9 - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

IMDb Rating: 8.1/10 (90788 votes)

Also known as: Hauru no ugoku shiro (original title)

Country: Japan, 119 minutes

Spoken Languages: Japanese

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Romance

Director(s): Hayao Miyazaki

Cast: Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Emily Mortimer

Medium: Original DVD

Plot Outline: A love story between an 18-year-old girl named Sofî, cursed by a witch into an old woman's body, and a magician named Hauru. Under the curse, Sofî sets out to seek her fortune, which takes her to Hauru's strange moving castle. In the castle, Sophie meets Hauru's fire demon, named Karishifâ. Seeing that she is under a curse, the demon makes a deal with Sophie--if she breaks the contract he is under with Hauru, then Karushifâ will lift the curse that Sophie is under, and she will return to her 18-year-old shape.

Location: Ghibli

Loaned: No