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worldbuilding in HOWLS MOVING CASTLE - Coggle Diagram
worldbuilding in HOWLS MOVING CASTLE
Politics
The War
howls moving castle is set in the middle of a war. the war is a major part of the plot, and it is a part of the main climax.
the war is between ingary (the main place the movie is set in) and a neighbouring kingdom who believes ingarians have kidnapped their prince, which we see is not true, as he has been cursed to be a scarecrow, turnip head.
both kingdoms are using bombs to fight each other, with dire consequences for innocent citizens everywhere, like in market chipping, which is where sophie is from, when it gets bombed.
the war is perceived as dumb and unnecessary by the people in the movie, it was still going because some powerful people had the wrong motivations, and they didn't seem to take into account the negative consequences it caused.
in this movie there are many rulers (mostly kings) who rule over different areas. however the king is mostly a representative who, though he does make decisions, has advisers and generals to help him in the war.
the king of ingary does not have magic, but his adviser madam suliman does, so she teaches people about magic, and controls whether witches and wizards use their magic to fight the war.
Howl's Moving Castle
though there are some rules about how the castle can move, the shape of the castle is unlimited and can take any form it wants.
it has one door that has multiple portals to different areas around the world.
when they move to a different location, the interior of the castle changes form.
though it is a fantastical setting and the characters are exposed to the idea of magic, they consume normal food.
as well as eating normal food, they also sleep in beds like humans and they inhibit all human traits.
the castle is powered by magic, but appears like it is made from metal, and appears like some sort of creature, with legs and a face etc.
The Landscape
Each of the kingdoms have different city/town scapes.
Some of the landscapes have fantasy elements, such as the scene where we see a part of Howls childhood.
A lot of the landscapes in the movie are shown from completely different areas which have different settings and perspectives on the war, this means that the watcher gets to see many different perspectives of what is happening in the movie.
The landscapes are all very aesthetically pleasing, and have been made in a way where each different landscape has a different vibe and aura around it, which helps to set the scene.
howls moving castle is set in a fantastical setting called Ingary. The capital of Ingary, where the king and madam suliman live is called Kingsbury, and the small town with the train station Sophie lives in is called market chipping. the town by the sea is called Porthaven.
Examples of the landscapes
Characters
the characters in howls moving castle have all been exposed to magic, and they live with it in their lives, though not every person in the world has access to it.
regular people are told to watch out for witches and wizards, because they could have a curse put on them, like some of the main and side characters.
sophie, the foreign prince (turniphead), howl, the witch of the waste and calcifer all have some sort of curse or binding that impacts on their lives.
witches and wizards in the world are revered and honoured, but only if they use their magic to serve the kingdom, so when howl and the witch of the waste are cursed with a demon, madam suliman wants to remove the demon from them.
there is no specific magic system in howl's moving castle because only some are magic, and they may not have access to learn how to use it. there is no school where people can learn magic unless they are taught by madam suliman, but markl, the young wizard is an apprentice of howl, learning about his magic and spells.
