One of Ghibli's most popular movies holds many secrets.
Just as every painting in the gallery hides a great story of its creation, every movie hides the secrets of its production.
Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle is one of Studio Ghibli's biggest hits and took almost two years to make. Why did the animation team fly to Europe, and how were Miyazaki's masterpieces influenced by Hieronymus Bosch?
1. Ghibli Team Went on a European Tour to Get Inspired
It is common for animation studios to travel and go on expeditions, where employees study the textures and details of a culture in order to accurately recreate it in a movie. In preparation for Howl's Moving Castle, Hayao Miyazaki and his team visited Europe.
The French towns of Colmar and Eguisheim, and the German city of Heidelberg have preserved old buildings, which Miyazaki incorporated into Sophie's little home, the settlement of Market Chipping.
Paris and Lisbon helped the director create the capital of the fictional state of Ingary, Kingsbury, and the seaside town of Porthaven.
The wastelands of Howl's Moving Castle are not entirely fictional; they are based on the rocky plateaus of the Irish Aran Islands. One of them is called Inishmore, where Martin McDonagh's drama The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed.
2. Howl's Moving Castle Was Influenced by Hieronymus Bosch
Not only the architecture of European cities influenced the visual solution of the movie, but also the paintings of European artists.
In the triptych The Temptation of St. Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch, Hayao Miyazaki was particularly interested in the central panel, which depicts a burning city in the upper left corner, with small dragonfly demons flying around it and a large winged devil holding a ladder – a symbol of knowledge.
It is possible that the plan of the burning settlement not only inspired one of the scenes in Howl's Moving Castle where Howl fights the wizards who have turned into monsters, but also inspired the design of magical creatures whose wings resemble those of dragonflies.
3. A Significant Part of the Animation Is Made Using 3D
Although Hayao Miyazaki is a strong proponent of traditional hand-drawn animation, his films also contain elements of computer graphics. The most notable of these is Howl's Castle, which is entirely animated using 3D technology in some scenes.
The creative team took this step to save human resources – the castle consists of several parts, and it would have taken a lot of time to draw each frame by hand.
The computer technology was also used to draw flags at military parades, propaganda leaflets falling from the sky, magical trinkets in Howl's room, airplane wings, and much more.
One of Ghibli's most popular movies holds many secrets.
Just as every painting in the gallery hides a great story of its creation, every movie hides the secrets of its production.
Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle is one of Studio Ghibli's biggest hits and took almost two years to make. Why did the animation team fly to Europe, and how were Miyazaki's masterpieces influenced by Hieronymus Bosch?
1. Ghibli Team Went on a European Tour to Get Inspired
It is common for animation studios to travel and go on expeditions, where employees study the textures and details of a culture in order to accurately recreate it in a movie. In preparation for Howl's Moving Castle, Hayao Miyazaki and his team visited Europe.
The French towns of Colmar and Eguisheim, and the German city of Heidelberg have preserved old buildings, which Miyazaki incorporated into Sophie's little home, the settlement of Market Chipping.
Paris and Lisbon helped the director create the capital of the fictional state of Ingary, Kingsbury, and the seaside town of Porthaven.
The wastelands of Howl's Moving Castle are not entirely fictional; they are based on the rocky plateaus of the Irish Aran Islands. One of them is called Inishmore, where Martin McDonagh's drama The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed.
2. Howl's Moving Castle Was Influenced by Hieronymus Bosch
Not only the architecture of European cities influenced the visual solution of the movie, but also the paintings of European artists.
In the triptych The Temptation of St. Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch, Hayao Miyazaki was particularly interested in the central panel, which depicts a burning city in the upper left corner, with small dragonfly demons flying around it and a large winged devil holding a ladder – a symbol of knowledge.
It is possible that the plan of the burning settlement not only inspired one of the scenes in Howl's Moving Castle where Howl fights the wizards who have turned into monsters, but also inspired the design of magical creatures whose wings resemble those of dragonflies.
3. A Significant Part of the Animation Is Made Using 3D
Although Hayao Miyazaki is a strong proponent of traditional hand-drawn animation, his films also contain elements of computer graphics. The most notable of these is Howl's Castle, which is entirely animated using 3D technology in some scenes.
The creative team took this step to save human resources – the castle consists of several parts, and it would have taken a lot of time to draw each frame by hand.
The computer technology was also used to draw flags at military parades, propaganda leaflets falling from the sky, magical trinkets in Howl's room, airplane wings, and much more.
