I never got the chance to read the book - my school library had it, but I was busy reading things for AP Lit. So I didn't get to read it - but my friend did - she said it was...weird. But I loved the movie - so someday I'll read the book despite how different they are.

• GEEKER HAS A THEORY. : D
  
  Ehem.
  As some of us may know, Jones wrote two Howl-related books: Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air. (Not SKY, AIR. Pay attention kiddies. :3) I read many complaints about how Miyazaki transformed the movie to have a war and the what-not, and how the differences from the book made the movie a really bad adaption. Well, Geeker has a small theory on Miyazaki's thought process.
  
  For those of you who've read Castle in the Air, THAT is the book that has to do with the disappearance of a prince, a war with neighboring countries with the use of magic on Ingary's side, etc., etc.. Is it possible that Miyazaki combined that with Howl's Moving Castle and added a few of his own elements, like the airships and the crazy Howl beast? I think it is.
  
  Ehem.
  You're hearing all of this from an obsessed 13-year-old, do remember. ; )
  
  Edit
  Also, I think that Madam Suliman is a combo of Mrs. Pentstemmon and Ben Suliman.
  But that's just me.

Originally Posted by Eimi

I didnt even know that there was a book..but i loved the movie so much..and i love the music too..i love Joe Hisaishi as a composer...but now that i know there is a book series i will definitely go out and buy and read it..did you find it in the fantasy section? or is it a manga?

its in the teen section in my book store

Movie, definitely. >.> Howl looks prettier.

I've never read the book, but I looked it up on Wikipedia, and apparently, it is REALLY different. After reading that article, I think I would have liked it more if Miyazaki made them more "true" to their characters--instead, he made Sophie and Howl seem less selfish; but then again, he's a master of those fantasy/supernatural/happy ending things, and it would seem a bit out of character if he made them all evil.

Now I want to read the book, if only so I can compare it ._.

@Eimi: It's not manga--I believe it's categorized as fantasy or young adults, and it is written by the British author Diana Wynne Jones.

I have seen the movie, but haven't read the book.
I loved the movie though. :D

I haven't have had a chance to red the book yet, but I have seen the movie and I just loved it. I love the character designs and the plot was lovely, I can't wait untill I do read the book.

Mm, I do love most of Miyazaki's character designs. Although, granted, Howl's Moving Castle isn't really his...^^; It's still a pretty good take.

I liked the book better than the movie because the book is more involved and just has more to the story (like books usually do). I also liked the way the story went in the book better then how it went in the movie.

I love Hayao Miyazaki films though and I did like his version of the moving castle better than the books. He made Howl darn attractive too. ^^

I read the book before I ever even knew that the movie existed, but it was still awesome to see the movie and I own it.

I hope that Hayao Miyazaki never retires. I hope that his son Goro makes some good movies as well and I just wish that it wouldn't take so long for their movies to reach America.

I actually prefer the movie. I'm always biased towards the medium in which I first see a subject, and Howl was originally seen at theatres. Wasn't until about 6 months later that I got the book.

Both were good, but I honestly wasn't a huge fan of Diana Wynn Jones' style of prose. Everyone and everyone just felt sort of... stiff.

So film for me~

xDD;; I usually favor books over movies/films regardless, but for Howl, I'll make an exception. >.>

I'm not sure how Howl's portrayed/described in the novel, but from the cover, he reminds me of Harry Potter. :| Do not like. And...what's that blue demon-like thing in the background? o.o Is that supposed to be Calcifer?

I do want to read the book, however, because the parts that weren't in the movie intrigues me.

I liked the movie better. The visuals and the cute interpretations were just very fun to watch, and Howl was more hilarious. XD Miyazaki definately gave a way different feel and interpretation for the book.

Diana Wynn Jones is an interesting writer... but I find her stories to be more quirky instead of having awe-inspiring magic. The book was amusing and sort of fun to read [spoilers] when we find out that Howl visits other worlds, aka this one, that was surprising. Again, quirky.[/spoilers] but Miyzaki's movie was very pretty and had more emotion... so all in all, I think I prefer the movie to the book.

It might just be that I'm not a fan of Jones' writing style, or maybe it's because I saw the movie first. But I have to say I was more interested in the movie.

The book sort of dragged for me, and the I agree with whomever said that Howl was more than a tad morbid. He was downright dislikeable in the book! I didn't really care for ANY of the characters in the book.

But I loved Sophie and Howl (omnom Hooowwwlll....) in the movie. What also interested me a lot, is that I am not a fan at all of dubbed anime. Perhaps it was also the huge budget, but this one was preferable for me in English, and I felt I really CONNECTED.

I really love the movie.

As to the missing prince, it IS mentioned in the movie before he shows up, but it's a backround dialogue that you catch while Sophie is moving through the streets after first coming to Howl's castle. The war was started because the prince's homeland thought Sophie's homeland had kidnapped the prince.

So after the return of the prince, there really was no need for a war.

:D

I have to say the book was better. I mean, it added more snark to the characters in general. They seemed more fleshed out and approachable than the cheesy, over-romantisized versions in the movie. I mean, Howl's not really the chivalrous type...XD

Don't get me wrong, I looove Miyazaki's works, but still, I like the book better

I haven't seen it or read it. But I have heard about it. And recently I stumbled across an anime site that has it uploaded, so in the really near future, I'm going to watch it. ^^

Possibly tonight.

I read the book first, then watched the movie. So my opinion may be a bit biased, but I'd say the book is better. (which is my favorite book right now. -hugs- )

Don't get me wrong, the movie was AMAZING. The art, and the plot, and /everything/. Miyazaki did an awesome job transforming their world into anime.

The way Calcifer was turned into a tiny fireball sorta annoyed me, though. That and Sophie's changing back and forth, and Howl's portrayal as very dignified and grand and less.. human. :S

I just loved the book for Howl's quirkiness, which was pretty much lost in the movie, and the matter-of-factness of it all. Sophie was very down to earth, and everyone was more characterized, in general. I thought her and Howl made an absolutely perfect couple, too. =)

I think, in my mind, the book and movie are totally separate- like, the movie just has a similar plot and similar characters, but aren't the same. Which is why there isn't a 'better' one of the two to me, they're both awesome, like the rest of Miyazaki's and Jones' works.

I love Howl's Moving Castle!
I watched the movie about a dosen times.
My favourite character is lusifer.
I had a chance to read the book, but I was busy at the time so I
had to return it :(
.
I wonder if it was like the book or better.
Anyways. hayao Miyazaki did an amazing job turning
the book and making it into a movie.

:D

I first saw Howl's Moving Castle over summer. I fell in love with it right off the bat. I've just now gotten around to getting the book from the library...but after making my roommate watch the movie, she has temporarily stolen the book from me. I'll get it back in a few days...it's not like I'd have time to read it right now anyways. I'm in the middle of about 4 books which I have to lay down to read a book for an in class history essay next week. Too many books with no time to read them. Dx

So I watched it. And I think that even though I haven't read the book, I'll still prefer the movie. The movie visualizes everything, and I love anime. The book just makes it a book, but the movie is an anime.

The story line was wonderful, and the characters were even better. Recently I started watching this one anime and the girl just reminds me of The Witch of the Waste. All in all, one of the best movies I've ever seen. <3

I never read the book but i own the movie. I love it, i find that i like it just a bit more then spirted away. which came out in the u.s twice. I had a ex friend that kept talking about how her brother was one of the first to see it in the u.s. I told her he say it the second time it was put out and that i had seen it a year ago, to bad guess he wasn't one of the first. But i love howl's moving castle i even like christian bale being the voice of howl.

I enjoyed them both. I couldn't possibly choose one over the other!

Book. >x<

I loved its eccentricities, its references to the Welsh - Sospan Fach! You can actually watch Rugby fans singing it on Youtube! xD - that black-nob-down went to Wales... Covering the entire Castle in slime, the reduced focus on beauty... HOWL'S COLD! Michael... The guitar. It's with anything, you can get so much more detail into a book than you can in a movie. The movie was beautiful, the animation exquisite, but it lacked a lot of the stuff that endeared the characters in my heart in the first place.

Mostly because I am a firstborn of three. Sophie SHOULD have red hair... Howl's COLD. And playing with the children in Wales.

I also didn't get the War in the movie. I might have missed something. The king created the War because his son was missing.

(I understand Miyzaki drew from Castle in the Air, as well... maybe?)

I mean, realistically, if a king did that - ordering the bombing of innocents - just because his son went missing, there'd be a coup.

I just have to resolve to think of them as completely different stories.

The silver-and-blue diamond jacket!

...

Plus Howl sounded higher and more Welsh in the Japanese and French than he didn't in the English. The English dub man just shouldn't be allowed to flirt - "Your hair is like starlight" made me GAG.

I first watched the Miyazaki movie and I fell in love with it. Howl is adorable. : )

I went ahead and bought the book after I saw it and I really liked it too. It's definitely different, but I don't know if I liked one form of the story better than another. I mean, in the end, the main plot is the same in both the movie and the book. The book focuses a bit more on Sophie's family and I enjoyed reading about her sisters. However, at the same time, I understand that the movie couldn't have possibly included that as well because it would have tried to tackle too much at once. Movies need to cut out certain information and subplots or else they'll drag.

I don't even know why I'm posting here honestly, because I don't think you can compare movies with books. I get mad when people pretend that they've read a book or think that they understand everything in a novel just because they've seen the movie version. However, I don't usually think badly of movies like The Count of Monte Cristo or The Chronicles of Narnia, just because they're different from the source material. I mean, as long as the movie is enjoyable and well produced, I can't find anything to complain about. In fact, I usually like movie adaptation because it means that more people will read the books. That's what happened with me and Howl's Moving Castle. I've gone ahead and read more of Diana Wynne Jones' books and I've been introduced to another great author so I'm happy. :D

I love the movie >_<
It is so wonderful,Miyazaki is a beautiful artist and storyteller ^_^

I really like the film, but I've never read the book. My roommate told me about it though. Basically the film is completely different from the book, the film simply takes some basis from it. I think just from that you can't really judge the two of them side by side. I mean, it would be like judging a Disney Princess movie to the Grim Fairy Tales it was taken from, they're vastly different.

With that said, Miyazaki is something of a master story teller and the Studio Ghibli always has fantastic animation. So the film is a complete masterpiece on its own.