The film, similarly to Myazaki’s other works, contains the ideas of
pacifism, in particular, Miyazaki's
opposition to the Iraq War. From the very beginning of the film we see how deeply the daily life of the citizens is penetrated by war: fighting planes above their heads, presence of military, propaganda leaflets. The horrors of war are represented by many frames of bombing and fire in the sky and cities.
Howl, the powerful wizard, is a central figure in the film's anti-war message. He actively resists being drafted into the war effort. We see him transform himself and disappear rather than fight, highlighting his aversion to violence. One of the ideas that the film conveys is the fact that there is no “honorable warrior path”. This is very clearly shown by Howl’s transformation into a monster: the dehumanizing nature of war transforms him into a weapon rather than a person.
An impressive example is also the scene on a flower field that is suddenly ruined by a warship. A rhetorical question sounds, “What difference does it make to whom it belongs?” The characters are complex and cannot be easily divided into “good” or ”bad”, no matter who uses violence, it’s still horrible.
Sophie’s character arc develops the ideas of
self-confidence and
aging. She is a strong character that gets more complex and experienced along the journey — unlike many female characters in media. In the beginning of the film, she is full of self-concerns and feelings of obligation, but further she learns to value and express her feelings and desires. Her curse is a luckiness at the same time: it pushes her to go further than her routine life and allows her to behave differently and be treated more seriously.
This idea is also expressed through the contrast with the Witch of Waste that uses magical powers to maintain her physical appearance, but still behaves very childishly. Their comparison shows the real difference between age and appearance that are temporarily and often beyond our control, and inner self that no circumstances can deprive.
