Synopsis for
Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) More at IMDbPro »

A gigantic structure moves through a foggy region on four spindly legs. The fog lifts to reveal a green field where a figure herds animals.

In a city, a young woman (Sophie) sits sewing decorations a hat. Her boss comes in and tells her that the store is closed, and invites her to come out for a drink with the her and the other workers. Sophie declines, claiming that she needs to finish the hat, and tells her to go and have fun without her. The boss agrees and leaves. As they're about to head out, one of them claims to see Howl's castle through the window, and they all rush to try and catch a look. Sophie catches a glimpse of the structure (obviously Howl's castle) as it disappears into the fog, while some "planes" (which resemble flying propellor-driven motorcycles) chase it. The girls talk about Howl, who's supposed to have torn some girl's heart out; one of them is scared to go out, but another one sarcastically tells her that she'll be all right as he only preys on pretty girls. They finally head out, leaving Sophie alone at her work. When the hat is finished, she considers another one, but decides to head out instead, putting on a hat of her own. Leaving the room, she walks out as a group of larger planes fly overhead, a flag suspended between them.

Sophie poses with a hat in front of a mirror, before leaving the store and getting on a double-decker cable car that drives over a bridge. A parade of soldiers is being held. Sophie gets off the bus and walks away, down an alley, apparently looking for something. She runs into a pair of soldiers, who somewhat menacingly invite her to come have a cup of tea with them. She tells them that her sister is waiting for her, but they don't seem to be listening. She asks them to leave her alone, which just makes her more appealing to them. At that point, a blond-haired man arrives and drapes his arm over Sophie's shoulder, calling her sweetheart and claiming to have been looking for her. He tells the soldiers to go, and with a pair of quick gestures, the guards are compelled to march away down the alley. The mysterious man assures Sophie that the soldiers weren't actually too bad. He offers to escort her wherever she wants to go. Sophie says that she's only going to the bakery, and the man tells her not to be alarmed, but since he's being followed, she should just ask normally. They walk down the alley together, and a pair of shadowy figures come out of the walls behind them. The man apologizes for getting her involved in this, as more shadowy figures emerge in front of them. He pulls Sophie along with him as he turns down a side alley and starts to run, pursued by the shadows. When more shadows appear in front of them, he leaps into the air with Sophie in his arms, letting the two groups of shadows run into each other. As they float in air, he tells Sophie to start walking, which she does, gasping all the way. They walk through the air over a crowded street, and he compliments her as a natural at this, which makes her smile. Eventually, they arrive at a balcony, and he sets her down, telling her that he'll draw their pursuers away, but that she should wait a bit before going outside. She agrees, and he flies away.

In a crowded restaraunt, another young woman is hard at work at a counter, handing out cookies when a co-worker comes up and whispers in her ear. Startled by what she's been told, the young woman (Sophie's sister Lettie) dashes off to the dismay of her customers. She runs up the stairs to where Sophie is still on the balcony, and asks what happened, as she's just been told that Sophie floated down onto the balcony. Sophie appears amazed that what happened wasn't just some sort of dream. As they sit together in a storage room, Lettie concludes that the man must have been a wizard. Sophie dreamily remembers how nice the man was when he rescued her. Lettie tells her that he was probably trying to steal Sophie's heart, and if he was the wizard Howl, he'd also eat it. Sophie sadly notes that there was no chance of that happening, because Howl only does that to beautiful girls. Lettie has no time for Sophie's self-pity, and warns her to be careful, as the Witch of the Waste is also on the prowl ... but Sophie's not really listening. A man pops his head in and tells Lettie that the chocolate eclairs are done, prompting Sophie to decide to head off, as she just wanted to check in on her sister. As they walk out of the building, Lettie asks if Sophie really wants to spend the rest of her life working in the hat shop. Sophie reminds her that it was important to their father, and as the eldest daughter, she doesn't mind. Lettie wants to know what their father wanted, but what Lettie wants. Sophie walks away without really answering Lettie's question, prompting Lettie to call out that she should think of herself for once.

Sophie walks through the street. Some distance away, a private box carried by two strange-looking figures is resting. The door to the box opens, and a kettle is set out, capturing the shadows from earlier. After the kettle is retrieved, the two figures begin carrying the box. Sophie rides the cable car back to the hat shop and goes in, locking the door behind her. As she walks into the store, the door opens and a rather large woman appears there. Sophie tells her that the store is closed. The woman insults both the store and Sophie, who asks her to leave. The woman sneers at her courage for standing up to the Witch of the Waste, which startles Sophie, as does the appearance of the two strange servants in the door. The Witch seems to fly towards Sophie, flowing over her like wind. As she stands in the door, she tells Sophie that Sophie will not be able to tell anyone about the spell that she's under, and gives her regards to Howl, before closing the door. The servants carry the box away at a run. Back at the hat store, Sophie discovered that she has been aged into an old, grey-haired woman. She tries to stay calm, but it doesn't really work very well.

The next day, Sophie's mother arrives back from a trip, showing off her new hat. She sees that Sophie isn't hard at work as usual, and learns that she hasn't come down that morning. She heads up to see what the matter is, and knocks on Sophie's door. Sophie, wrapped up in a blanket, tells her not to enter as she has a very bad cold. Her step-mother notes that she sounds awful, like some ninety-year old woman. Sophie says that she plans to spend the rest of the day in bed, and her mother agrees. After a moment, Sophie heads to the mirror, takes a look, and decides that things aren't as bad as she thought. After all, now her clothes are appropriate. She hears girls outside laughing. However, she realizes that she can't stay there forever. So she heads out, picking up some food, and leaves the shop behind. (In the distance, some men discuss another country's missing prince, whose disappearance is being blamed on their country, leading to talk of war.) Sophie catches a hay wagon heading out of the city, and then heads out into the mountains, despite the driver's warning that they're filled with witches and wizards.

Climbing the hills, breathing heavily, Sophie eats her lunch and wonders how she's going to get where she's going at her age. She's just glad her teeth haven't fallen out. Spotting a branch which she thinks would make a nice cane, she goes to pick it up but finds it heavier than she expected. Eventually, it'srevealed to be a scarecrow, which she realizes is standing on its own. She notes that it's head is a turnip, which she's always hated, and heads off. To her irritation, she realizes that she hasn't gotten very far from town, but then notices that the scarecrow is hopping along the path behind her. Sophie tells him to go away, as she's had enough of magic. As the wind begins to get more intense, the scarecrow catches up to her and drops its cane for her to use. Sophie politely thanks him, and asks him whether he could find her a place to stay, and he heads off down the trail. She muses that she's gotten quite clever in her old age, and presses on.

A battleship flies overhead, and Sophie finds herself very cold. She hopes that she can find some shelter soon. Suddenly, Howl's moving castle comes into view ahead of her, heading towards her, guided by the scarecrow. It pauses before her, and then moves along, leading her to run and jump on the back door, losing her shawl in the process. She peers into the castle. The scarecrow bounces up again, bringing her shawl to her. She thanks him, even though he is her least favorite vegetable, and heads inside.

Somewhat hesitantly, Sophie climbs into the castle, finding a small fire burning. She throws some more logs on the fire, and notes that her surroundings are kind of a mess. However, she's old so nothing frightens her. As she begins to nod off, the fire grows eyes, and talks to her about her curse. She asks whether the fire is Howl, and he explains that he is actually a powerful fire demon named Calcifer. She reasons that he might be able to break her curse. He offers to break the spell on her if she'll break the spell on him, and she asks him to promise that he'll live up to his end of the bargain. He's not sure about that, and she tells him to find someone else. He pleads with her, claiming that Howl keeps him as a slave. Just before she falls asleep, she agrees to the deal. Watching her, he's not sure whether she'll actually be any help at all.

In a city, a number of large warships sail out of the bay. Two men, one of whom wears a uniform and the other an official looking sash, approach a building and knock on the door. The knocking awakens Sophie, who looks around in some confusion, before a small boy (Markl) runs down the stairs, prompting her to begin feigning sleep. Markl wonders how she got in there, and Calcifer mentions the Porthaven door. Markl picks up a robe from the table, pulls it on him and creates a beard for himself, and heads down to answer the door. After doing something to the door that makes a wheel set beside it turn, he opens it to the two men, who ask if the Wizard Jenkins is in. He answers that his master is not in, and they hand him a note from the king asking the Wizard Jenkins to lend his assistance to the war effort.

As Markl comes back up to the main room, he asks what Sophie's doing here. She tells him that Calcifer said she could come in, but the demon denies that, claiming that she just wandered in from the Wastes. The boy wonders if she's a witch, but Calcifer denies that he'd let a witch in. There's another knock on the door, and Markl goes down to open it. A young girl says that her mother sent her to pick up a spell. Markl brings her in, and then tells Sophie not to cause any trouble. Sophie goes to the window and sees the town outside, rather than the wastes. The girl asks her if she's a witch, and Sophie claims to be the scariest witch of all. Markl gives her a powder and instructions in its use before seeing her off, and then irritatedly tells Sophie to quit lying to customers. She points out that he's wearing a disguise, but he says he has to as practice. A bell rings, and Calcifer says that it's the Kingsbury door this time. Markl does something that makes the wheel turn before opening the door, and opens it up to another official looking man, who presents him with a request similar to the one given earlier, but this time for the Wizard Pendragon. Sophie looks out and realizes that they're in a completely different city. She closes the door, and notices a knob. Turning it, she opens the door again, this time onto the Wastes. Closing the door and turning it yet again opens onto the town from before. She asks Markl where the black setting of the wheel leads, and is told that only Howl knows.

Markl starts to make breakfast. Discovering some bacon, Sophie offers to make bacon and eggs for him, but he tells her that she can't, as Calcifer only obeys Howl. Calcifer agrees with this and blows a raspberry at Sophie. She cheerily threatens to throw a bucket of water on him, or (more threateningly) to tell Howl about their agreement to free him. Calcifer is upset, but eventually concedes to be used to cook. He curses her with burnt bacon. Markl is amazed that Calcifer is obeying someone other than Howl, but Sophie just asks him to get a kettle so she can make tea, too. Calcifer is further outraged by this. Abruptly, the wheel beside the door turns to black, and the blond man from before enters. Markl calls him Master Howl, and tells him about the messengers. Sophie turns to look at him, and is startled to realize Howl's identity, before continuing to cook. Howl calmly notes that Calcifer is being very obedient, and Calcifer replies that he's doing this under duress. He asks who is making him act this way, and Sophie introduces herself as his new cleaning lady. Gently pushing her out of the way, Howl takes over the cooking of the bacon and eggs, feeding the eggshells to Calcifer. He asks who hired her to clean, and she claims Calcifer did. He clearly doesn't buy this, but Markl invites her to come eat with them. She's not impressed by either the cleanliness of the surroundings or the manners of the people, but eats all the same.

Howl abruptly asks what she has in her pocket. Sophie discovers that she has a red note in her pocket, and hands it to him. As it touches his fingers, it bursts into flame, scorching a message from the Witch of the Waste into the table. The message promises that his heart will soon belong to her. Howl cleans it off the table with his hand, looking rather sinister as he does. Getting up, he feeds what's left of his breakfast to Calcifer, then tells him to move the castle to the west and make some hot water for his bath as he heads upstairs. Markl suspiciously asks Sophie if she's working for the Witch of the Waste, which she denies angrily, trying and failing to talk about her curse. This makes her even angrier, and she furiously sets to cleaning. Markl takes a number of items outside, and tells a customer who asks whether he can pick up his potion to come back later, as there's a witch on the rampage inside. Calcifer pleads with Sophie to give him some firewood, but instead she puts him in a pot as she starts to clean the ashes out of his fireplace. She carries the ashes away, leaving him to fall into the pot.

A number of logs are thrown onto the fireplace, and Howl takes a blue-looking Calcifer out of the pot and sets him on them. Sophie comes up in time to see this, and Howl coolly asks her not to torment his friend before going out into whatever lies beyond the door when the circle is turned to black. Calcifer complains that she almost smothered him, but she tells him to quit complaining as she starts to go up to clean the upper part of the building. Markl panics and tells her to clean his room last, heading up himself. The upstairs is even worse than the downstairs, particularly the bathroom. Sophie looks out to see that the castle is moving. She's amazed by this, and compliments Calcifer, something that pleases him quite a bit. Sophie goes out to watch the land that the castle is moving over. Markl comes along to describe it to her, but then notices a stick pointing out of one of the castle's recesses. Sophie realizes what this portends, and pulls the turnip-headed scarecrow out of the hole. It bounces away, hopping on the roof of the castle. Markl asks her if she's sure that she's not a witch, and she tells him that she is -- a witch who cleans. The castle comes to a halt by the shore of a lake. With the scarecrow's help, Sophie and Markl set the laundry out to dry. Markl speculates that the scarecrow is a demon, and Sophie agrees, but that he must be a good demon because he led her here. Sophie sits by the side of the lake, musing that she's never felt so peaceful.

In a bird-like form, Howl flies over a firey wasteland which seems to be a city under bombardment by two different types of flying machines, those that have already been shown and another kind with flapping wings. Two fleets of ships collide with each other, sending many of them down in flames. Howl flies among the debris, unharmed. A group of winged creatures begin to fly toward him, but Howl flies swiftly through them, knocking many of them aside. Others try to pursue him as he flies up through a hole in the clouds towards a clear blue sky, but both it and he vanish before they can catch him.

Sometime later, Howl wanders into the house, still in his bird-like form and looking very tired. He rests his feet in front of Calcifer, who tells him that he smells terrible. With a few groans, Howl shifts back into human form, and Calcifer warns him that soon if he keeps flying around like that, he won't be able to return to human form. Then he reveals that Sophie has set some logs nearby so that he can feed his own fire. Howl muses that the war is a particuarly horrible one involving massive bombardments. Calcifer sympathizes by denigrating the fire in gunpowder. Howl then talks about how he came under attack by some wizards who'd turned themselves into monsters for the king. Calcifer muses that they'll regret it, as they won't be able to turn into humans afterwards. Howl doesn't think they'll even remember being human, and asks Calcifer to make him some hot water for his bath. Calcifer complains but complies, and Howl makes his way over to the curtained-off area where Sophie is asleep -- and in her youthful appearance once again! Howl considers her for a moment, before closing the curtains. Howl starts to run his bath, which wakes an aged Sophie up.

The next day, Sophie and Markl head out to shop for some food. Markl hates everything that they buy, which doesn't stop Sophie at all. As they shop, a warship on fire sails into the harbor. Markl wants to get a better look, but Sophie is frightened and doesn't want to see anymore. She overhears people talking about how the country's most advanced battleship has been utterly outmatched. Then Sophie sees one of the henchmen of the Witch of the Wastes a few feet away, and warns Markl. She's startled that no one else noticed them. Then an enemy airship begins to bomb the harbor, before dropping leaflets that people are ordered to ignore as enemy propaganda. Sophie rushes back to the house, followed closely by Markl.

Soon after they get home, they hear a howl coming from upstairs. (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.) Howl, now with red hair, rushes downstairs wearing only a towel around his waist, and tells Sophie that she's ruined the potions in his bathroom, with the result that Howl now looks, in his own opinion, hideous. Sophie tries to reassure him, as his hair changes color to black. Howl is feeling suicidal over his lost beauty, and the house begins to shake. Calcifer tells him to cut it out, and Markl explains that Howl is calling the Spirits of Darkness, as he did once before when a girl dumped him. Sophie continues to try and comfort Howl, but when she touches him her hand comes back covered in green goo as Howl starts to melt. Upset by this, Sophie tells him off as she's never been beautiful in her life, and runs out of the castle into the waste, which is raining. There, she starts to sob. The scarecrow comes along and covers her with an umbrella, prompting her to wonder how he became so kind. Markl rushes out and tells her that Howl needs her help.

Back in the castle, the goo that's coming off of Howl's body is close to smothering Calcifer's fire. Sophie, calmer now, is only amused by Howl's melodramatic behavior, and tells a worried Markl that the wizard is just throwing a tantrum. With Markl's help, she pushes the gooey Howl to the stairs, and then carries him up them (losing his towel in the process). She tells Markl to put him in the bath and wash him well, before looking at the gooey trail and musing that now she has to mop again.

Outside, a parade marches through the streets, observed by one of the Witch's henchmen. Another henchman walks past the Wizard Jenkin's store. In the castle, a still dark-haired Howl is lying in bed in his room. Sophie comes in and offers him a sip of warm milk, which he silently refuses. She starts to leave, but he asks her to stay a moment. He explains that the Witch of the Wastes is looking for his castle, and Sophie realizes that that explains the henchmen that she saw. Howl goes on to explain that he's a coward, so he's hiding from the Witch, and that all of his magic is bent to that purpose. Sophie asks why the Witch wants to find him. He answers that he once thought the Witch was beautiful, so he tried to pursue her ... only to realize that she wasn't. So he ran away, as he usually does. (Sophie sighs at this self-pitying assessment.) Howl reveals that he can't run any longer, as he has to report to the palace -- as both Jenkins and Pendragon. Sophie wonders how many aliases he has, and he replies that he has as many as he needs to stay independent. She suggests that he just refuse the invitation. However, as he swore an oath when he joined the Royal Sorcery Academy, he has to answer it. Then she suggests that he accept it (which startles him) and then refuse to participate in the war as it is a folly. Howl rolls his eyes and says she doesn't understand what these people are like. Sophie replies that the King should want to know what his subjects think.

Suddenly, Howl becomes excited at the idea that Sophie should go to the palace, pretending to be Wizard Pendragon's mother, and claim that her cowardly son is too afraid to appear. Then, maybe, Madame Suliman will get off his back. Sophie apparently agrees to this, as she's shown putting on her hat. Howl is upset that she's wearing her own dress instead of one that he magically made beautiful, but she pays him no mind as she heads out with a word of farewell to Calcifer. Before Sophie goes, Howl slips a ring on her finger, saying it's a charm to bring her home safely, and promising to follow behind her in disguise. As she leaves, Sophie muses that she has a feeling that this isn't going to work. She wonders what disguise he's wearing -- not a crow, or a pigeon, as he's too flamboyant. A plane flies past, and she muses that could be him. Sophie walks into the palace grounds, feeling tired, and a suspicious looking dog begins to follow her. She asks the dog if he's Howl, and takes a coughing noise for an affirmation.

Then the Witch and her bearers come up beside her. The Witch sarcastically thanks Sophie for delivering her note, and asks after Howl -- whom Sophie claims is acting like a big baby. The Witch wonders what Sophie is doing here, and Sophie lies and says that she's trying to get another job. The Witch says that she's here to answer the Wizard Suliman's invitation to participate in the war, as the latter has finally realized that she needs the Witch's help. Sophie asks if the Witch would mind breaking the spell she put on her. The Witch claims that she can't break spells, only cast them. That really irritates Sophie, and she tells the dog that she'd clobber the Witch if she wasn't worried about Howl.

As the Witch's bearers pass a gate, they trigger a ward, which causes them to lose all their strength and collapse. A guard informs the witch that vehicles are prohibited, and she will have to travel the rest of the way on foot. The witch is irritated with Suliman, but takes a sniff of something she carries in her cane, before leaving the box and walking up the stairs. Sophie comes up behind her, and starts to climb the stairs herself, but the dog can't follow her up them. Sophie turns around and picks up the dog, complaining that he's very heavy. Even burdened thus, however, she is able to catch up to and pass the witch, who asks her for help. Sophie hints that she'll only help if the Witch takes the spell off, and the Witch protests that she really doesn't know how. Sophie angrily suggests that she start studying, and keeps on walking. The Witch is amazed by her energy. Sophie rests a bit, turning to look down on the Witch, who is still having a hard time of it, and suggests that the Witch just give up, as she looks as though she's going to die. The Witch refuses, claiming that she's waited fifty years for this invitation, ever since Suliman banished her. Sophie sarcastically wishes her luck, and continues on her way. The Witch says that next time she'll make Sophie senile as well. Sophie finally makes it up the stairs, and is greeted by a butler -- but though she suggests that he help the Witch, he claims that he's forbidden to offer such assistance. Sophie stands at the top of the stairs, offering the Witch "encouragement". When the Witch finally makes it up the stairs, Sophie also notes that she seems much aged by the experience.

The two of them are introduced, Sophie as Mrs. Pendragon. The Witch asks if that's her name, as it sounds strangely familiar. Sophie quickly replies that that was the name of her shop. The Witch apparently buys this. The two of them enter a room, along with the dog. The Witch rushes towards a chair in the middle of the room, and sits down. The dog heads off to the side. Sophie follows him, and is met by a young boy, who asks her to follow him. Back in the room, curtains slide up to reveal huge light-bulbs, and a switch is thrown, lighting them. The bright light causes the witch to cast several shadows, which come to life and begin to move around her in a circle.

Meanwhile, the boy leads Sophie into a garden room, where a number of men are talking to an elderly lady seated in a chair. They thank Madame Suliman, and leave. She addreses Sophie and asks her if she's Howl's mother. Sophie answers that she's Mrs. Pendragon, and Madame Suliman invites her to have a seat, which she does. She sees that the dog has sat down beside Suliman, and asks about the dog. Madame Suliman answers that he's Heen, her errand dog, whom she sent to escort Sophie. She asks whether Howl will be joining them, and Sophie repeats the story that Howl suggested earlier. Madame Suliman claims to be saddened by this news, as Howl was her last and finest student, until his heart was stolen by a demon. Ever since then, he has been using his magic for selfish reasons, and she warns Sophie that Howl's powers are far too great for someone without a heart. If he goes on as he has been, he'll be just like the Witch of the Waste ... speaking of whom, she has the Witch rolled in, as the process to which the Witch was subjected has restored her to her true age, depriving her of all her powers. Madadme Suliman tells Sophie that if Howl repents and vows to serve the Kingdom, she'll help him break free of his demon, but otherwise, she'll have no choice but to strip him of his powers as she did to the Witch.

Sophie stands up then and says she's had enough. She understands why Howl was so afraid to come here, and notes that Howl is much less heartless than Madame Suliman. She thinks he has good intentions, and only wants to be free. Slowly, she begins to return to her youthful appearance as she says that he doesn't need Madame Suliman to become free of his demon. But when Madame Suliman says that Sophie is in love with Howl, Sophie is startled back to her old self. The Witch begins to claw at the side of Sophie's dress, saying that Howl's heart belongs to her. Sophie tells the Witch that Howl isn't coming. Madame Suliman disagrees, as she thinks she understands his weakness. A flying machine descends into the garden outside Madame Suliman's building; a dashing looking man steps off of it and walks into the building, and is greeted by Madame Suliman as "Your Majesty". The king claims that he dropped by rather than sit through a boring meeting. Madame Suliman introduces Sophie as Howl's mother, Mrs. Pendragon, and Sophie curtseys in greeting. The King explains that he's decided not to use magic to fight the war after all; when they used it to shield the palace from enemy bombers, the bombs fell on civilian homes instead. Madame Suliman compliments him on his eloquence. And then the real king shows up boasting about his battle plan, and ruins Howl's trick, before heading off.

Not that Madame Suliman was ever actually fooled. However, Howl claims he wasn't trying to trick her, but that he has fulfilled the word of his oath, and will be leaving with his mother. Madame Suliman disagrees, and conjures up a large body of water to engulf Howl, Sophie, and the Witch. They don't drown, however, but are instead transported into a sky. Howl tells Sophie, in no uncertain terms, to not look down. (Meanwhile, the Witch is clinging to the side of Sophie's dress to stop herself from dropping.) Madame Suliman says that she's going to show Howl's mother exactly what he is. Falling stars start to drop out of the sky past them, and one strikes the Witch's coat and starts it on fire. A number of them start dancing around them and singing. As they do, Howl begins to painfully transform into his bird form, and starts to look rather demonic. As Madame Suliman begins to close in on them, aiming her staff towards Howl, Sophie warns him about the trap, and he shoots up and out of the illusion, out of the glass ceilling, leaving only Sophie's hat to be struck by Madame Suliman as he takes her and the Witch out of there, before dropping down to the flying machine he rode in on. As they're about to leave, Heen the hound flies out and sits on the witch's lap.

They take off, and Howl asks her why she brought the Witch and Heen with her. Sophie's not too impressed with Heen herself, but thinks they're now too high to drop him. Howl then tells Sophie that she's going to have to take the controls of the flying machine, much to her horror. He explains that they're being pursued by all the king's flyers and all the king's men, and that he's going to try to distract them while she flies to the castle. The ring will guide her, as it is connected to Calcifer. Sophie's not impressed; if he was going to go to the Palace, then why did he make her go in the first place. He frankly tells her that he's terrified of Madame Suliman, but Sophie gave him the courage to face her. When Howl lets Sophie have the controls, she almost sends them all into a dive, but manages to fly right after a near collision with a building. Howl compliments her ability -- to which she replies, "Are you nuts?" -- and tells her that he can give her five minutes of invisibility. He creates an illusory duplicate of the plane with him on it, and sends Sophie and the others on their way. After a near miss, Sophie manages to fly right.

Back at the palace, Madame Suliman muses that was the most fun she's had in quite a while, and she suspects Howl thinks he's gotten away. However, she has a plan to get him with a little help from his mother. Troops surround the exits of Howl's houses in Porthaven and Kingsbury, and knock them both in, to find only empty buildings behind them. Meanwhile, Sophie and the others fly through the rain towards Sophie's hometown. The dog makes a squeaking noise, and she tells him not to bother being cute, as she doesn't trust him. She flies into the waste, and sees that the Castle is coming towards them. Markl waves from the balcony, and Sophie calls out to ask how she's supposed to land the flying machine. She flies into the Castle's "mouth", and runs into a wall in the living room, causing quite a bit of damage, and knocking a brick into Calcifer's fire. Markl hugs Sophie in greeting.

Later, the Witch is curled up in a couch asleep, while Sophie (again restored to youth) is asleep in her bed. Calcifer hears a noise and comes awake, as dripping bird footprints appear on the floor. As Howl starts to become visible, Calcifer warns him that he's gone too far. Howl is still ony semi-transparent. Sophie wakes up -- retaining her youth -- and wonders if Howl's back. She sees the footprint, touches a feather, and watches it turn to dust as she picks it up. She pulls on boots, lights a candle, realizes that the footprints are bloody, and walks upstairs to Howl's room. Sophie walks into a tunnel filled with toys and discarded feathers. It splits in two directions, and she walks down one to where she finds Howl, looking like an enormous bird-like creature, as opposed to a bird-like man. She asks him what's the matter. He tells her to go away, but she refuses, telling him that she's going to help him to break the spell. Howl replies that she can't even break her own spell, much less his. Sophie tells him that she loves him, but he says that it's too late. In a flurry of feathers, he flies away, apparently causing Sophie to revert to her old form again.

Sophie, looking old, awakens in her bed. (Perhaps what just preceded was a dream. Then again, perhaps not.) She talks to Calcifer, who tells her that Howl just came in looking awful, and that she needs to figure out how to break the spell on them quickly, as Howl is running out of time. Sophie asks him if he means that Howl is going to turn into a monster, but Calcifer replies that he can't describe the spell. Sophie confronts him with what Madame Suliman told her, and asks him about it. He can't answer that. She threatens him with a bucket of water, and he points out that if she kills him, Howl will also die.

Sophie leaves the Castle for a moment to think. The scarecrow hops up beside her, and she comments that this won't be easy. With help from Markl and the scarecrow, she tries to push the flying machine out of the castle. But it won't move until she gives it a good kick, which starts it up again and sends it flying out of the Castle, nearly striking her helpers before it hits a rock. Sophie muses that she can possibly hang a few curtains and Howl will never notice. She offers food to the Witch of the Waste, who keeps staring at Calcifer in a way that gives him the creeps. Howl, looking none the worse for the wear, jogs down the stairs, and is amused by Markl's request that they keep the dog. He asks Calcifer why he let the Witch of the Waste and Suliman's dog in, and Calcifer tells him about Sophie's plane crash, much to her irritation. He also greets the Scarecrow, and notes that there's a spell on him, too. Howl then announces that they're moving, but thtat the scarecrow's spell is too powerful for the move, so he'll have to remain behind.

Howl draws a large chalk drawing on the ground, and directs the Castle to rest on it. He then draws a similar chalk drawing on the floor of the living room, takes Calcifer out of the fireplace with a shovel, and stands on the drawing. With a gesture, he causes Calcifer to become a much more ferocious creature, and transforms the Castle into an ordinary (if large) house in Sophie's hometown -- one that looks very like Sophie's old home. He shows her her new room, and also shows her that the door of the house can open up onto a field of flowers. Sophie seems to become younger as she's there, though her hair stays grey. He shows her a cottage in the field, and reveals that he spent a lot of time there when he was a boy. His uncle, also a wizard, gave it to him as a private study. She can come here whenever she likes. Sophie suddenly becomes afraid that he's going to leave, and asks him why he's doing all of this. Howl explains that he's trying to set things up so that all of his friends can have comfortable lives. She asks if this means he's going away, and says that she wants to help him, but then begins to denigrate herself, returning to her old form, despite Howl's protests that she's beautiful.

Unfortunately, then, a pair of airships fly over the field. Angered at this, Howl gestures and causes a key component in one of the airships to malfunction, resulting in an engine shutdown. This results in Howl's left arm growing feathers and claws. The airship spits out the wizard-monsters from earlier, and Howl takes flight in his bird form, carrying Sophie to the door into the house, and drops her there. When Markl and Heen enter, the boy asks what's happened, and Sophie protests that she's too old for this sort of thing.

That night, Markl bids Sophie good night, and tells her not to worry about Howl, as he often goes away for days on end. As she tucks the Witch into bed, the Witch tells Sophie that she can tell that Sophie's in love, as she's been sighing all day. Sophie doesn't bother to deny it, and sits on the Witch's bed. She asks the Witch if she's ever been in love, and the Witch replies that she has been and still is. She loves taking young men's hearts. Sophie tells her that she's terrible. There's a sound outside, which the Witch identifies as an air raid siren, and while she says it's coming from some distance, she also warns Sophie not to go out tonight, as Suliman's henchmen are searching everywhere for the house and its inhabitants. The Witch compliments Calcifer's efforts to keep the house hidden.

Meanwhile, Howl flies among a group of large bomber airships.

As refugees move through the streets outside the house, Markl (in disguise) heads out on some sort of mission that is interrupted when a car pulls up outside the house. A moment later, he runs back to tell Sophie that there's a strange lady outside, and Sophie's mother arrives. Somehow, she recognizes Sophie, and rushes to embrace her. She tells Sophie that she can come live with her and her new husband, but Sophie says she likes living here. As Sophie goes out to say farewell to her, the Witch picks up a bag that Sophie's mother left, which contains a snake-like creature that she calls a peeping bug sent by Suliman. She throws it to Calcifer, who eats it. She also searches through the bag for other things. Outside, Sophie and her mother say goodbye, and the other woman drives off. She's being driven by one of Madame Suliman's servants, and tells him that she followed orders and wants to go back to her husband. She asks Sophie's forgiveness. Back at the house, Sophie and Markl survey the refugees, and he asks if she wants to leave, since that lady wanted her to live with her. Sophie seems to doubt that, but Markl begs her to stay, as he loves her. She promises that she won't, and agrees with him when he say that they're a family. Inside, the Witch begins to smoke a cigar she found in the purse, which makes Heen sick, and proclaims that she'll never let Suliman have Howl.

Later, Markl is reading the newspaper which proclaims their nation won the war, but the Witch tells him not to believe what he reads in newspapers. Sophie has put several logs on Calcifer's fireplace, and is pumping at him with a bellows, but can't get him going. She asks the Witch to stop smoking, but the Witch tells her not to deny her what few pleasures she has left in life. Sophie settles for opening the window, even though the Witch tells her not to, as Calcifer is too weak to protect the house. At that moment, a massive bombing raid begins. Sophie, seeming younger than she has in quite a while, looks out of the house to see much of their street engulfed in flames. Looking to another direction, she sees shadowy servitors approaching, and curses them for focusing on her instead of fighting fires. Fleeing into the house, she is pursued by the henchmen, and looks up to see a bomb falling right at her -- which Howl, flying among the bombs, tries to catch. The blast knocks her back but doesn't injure her. The Witch comments that this is all very exciting.

Howl clings to the bomb (which didn't explode) and apologizes for not getting back sooner. With Sophie's help, he heads into the house, pursued by the shadows -- which aren't able to cross the threshold. Howl calls up Calcifer, and asks whether the cigar might possibly be a gift from Madame Suliman. Calcifer complains that the Witch fed him something that made him sick. Ignoring this, the Witch says that she needs to have a heart-to-heart chat with Howl. He agrees, but points out that there's a war on at the moment, so it'll have to wait. The Witch notes that not running away is very unlike Howl, but doesn't do anything to stop. Howl tells Sophie to wait here while he guards the house from the second wave of bombs. She doesn't want him to go, and urges him to come with her so that they can run away. He tells her that he's gotten tired of running, because he wants to protect her. She runs out to follow him, but only sees him flying into the air. Seeing shadows approaching, she runs back into the house.

Howl flies into the air, towards a huge airship.

The servitors crowd around the house, single-mindedly trying to get in. Sophie, standing behind the door, changes it so that it opens on the location of the castle, and runs out to look down at the city. She can see that Howl is in trouble, but has no idea how much -- in fighting the airship, he is becoming more beast than man. The ship flies out of sight, and there's an explosion. Sophie runs back into the house.

Calcifer protests that he can't change the portal's locations without Howl's help. She tells him to try anyway. If they stay where they are, Howl will keep trying to protect the shop. They have to move. Calcifer says that will make them too vulnerable. They already are vulnerable, and Howl won't last much longer if things don't change. She has the Witch move out, and then picks Calcifer up with the shovel, ignoring his protests that moving him will make the Castle collapse. As they move out, the insides of the Castle seem to dissolve, and its exterior collapses. Now Sophie heads back in and puts Calcifer into the fireplace. They're no longer attached to the hat shop, so now they have to move to where Howl is. Calcifer doesn't think he can do it, even with Sophie's encouragement, until she offers him her pony-tail as fuel ... which makes him explode into a huge flame, well able to move at least part of the Castle, guided by the scarecrow. Calcifer wonders what he could have done with Sophie's eyes, or her heart.

This remark, unfortunately, makes the Witch realize that Calcifer has Howl's heart, and she reaches out to take it out of the fire, thus pulling Calcifer out of the fireplace and catching on fire. Sophie tries to wrestle it away from the Witch, but she won't let go even though she's burning. Sophie is finally forced to do what she's threatened to do, so many times, and throws a bucket of water on Calcifer, which makes him go out. Almost immediately, the Castle starts to fall apart again. The part with Sophie and Heen in it falls into a chasm, while the part with the others bounds along across the mountains.

In the wreckage, Sophie weeps as she realizes that she may have killed Howl by her actions. However, the ring Howl gave her begins to light up, and after having this pointed to her by Heen, she follows its beam through the door, into darkness. On the other side of the darkness, she finds herself inside the cabin Howl showed her, on a night filled with falling stars. The ring begins to contract on her finger. She watches as a young Howl walks into the field, realizing that the door has somehow led her back in time to Howl's childhood. She tries to run to Howl's side, but gets caught in mud. Sophie watches as Howl catches a falling star. Heen, seeing this, begins to run himself. Howl starts to swallow the falling star, and by doing so is able to draw a flame out of himself -- Calcifer does not have his heart, he is his heart. The ring on her finger explodes, and a void opens up beneath her feet, drawing her away. She cries out to Howl and Calcifer, telling them who she is and that she can help them if they find her in the future. They see her, but then she and Heen are drawn away to their proper time.

Heen guides her back through the void to the wreckage; she has trouble keeping up, because she can't stop crying. As they pass through the door, it vanishes behind them. Howl, now almost completely a monster, is sitting in the wreckage. Sophie approaches him, and apologizes for taking so long. She kisses him, and tells him that she needs him to take her to Calcifer. Wordlessly, the wounded bird takes wing with Sophie and Howl clinging to its one remaining leg. They fly to where the remaining parts of the Castle are walking over the mountain. As they land, Howl collapses, and turns into feathers which float away leaving his human body behind. Sophie quietly approaches the Witch, and asks her to give her the heart back. At first, the Witch denies having it, denies knowing anything about it, but then Sophie embraces her and begs her to give it back. Finally, the Witch agrees, and gives it to her after telling her to take good care of it. Sophie thanks her, kisses her cheek, and tells her that she has a big heart.

Sophie asks Calcifer what will happen to him if she give Howl back his heart. He says he's not sure, but he thinks that he'll survive. After all, she dropped water on him, and they both survived. She realizes that his heart is still the heart of a child, and prays -- to whom does not, perhaps, matter -- that they will both be all right. And then she presses Calcifer to Howl's chest. All at once, a brilliant light explodes from Howl, as Calcifer, once more the star that fell, flies away proclaiming his freedom. However, his removal takes away the one thing that's holding what's left of the castle together, and it falls apart, with the floor on which they're all resting starting to slide into a chasm. The scarecrow leaps ahead of the floorboard, planting himself so that he slows it down enough to land safely, though grinding his pole down to nothing. Shaken by his sacrifice, Sophie kisses his cheek ... and he promptly turns into the missing prince from the northern kingdom! Apparently, a kiss from his true love was all that was needed to set matters to rights.

As the witch admires this strapping young man, Howl wakes up and complains of a weight on his chest. Sophie tells him that having a heart is something of a burden. He compares her hair to starlight, and she agrees with his assessment. The Witch tells the prince that his true love is in love with someone else, and suggests that he go stop the silly war. He agrees, and says that hearts can change. The Witch really likes that ...

Heen somehow transmits a message to Madame Suliman, revealing all that's happened. She disgustedly comments on the happy ending, and calls Heen a traitor. He finds this amusing, and heads off to be with his friends. With amused resignation, she tells her servant to get the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, as it's time to end the pointless war.

Calcifer comes down out of the sky to be with Sophie, as it looks like it's going to rain, and he missed them. Sophie gently kisses him, which makes him go all fuzzy.

Later, perhaps much later, Howl's rebuilt castle flies through the air, as Howl and Sophie share a gentle kiss ...