Hal's Moving Castle is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British writer Diana Wayne Jones, "Hall's Moving Castle" (also translated as "Magic Castle"), and also refers to Hal as Hall in the Taiwanese version of Chinese dubbing. I have not read the novel, but according to what I know, the animation does not match the novel by more than 30%. This article is only interpreted in terms of what is in this animation.
Many people who have seen this animation find it difficult to understand, and I think there are two reasons. The first is because the template of the animation comes from Western novels, due to the difference in thinking between the Eastern and Western cultures, it may be slightly difficult to understand when watching this animation; the second most important thing is because Miyazaki has embedded a lot of metaphors in this animation, and it is necessary to understand these metaphors to understand the meaning that this animation wants to express, and the ideas that Miyazaki wants to convey in this animation. These metaphors include the hatred of war, the understanding of life, the shackles of fate, the regurgitation of greed, the will of class and power, and the theme of the animation: love and growth, love requires courage and confidence in oneself. Miyazaki uses his own animation language and expressiveness, as well as his usual delicate techniques, to fuse these metaphors together, and through this animation, presents them to the audience.
Because this animation is based on the novel of Diana Wayne Jones, and Miyazaki was filmed and copied by the team at the junction of France and Germany at the beginning of the creation of this animation, the characters, dress, architecture, etc. in the animation are all European styles. For example, the town where Sophie lives is filmed in Heidelberg, Germany, and the architectural style of the town in the animation is taken from the street scene of the Alsace region of France.
Heidelberg, Germany
The town where Sophie lives in Hal's Moving Castle
Street view of the small town of Alsace, France
Sophie's hat shop in Hal's Moving Castle
=======I am the lovely dividing line ============================================
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="20" > the background of the animation era - war</h1>
In the animation, Hal and Sophie's Kingdom of Kimberly is at war with neighboring countries, and war posters and recruitment notices can be seen on the streets, and planes flying in the air are also conducting war propaganda.
War posters in the alley
The war declared outside Jenkins Harbor Cottage
The reason is that the neighboring prince is missing, and the neighboring country suspects that the Kimberly Kingdom sent someone to secretly capture the prince, what reminds us of it? Is it reminiscent of the protagonist of the "Sarajevo Incident", the protagonist of the First World War, Archduke Ferdinand? Archduke Ferdinand was the eldest son of the younger brother of the then Emperor of austria-Hungary. As a result of the suicide of Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, he became the heir to the throne at that time.
He was assassinated during a visit to Sarajevo in June 1914. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia and World War I began. This is the background of the era that this animation draws on.
World War I European territory (Alsace-Lorraine and Heidelberg in Germany are the filming locations for this animation)
Archduke Ferdinand
The emblems of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I basically contained the double-headed eagle logo, similar to the logo on the soldier's hat in the anime
The eagle-shaped logo on the general's hat in the anime
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > growth, love, and courage.[</h1>
The heroine Sophie runs a hat shop, the work of the whole day is to sew hats, in addition to no interest in other things, life is monotonous, in today's words is very Buddhist, belongs to the lying flat family. A young girl who is in a good age of vitality has an aging heart. Miyazaki's metaphors for it are growth, love and courage.
Everyone invites her to the party, and Sophie is making hats;
The girls in the shop are chattering and dressing, and Sophie is making hats;
The girls are discussing the heart-eating Hal, Sophie is still making hats...
The clothes and attire are also different from the vivid colors of young girls, especially with their sister Letty, which is more contrasting.
Letty (left) and Sophie (right)
Is it that she doesn't love beauty? Obviously not, the animation's inner description of Sophie implies that she is actually an inferior mushroom, and the cause may have a certain relationship with her life state, personality and family composition. Sophie's father died early, and her mother remarried several times (not explained in the anime, but it can be known according to the plot). Personality is the main reason.
Being teased by soldiers in the alley, calling her a "cute little mouse", you can see that it is indeed a beautiful mushroom cold. And thus also met Hal and helped her break the siege, you know, according to legend, Hal is only interested in beautiful women.
Flying sister skills, hurry up and learn!
After being cast by a witch of the wilderness, Sophie transforms into a 90-year-old woman.
There is no one who is not afraid of aging, which means the passing of life, but Sophie can quickly accept reality in just one night.
As the saying goes, the curse of the Wilderness Witch only makes her old age superficial.
One night later, she made a decision that matched her "90-year-old" age — to wander the wilderness. Therefore, he entered Hal's castle.
And unknowingly, he brings another of the Wilderness Witch's spells to Hal, which causes Hal's heart to finally be obtained by the Wilderness Witch. After all, the Wilderness Witch has one of the most bullish mechanisms, that is, it will only cast spells and will not be lifted (not to understand, it is that she does not know how to solve it), so the spell is almost necessary.
The Witch of the Wild's spell was attached to Hal through Sophie's hand
If a person wants to change, but it is not so easy to change from himself, the best way is to change the environment.
The so-called unbroken, with a new environment, change may begin quietly. Whether it's cleaning, or the Lake of Stars, which makes people feel pure, there are new friends Maruk and Kashifa.
At the same time, her understanding of Hal slowly deepened, and Sophie gradually saw her feelings for Hal and the bud of love. But the crux of the matter is not that she feels or does not feel love, but that she cannot overcome her inferiority, and what she lacks is courage.
At least three times in the anime, Sophie's lack of courage is shown.
The first time was when the palace was against Sulliman, and the courage provided by the step-by-step momentum was beaten back to its original form by Sulliman's words;
The second time was in a dream I saw Hal turn into a monster and wanted to help him, but Hal's answer was that you couldn't even lift the spell on your body, how can you help me?
The third time hal had opened his heart completely and welcomed her to the deepest secret cabin of his heart, but she was afraid, she still did not have the courage, afraid of getting, and even more afraid of losing after getting.
Until she witnessed Hal holding the bomb to slow down and almost die on the spot in order to avoid being hit by the bomb. And the most touching sentence about love in this animation: "I have escaped enough over the years, and there is a person around who must be guarded, that is you." Only then did she completely pluck up the courage from the heart and drive away the inferiority complex. From this place, Sophie never changes into an old woman again, indicating that the spell given to her by the Wilderness Witch has been lifted.
Because the base of the animation is a Western novel, the storyline also has a strong Western feature. For example, there are a lot of Kiss shots in the late animation, after all, there is nothing that a Kiss can't solve.
How can the smell of love be compared to the fragrance of my single dog? Hahaha ~ (bitter)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="41" > fate and rebellion</h1>
Hal, the other protagonist, was forced to make a vow when he entered the wizarding school as a child that he must serve the Empire. The metaphor for Hal is the same as that of Sophie, but Miyazaki also gave Hal fate and resistance to express the persecution of the people by war and his own anti-war ideas. At the same time, it also reflects the Japanese fascists who began to instill militaristic ideas in their children from an early age.
Bind Hal's contract
In this magical animation, Hal concludes a contract with the "Fire Demon" Cassifah in order to rebel against the Oath of the Empire, and the content of the contract is not explained in the animation, but it can be roughly judged according to the animation: the Flame Demon can help Hal get rid of the oath to the Empire, so that he can obtain magic that can fight against the Empire, at the cost of Hal sacrificing his heart and being isolated, becoming wandering everywhere and rootless; Casifa obtains Hal's heart as his carrier to avoid falling and dying. Cassifa was originally the Son of the Stars, but under the guidance of fate, he had to find a carrier, and no matter how brilliant the light was, it could only exist for a moment, and many of his brothers and sisters fell because they did not find a carrier. But the price is the loss of freedom and the need to obey Hal's will.
Hal and Cassifah's pact
Even demons are afraid of death and cannot escape the shackles of fate.
So Cassifah is Hal's heart, losing his freedom, and he can only stay in the hearth. The whole castle can be seen as a shell that Hal built for his own heart, hiding his heart.
Those chimneys can be seen as blood vessels in and out of the heart, and if you look closely, you will find several gun barrels, in order to show the meaning of not being close to people?
The name of the animation is "Hal's Moving Castle", which is actually a sad name.
Castle wandering in the wilderness means being isolated, isolated because of opposition to war, which can be seen from the cheers of the people at the beginning of the animation, and if there are people against the current in the general environment, then they can only be isolated.
The cheers of the people for the war
Why a castle and not something else?
Because the castle is gorgeous enough, at least the shape is very camouflaged, because the things that each of us deliberately shows in our hearts are powerful and gorgeous, who will show their own unworthiness?
Sadness is hidden~
And a castle, big enough and empty enough, can contain enough grievances, enough fear. It's like the all kinds of debris in the castle, the ubiquitous cobwebs, the dark and closed environment, and the ashes in the hearth that have not been cleaned up for an unknown amount of time.
How many people put a solid shell on their hearts, living in the disguise of the self, for fear of being seen through.
Sophie is inferior and has no self-confidence and courage.
Hal, on the other hand, is timid, helpless, and is isolated. Whether it is the identity of Pendlaken in the Royal City, or the wizard Jenkins on the other side of Harbor City, it is a false identity that he uses to escape being recruited by the kingdom and searched by the Wilderness Witch.
Hal's Pendlaken Mansion
The theme of this anime is love and growth
Therefore, the main theme of the entire animation is actually to depict the story of two protagonists who complement each other in the face of their own life defects, face the problem step by step, encourage and help each other, and finally overcome themselves to maturity. And love, which begins in obscurity, is the best carrier of growth.
(ps: If there are babies who are reading this article and are still in school, I would like to tell you that there is nothing wrong with liking someone, and even you feel that it is already love. But let this beauty become the driving force for you to encourage each other and make progress with each other, what is more exciting than two people who love each other and fight together? If he doesn't like you, don't be discouraged, do yourself well, learn to go up every day, and let yourself shine, then there will definitely be another ray of light that shines with you! ）
Hal's change in the anime begins with the confrontation with Sulliman in the palace, and you must know how afraid OfHar was before, and he couldn't hide. But because of Sophie, he took that step.
When he brought Sophie the hut that his uncle had left to him, hiding the secrets of his childhood and the pact with Casifah, Hal had fully confirmed that Sophie was the one he was to protect.
Hal pretends to be the king and goes to see Sulliman as agreed
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="65" > greed, sorrow, and self-redemption</h1>
There is also a very important character in the animation - the Wild Witch. The metaphor Miyazaki gives to the Wilderness Witch is greed and sorrow, and of course, gives her a happy ending at the end of the story.
In the alley, Sophie and Hal are connected by Hal's siege, and the Witch of the Wild is always looking for Hal, and she covets Hal's heart.
The Wilderness Witch was once a talented magician and held a position in the court.
In the anime, after the Wilderness Witch enters the palace, she sees her former rights, the chair that belongs to her.
The once glorious portrayal of the Wilderness Witch - a seat at the court
However, due to the excessive pursuit of magic, he loses his heart in order to become more powerful and trades with demons. She gains powerful magic, but at a heavier cost, and she needs to constantly replenish her strength with a fresh, energetic heart, and the more the heart eats, the less effective it is, and once her magic is not sustained, it will double the aging. Of course, she was also expelled from the palace.
She casts a spell on Sophie, turning Sophie into an old woman, and brings the spell to Hal through Sophie
"You chaser of shooting stars, heartless sac, your heart is my sac"
"Ming chased the fire, dark tears, Ru heart my things", Hal could not eliminate this spell
The Wilderness Witch is aware of Hal's secrets, and thinks that Hal is the one who traded with the devil like her.
The Wilderness Witch has been chasing magic all her life, but unfortunately, she has misdemeanored, ruined herself and affected others, and after Sulliman forcibly abolished her magic, she is much older than 90-year-old Sophie, and she has overdrawn her life in advance, which is why she is more eager to get Hal's heart.
There is no one who is not afraid of aging, so she has always been obsessed with getting Hal's heart. Because Hal's heart is the most vibrant and has powerful magic.
In the anime, whenever the Wilderness Witch looks at Cassifah, Cassifa feels hairy all over her body. Although the Wilderness Witch has lost her magic, the underworld contract still makes her pay special attention to Cassifah, repeatedly praising Kasifa as "such a beautiful fire".
At the end of the film, although she is still very reluctant to Hal's heart, she finally gives her heart to Sophie.
She said to Sophie, "Do you really want that much?" Then you have to cherish it! ”
This was said not only to Sophie, but also to herself. The moment she gives her heart to Sophie, she completes her redemption, and the magic that remains on Hal disappears.
"Do you really want that much?" Then you have to cherish it! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="83" > class, war, and will to power [Sulliman and the King</h1>].
Shaliman, the chief magician of the palace, is also Hal's teacher. She has been looking for Hal and wants hal to use it for herself. Hal was her last closed disciple and the most gifted one.
Although Hal has the power of a fire demon, he is still not a rival to his teacher, as can be seen from the fact that Sulliman can easily abolish the magic of the Wilderness Witch.
Sulliman is the epitome of the royal family, and the metaphor that Miyazaki gave to Sulliman and the royal family is class and the will to power.
The kingdom's chief magician, Shaliman, Hal's teacher
Even the Wilderness Witch had to honestly climb the stairs when entering the palace.
The foundation of the palace alone is higher than the roof of other houses.
Sulliman describes Hal's rebellion for freedom as having been taken away by a demon and cast magic only for his own benefit. While slandering Hal, he tried to woo him.
If Hal can't use it, then the fate of the Wilderness Witch is an example, she will abolish Hal's magic.
It seems that even a teacher will not show mercy to his disciples. Know that Sallyman's magic has reached the point where he can control the Children of the Stars.
Thanks to Sophie's help, the two fled the palace, but on the other side, both Jenkins and Penderakon's residence had been raided. It can be seen that Sallyman has always been aware of Hal's whereabouts. Even if Hal escapes from the palace, he will send his mute dog "Inin" to spy on him.
The Great Wizard Jenkins' home of the great wizard Jenkins was raided
This also reflects that under the domination of the will of power, no one can hide.
The war waged by the will of the powerful also affected everyone, and no one was spared. Whether it is the town where Sophie lives, or the coast of the south, or the border of the north, it is all a sea of fire.
War destroyed everything. Hal can only try to stop it in his own way (both his own and the enemy's war machine will be destroyed), but the price is not enough. A war between nations cannot be prevented by the power of a small magician, which may also be what the animation wants to express - the power of the individual is too small.
On the contrary, he was often scarred during the battle.
In the anime, Hal takes a shower with a lot of hot water every time he returns from injury, which is actually a metaphor for washing away the pain caused by the war. However, can the damage caused by war be washed away with water?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="99" > other interesting aspects of the animation</h1>
1. Smiling and crying faces
There was a fire frame in the hearth where Cassifa was located, and the two little people on the fire rack, one crying face and one smiling face, this detail is very interesting. At the end of the anime, when Sophie presses Cassifah to Hal's chest, Cassifah tells her that he has always remained the same as Hal was when he was a child, in other words, Cassifah is not only Hal's heart, but also a portrayal of Hal's childlike heart. So how simple is the world of children? - Laugh when you are happy, cry when you are not happy, it is as simple as that.
Two small figures in front of the hearth, one crying and one smiling
Hal's room was full of magical toys, and it was exactly a child's room
2. Sophie's encouragement
Sophie saw the sight of the castle as it moved from above while cleaning the castle, and praised Casifa's magic as it was first-class. Cassifa was instantly encouraged, the work was energetic, and the castle ran much faster.
It can be seen that a word of encouragement and an affirmation are also very powerful.
Kasifa was encouraged by Sophie to work harder
3. Hal's Castle Gate
The most amazing thing in the anime is probably the door of Hal Castle, and when Thirty first watched this anime, he was really amazed by the design of this door (forgive me for being a guy who has never seen the world).
The doors come in four colors:
Blue is the Jenkins Hut teleported to Harbour City (located to the little house left to him by his uncle after being destroyed)
Red is teleported to the Pandaken Mansion in the Royal City (located to Sophie's Hat Shop after being destroyed)
Green is the actual location of the castle
Black is Hal's inner place of self-healing and the passage through which war is stopped
The magical portal of Hal Castle
4. It is human nature to change one's mind
The scarecrow "turnip" in the anime, whose real identity is the disappeared prince of a neighboring country, is cursed by a spell to become a scarecrow. Fell in love with Sophie during the process with Sophie. And if his spell wants to be lifted, he needs the kiss of his favorite person (the ten thousand year terrier of the Western fairy tale frog prince).
After Sophie's kiss, he finally returned to his original appearance, and at the same time expressed his admiration for Sophie. However, Sophie's heart is on Hal, and she has no time to deal with him.
However, the prince uttered an intriguing sentence: It is common for people to change their minds. This means that he will come back to Sophie after he goes back to stop the war.
Who says Prince Ben can't impress the goddess? I'm the son of a king!!
However, the Wilderness Witch is also very interested in this prince, I don't know if the prince will change his mind to like the Wilderness Witch? (hahaha)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="130" ends ></h1>
Released in Japan in November 2004, Hal's Moving Castle is the second highest grossing of any Studio Ghibli work (some say third, similar to another Miyazaki anime, Princess Mononoke), and even in the top 10 of all Japanese films.
In this anime, Miyazaki actually tells people what magic is, the most obvious of which is the dialogue between Hal and Sulliman when he disguises himself as a king in the palace:
Hal: "It's true that this palace won't be attacked by enemy forces because of Sulliman's magic, but bombs will fall on the surrounding towns, and magic is just that, right?" “
Sulliman: "Your Majesty is really talkative today!" “
The so-called magic is that you get the magic, but its side effects will destroy more things, and it will also eat yourself, and eventually it will not be worth the loss.
Sulliman's magic protects the palace, but bombs fall on surrounding towns;
In order to obtain higher magic, the Wilderness Witch has lost her heart, and can only continue her life by eating her heart;
Hal trades with the Fire Devil at the cost of losing his heart
Whether it is the magic of good or the magic of evil, there is a price.
Magic is nothing but a transformative relationship.
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