Howl's Moving Castle throws the audience into a new fantastical world. We open with Sophie Hatter as she's living her normal life, minding the hat shop, while her country is in the middle of war. She's accosted by two soldier's then saved by a mysterious wizard who seems to know her. They fly off into the air, chased by strange ink squid monsters, and then she arrives back at home only to be cursed by the Wicked Witch of the Waste.

All this happens with very little explanation. There is not 'how did we get here' moment. The story and author expect the audience to pay attention and see the little details, hints, and breadcrumbs and piece it together ourselves. Think of inception or any other movie, where the characters spend most of their dialogue explaining to each other (aka the audience) what is happening at each step. Rather than relying on the audience to follow, or simply letting them figure it out.

The characters do a great job of leading the audience through the story. Sophie is a very strong character, and we see after she is cursed she simply wonders off to the waste and makes a deal with Calcifer and lies to Howl to ensure she can stay and work for him. She's a dynamic character who does not simply sit by. It's a fantastic story and one where the writer has high confidence in the audience following the little details in the story and it works to intrigue the audience into seeing the tale to it's end.

Music by Simon Swerwer,
Cuggin's Cove,
Emergence,
Inith and Od Travel North