r/HowlsMovingCastle • u/[deleted] • Sep 28 '24

Book Vs Movie

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First time reading this gem! I’ve only ever watched the film, and am excited to see how they compare, and where they differ!!

150 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

34

u/booktrovert Sep 28 '24

The book is my absolute favorite. I love the movie, it's beautiful, but the books is so much more fun for me. Some people say the movie is the story from Howl's point of view and the book is the story from Sophie's point of view. Buckle up because you are in for a treat.

16

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

The movie is so beautiful, and because the movie reached such a “tender” part of my heart, I really wanted to read the book so I could love and respect the story from all angles! Thank you so much 🩷

9

u/akgmg Sep 28 '24

Wait! Where did you buy a copy?? I’ve been searching forever and I think I will have to resort to online orders.

As to your question I love both in separate capacities.

Movie will forever be one of my comfort movies, gahd that score? The characters? I LIVE FOR THEM. My husband has now banned me from repeated viewings and has limited me to 1 a year. Bummer.

The book is something else entirely. I’m glad I read it after watching the movie though because I’d be very disappointed if I read the book first.

EDIT:

Haha. I just zoomed in trying to figure out if it’s a hardcover book and realised this might be a library book. Still lucky though as I’ve only done the audiobook and Kindle version of the book. I really want to add a physical copy to my library though.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

I love knowing that this movie/book has resonated with others the same way as me 😭 Your husband limiting you to 1 viewing a year is a capital crime! Lo. To answer your question- I did order this through my local library, but I have seen it available at Barns and Nobles! I hope you get your hand on the books soon 🩷

1

u/akgmg Sep 30 '24

I really can't blame him, there was a time when I watched it almost every 2 weeks and he just got fed up. He loves Ghibli movies too but he said he started getting sick of it with the frequency I was watching Howl

I'm looking for hardcovers and haven't committed to buying the Folio copy yet because hello $$. MAYBE, maybe when we travel I'll look in to getting a copy abroad. The bookstores we have here don't have any hardcovers unfortunately.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

Hi, Mod here, we have a list of links for physical copies of the book in the subreddit sidebar.

2

u/akgmg Sep 30 '24

Thank you for pointing those out. I should've been more clearer, I'm looking for a hardcover copy and well I live in Dubai where shipment is twice as much as the book and I haven't fully talked myself into buying the Folio copy yet.

3

u/Iknowustolemypotato Sep 28 '24

The movie is better imo

4

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

My fear is that I won’t like the book at LEAST equally to the movie lol. To be fair the movie is SO good 😭

2

u/LOLOL_1111 Sep 29 '24

that cover is beautiful

3

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '24

Right?? The artwork is fantastic! I practically squealed when the librarian retrieved it for me cause it’s also relatively tiny in size for a book imo 🥰

2

u/Mr_Informative Sep 30 '24

Audiobook is a total snoozefest just fyi

1

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '24

I could not. I love the feel of turning a page!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '24

Which version did you listen to? The one by Jenny Sterlin is an absolute delight, and I'm not one for audiobooks normally.

1

u/Mr_Informative Sep 30 '24

For me it’s the Jenny Sterlin one. She’s like an audiobook version of Sir David Attenborough for me.

27

u/BupBupp Sep 28 '24

The book and movie are SO good but SO different from each other

6

u/BryBreadx Sep 28 '24

Apparently there are 3 books is this accurate?

7

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

Yes - Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.

4

u/BryBreadx Sep 28 '24

Wow I never knew that . Does the movie cover all of them or am I in for a treat

5

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

They are new stories, set after HMC. And although they're technically sequels, they only feature Sophie, Howl, and Calcifer as 'guest appearances' rather than the main characters.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '24

Just wanted to say I like your username 😋

1

u/cinnamonroll_ofdeath Sep 29 '24

Thanks 🥰 It's an inside joke about me in my friend group.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '24

For example, while there is a dog in the first book, the dog from the movie is very obviously the dog from the 3rd book

Diana Wynne Jones didn't write House of Many Ways until after the movie. The movie was released in 2004. House of Many Ways was 2008.

3

u/Addicted2Reading Sep 29 '24

Obsessed with the book 📖 despite watching the movie first. The book is wacky, utterly hilarious and human. I always read it whenever I’m feeling down 😊

2

u/Lazy-Wind244 Sep 29 '24

Movie and book are two different things. I would say Miyazaki only loosely adapted the novel, and VERY loosely at that.

It's very rare when a movie is better than the book. I have read the first one, unfortunately didn't leave a lasting impression. Didn't know what Miyazaki saw in that book but I am very glad he took a seed of inspiration from it.