Howl's Moving Castle : BBC Radio 4 Audio Drama

In the land of Ingary, Sophie Hatter is resigning herself to an uninteresting life working in a hat shop, when a castle appears above the town of Market Chipping and refuses to stay still.
Visiting the shop one day, the dreaded Witch of the Waste transforms Sophie into an old crone. Setting off into the countryside to seek her fortune, Sophie soon runs into the sinister moving castle. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls.
First published in 1986, Howl's Moving Castle’s reputation has grown over time to become recognised as a fantasy classic and, in 2004, it was adapted as an Oscar-nominated animated film by Studio Ghibli.
Cast:
Narrator: Robert Bathurst
Old Sophie: Julia McKenzie
Howl: Iwan Rheon
Michael: Angus Imrie
Calcifer: Dan Starkey
Miss Angorian: Gwyneth Keyworth
The Witch of the Waste: Pippa Bennett-Warner
Young Sophie: Dakota Blue-Richards
Neil: Gerran Howell
Written by Robert Valentine
Based upon the novel by Diana Wynne Jones
Sound Design: Richard Fox
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Directed by Simon Barnard
A Bafflegab production for BBC Radio 4
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I do not own any content in this video, I'm just uploading it for fellow HMC fans or anyone who missed/wants to (re)listen to this production. Apologies for the cut off at the end, I can't seem to save this video properly without it cutting off like that.

[@maia_ce]

omgggg calcifer's hints throughout got me laughing like sophie was so unaware

[@Arzamol5]

33:02 This scene made me pause to check when the book was set. It came out in the 1980s and I guess it was set in more or less "modern times" because Howl's nephew was playing a computer game. Took me by surprise. The movie had me thinking it was set way earlier than that, 1920s at the latest, judging off the cars. I looked up the same moment in the books, and it kinda seems like he was playing a text-based RPG.

[@Telos_CH]

Let me add to that! Howl travels from world to world with magic, so while Sophie is from a semi-industrialized world with castles and magic, his family is from the modern times, with cars, computers and internet.

[@joocleary4576]

​@@Telos_CHIdk why it was so funny and endearing to find out he was just some Welsh guy

[@LuciThomasHardylover-qx6ts]

Less than a minute in and it's already so much easier to listen to than the 6 hour+ abridged version we just tried! 😂 A real actor who can act with their voice alone,with inflection and variety. A joy to hear, without the constant straining and effort of someone just reading the book flat!

[@CourtneyCoulson]

I don't know which version you listened to, but the Audible version of Howl's Moving Castle is brilliant, she nails all the voices.

[@jasonwistaff]

I just did the same. This version is much better.

[@esthernavarrete1270]

I love how they adapted book howls charm, i think they should've dobbled down on his welsh accent tho, i find it very unic of the character( i also like Welsh accent very much for some reason).His and Sophie's bickering with each other will always be my favorite part of the book, something that they kind of took away in the movie. I also love how they changed many many things from the book but managed to keep the best lines, like "may all your bacon burn" or the "gray mouse" or calcifers final line. I will hold this audio drama close to my heart just like the movie for being good enough adaptations of my favourite book ever.

[@swain-Ix1tv]

young sophie's voice sounds so lovely aaaa she sounds similar to the english dub of the film

[@Booksaremysolace]

I was thinking that too

[@swain-Ix1tv]

why is jt that i find myself simping for howl no matter what the adaptation is. his charm is too strong

[@calciferswoodpile]

Same honestly 😂

[@carolynlewis9008]

He’s a bad boy…. Tale as old as time. I LOVE THIS ADAPTATION

[@bostonpikachu8583]

I listen to this EVERY NIGHT to sleep. If this ever gets taken down like the Hobbit one I listened to I don't know what I will do! Thank you for helping thousands sleep 😊

[@hestia_or_adhdsteph]

Oh my god howls voice!!!!!! and michaels!!!!! and the way sophie said "liar" at the end ahhh theyre so cute!!!!!!! howl singing in welsh!!!!!!! a touch sad we didnt get calcifers 'sosban fach' or the rest of the 'we ought to live happily ever after' exchange but also its all so good!!!!!! and ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!

[@null8495]

I have been listening to this to put myself to sleep for a month.

[@calciferswoodpile]

No I did that once and never did it again because I got woken up and immediately junpscared at 3am because of Howl and Michael laughing

[@ummmhithere1262]

The guitar strums when we first meet Howl are killing meeee

[@swain-Ix1tv]

if howl calls me a little gray mouse id melt into a puddle

[@calciferswoodpile]

ughhh I know right hahaha

[@LX777]

I couldn't forget the voice of Ramsay Bolton (Game of Thrones) even if I wanted to. Iwan Rheon is an excellent actor indeed. Thank you for posting this for everyone to listen. Greetings from Bulgaria 🇧🇬

[@JDHDoveton]

Thanks for uploading. Like this version a lot, really stripped down. Feel like I can tell it's adapted by a man because though because all of the family are cut out, and we lose Sophie's jealous moodiness which is gloriously petty and very relatable :) I miss Sophie's inner thoughts too. But nice version nonetheless.

[@calciferswoodpile]

No problem! And I agree, it did skip over a lot of stuff I thought was fun, but I do still adore this version.

[@feyfyre]

oh my god, thank you SO much for uploading this- my mum told me about the radio play originally bc she knows I love the book & film, and even though I saved it on the app, it left WAY too quickly and I never got the chance to listen. I scanned KZbin up and down at the time, and nothing. Tonight, I remembered it and told mum my woes about it, and she asks the classic mum question, “have you looked for it on KZbin?” Lo and behold, this was the first result, where I couldn’t find ANYTHING beforehand. props to you for bringing me this magical little wtf moment, and for sharing this adaptation!!

[@calciferswoodpile]

I'm so glad I could help!! Honestly I'm just happy I was able to save it in time, I only heard about it in the last day or two before they took it off the BBC website lol

[@Hailey-im9ev]

I love Howl's Moving Castle because of the May Day scene, i was born on May Day :)

[@Hailey-im9ev]

save point : 6:34

[@calciferswoodpile]

oh thats awesome! michael's birthday is also on may day :D

[@Hailey-im9ev]

@@calciferswoodpile Awh, i love that too :]

[@thelestrangelair]

This was fun! My only complaint is that Calcifer's voice is never done properly. No hissing and crackling as the bookk discribes. The movie got it way wrong too, but I didn't like the movie, feeling it strayed too far from the book plot, so this one was far better! Bella L

[@yem3971]

GOOD HEAVENS! IM SWOONING

[@PERSEUS-NIOR]

My god this was beautiful everyone nailed their parts my god I'm in love with this story

[@leahrice5827]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!! I found out about this a few months ago and spent like an hour searching for it because this is my favorite book and I was SO sad I couldn’t find it anywhere! I’m SO EXCITED TO LISTEN TO THIS!! YOURE MY HERO

[@calciferswoodpile]

Ahh I'm glad I could help!

[@kasperzhan7576]

Just found out this existed and was a little bummed when I can't find it on radio 4. So delighted that I found it here! Thanks for uploading this! (Also your channel name haha it's so cute

[@calciferswoodpile]

youre absolutely welcome! and haha thank you!

[@raquel4171]

Is this the radio drama featured in December 2021? Months later I tried to find it but was deleted from the BBC's website. If so, thank you very much, I really wanted to hear it again

[@calciferswoodpile]

Yep, that's the one! I'd only just read the book & seen the movie after it had aired so I was pretty sad when I found out I'd missed it, but I did a bit of internet digging and here we are :]

[@lisaconnolly8387]

Love this so comfy 😍 especially love the casts voices just brilliant

[@lulu2176]

you have SAVED my life omg tysm

[@angk3185]

This is so soothing. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@Drayoon]

So good thank you very much for posting it

[@yuu-4186]

thank you so much for this ❤

[@Frosting1000]

Thank you for uploading this! It’s wonderful

[@calciferswoodpile]

You're welcome!

[@gabcooky]

thank you so much for uploading this :D

[@calciferswoodpile]

No problem :D

[@swain-Ix1tv]

omg thank you for uploading! im in love with the book and ive only recently heard of this adaptation

[@calciferswoodpile]

No problem! Honestly I'm such a huge fan of the book too, and I'm really happy they made this :D

[@s.tarannum4319]

This audio is soooooooooooo gooooodddd

[@TFaceFalone]

looove this! radio versions are the best! much better that audiobooks!🙏

[@UNB0XT]

This was so charming to listen to aaaaa!!!

[@WriterDreams44]

Is there a version of this for the other two books? Love ❤ this one!

[@calciferswoodpile]

I've not heard anything about Bafflegab making adaptations of them, but I really hope they do! HOMW was my favourite in the trilogy and I think it's a shame they're not nearly as well known. If they do end up being made, I'll try and repost them here too, depending on if they plan on taking them down.

[@Hello_There820]

please ignore 25:52 - 26:56

[@angk3185]

This is a great recording! Pls continue other fantasy books.

[@calciferswoodpile]

This is from the BBC, it's not mine.

[@michealburnettis2]

Splendid 🎁❤️✨🎈🎉🎊🌹🇮🇪

[@heeenryk]

thX

[@carolynlewis9008]

This story, for me makes look at things as far as perception goes, differently than any other story I’ve listened to

[@justanotherdreamer7721]

Is this a shortened version of the actual book? I feel as though many parts were missed out/glazed over

[@calciferswoodpile]

Yeah, it is pretty different from the book. But I guess there's only so much you can do while adapting from book to audio drama. Same can be said about the movie, there was a lot that Miyazaki changed about the original book. Personally though, I really enjoy this version and I think they did pretty good.

[@darthsheller9439]

Good make more dramas pls 🙏 I love them

[@calciferswoodpile]

I didn't make this, this was made by the BBC. Do you mean upload more? If I ever find any related to this channel, I'll be sure to!

[@LEGATOSLAVE]

Omg this is amazing! Where can I find the rest 💙💙💙

[@savannahhaley7473]

Im so confused. Is this like a summary version? Its missing so many parts of the book.

[@calciferswoodpile]

It's just a radio adaptation, they're not going to be able to fit everything from the book in ^^

[@shiny.carrot]

Hiii i suppose it isn’t the whole book.. where can I find the whole book (maybe all three volumes) in an audiobook form ??? + TYSM for uploading you’re a lifesaver ❤❤❤❤

[@calciferswoodpile]

I believe all three books are on Audible? I don't use Audible personally, so I might be wrong.

[@pixelysandwich]

25:53 this is becoming a meme on KZbin for some reason 😭

[@calciferswoodpile]

It is??

[@iwillbejudge]

Not as good as the original but gripping none the less

[@ratinyourspaghetti8499]

Was the witch of the waste voiced by Patina Miller?

[@scarlettmacnamara3241]

Credits say she was voiced by Pippa Bennett-Warner

[@ratinyourspaghetti8499]

@@scarlettmacnamara3241ohhh Icic it’s just her and Patina do characters like the witch so well I thought they were the same person!

[@trigger0403]

What is this??? Its awesome??

[@calciferswoodpile]

It's the radio adaptation that played on BBC R4 back in December 2021! Many people didn't get to listen to it live so, here it is. I just found out it also played recently, at the end of March this year, which I also missed, hahah

[@trigger0403]

@@calciferswoodpile do they do more?

[@calciferswoodpile]

As far as I'm aware, there's no plans for them to make more, but if they do, I'll try and repost them here too ^^

[@trigger0403]

@@calciferswoodpile thank you yeah they did an awesome job should definitely do more hahah

[@mariel98210]

Pls never take this vid down 🥹 I always come back here…

[@calciferswoodpile]

aww