Howl's Moving Castle gets new release in Chinese cinema

Howl's Moving Castle, an animated fantasy film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, had its restored version re-released in IMAX in Yonghua Cinema in Shanghai's Xujiahui area.

The 2004 film won the Oscar nomination for the best animated film and was one of the most financially successful Japanese films in history. It was restored and will be introduced in Chinese cinemas for the first time on Apr 30. This is also the first time the film launched in IMAX cinema.

Based on a novel by British writer Diana Wynne Jones, the movie tells about a young milliner's adventures with the wizard Howl in his magical castle after she was transformed into an old woman by a witch.

Junichi Nishioka, executive director of Studio Ghibli, the production company founded by Miyazaki, said at the Shanghai premiere of the IMAX version of the film that Miyazaki enjoyed the creative process of the movie and Howl's Moving Castle was one of his most satisfactory creations.

Miyazaki was very concerned about how audiences respond to each of his film. "If people give very positive responses to a movie, it would give him the strength to carry on to the next," he said.

Studio Ghibli's latest production, The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan in 2023 and entered Chinese cinemas on April 3 this year.