Christian Bale, the star of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, has called one of the films in his extensive career a “masterpiece.”
Per industry news and fan page Discussing Film on Twitter, Bale recently responded to a question regarding what films from his career he would be most likely to recommend to children. “Howl’s Moving Castle,” Bale replied, before going on to add that the beloved Studio Ghibli film by renowned director Hayao Miyazaki is a “masterpiece.”
Both scripted and directed by Miyazaki and based on Diana Wynne Jones’ 1986 novel of the same name, Howl’s Moving Castle arrived in theaters in 2004 to the delight of audiences around the globe, receiving its English-language release by Walt Disney Pictures in 2005. Although the film differs from the novel in terms of its underlying themes, Howl’s Moving Castle still revolves around the same core cast of characters and overarching conflict. The film follows Sophie Hatter, a young woman cursed by the dreaded Witch of the Waste to inhabit the form of an elderly woman who eventually crosses paths with the powerful mage Howl.
Along with a small ensemble cast of characters including the sentient scarecrow Turnip Head, the fire demon Calcifer, and Howl’s young apprentice Markl, Sophie embarks upon a journey to not only reclaim her youth, but help stave off the threat of an impending war between two vast kingdoms. Upon its release, Howl’s Moving Castle became a massive financial success, bringing in more than $236 million at the global box office against a budget of only $24 million. Howl’s Moving Castle was also a critical darling, garnering a dozen major award nominations including for Best Animated Feature at the 78th Annual Academy Awards (losing to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), of which it won nine.
In August 2025, it was announced that former Studio Ghibli animators Akihiko Yamashita, who worked on hits such as Howl’s Moving Castle, and Yoshiharu Sato, whose work includes Porco Rosso and My Neighbor Totoro, were releasing their own brand-new 55-minute animated film via their Trash Studio banner. The film, titled Ashita no Arika, features a unique brand of animated charm that will feel eerily familiar for longtime Studio Ghibli fans, and was produced in collaboration with Kobe-based steel manufacturer Kobelco as part of the company’s 120th anniversary celebration. Ashita no Arika is just the latest in a long line of similar projects from Trash Studio, though it is notably longer than the rest of the studio’s other productions by a wide margin.
Howl’s Moving Castle is currently available for streaming in the U.S. on HBO Max.