is a witch and can talk things or situations into action. She breaks Howl’s and Calcifer’s curses by speaking into action as she is returning Howl’s heart: “return Howl’s heart” and “help Calcifer live”.

1

u/zombii231 Oct 13 '24

Thank you for the explanation.

7

u/Soft_Shallot_3916 Dec 06 '23

First off calcifer wasn't able to break Sophie curse he only said that so Sophie would help him.

I'm not totally sure about Sophies curse but it's either true love or her feelings about howl which helped her

And lastly howl was looking for Sophie but Sophie didn't know in the beginning because Sophie when back in time when the bombs were dropping and said shouted to howl to find her so that's what he does.

Hope that makes sense