Studio Ghibli Theme Park’s First Look at Howl’s Castle Replica

The upcoming Studio Ghibli theme park will incorporate a life-size replica of Howl’s Moving Castle when Ghibli Park finally opens in Fall 2022.

The theme park is presently being built near Nagoya, Japan. It’s anticipated to open in Fall 2022 after some delays due to the pandemic. Hayao Miyazaki,  the central figurehead of Studio Ghibli and one of its main founders and directors, has been governing the development.

His involvement with the project will reassure fans that Ghibli Park is sure to beautifully bring out the lovely and endlessly fantastical animated worlds of films like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Whisper of the Heart, Porco Rosso, and many other admired Ghibli movies.

Recently, photos posted by Twitter account Otakujp reveal a glimpse at two of Ghibli Park’s most exciting attractions.

One of them is a concept art detailing a replica of Howl’s Moving Castle, and the other one is the first look at Princess Mononoke village, which is expected to be just one of five themed areas.

Ghibli Park was originally set to open this year, but it was delayed until 2022 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. While Ghibli’s Giant Warehouse, Dondoko Forest, and Springtime of Life Hill will be opened in 2022, Princess Mononoke Village and Witch Valley are to be inaugurated in 2023.

It was disclosed in July that the Studio Ghibli theme park had resumed construction following an interim suspension, meaning it’s on its way to open in Fall 2022.

“We are still on track and are planning to open the park in fall 2022.”

Aichi Prefecture Governor Hideaki Omura

Howl’s Moving Castle is one of Studio Ghibli’s most charming and remarkable films, and Ghibli fans will undoubtedly travel from all over the world to explore the large replica. The theme park will be full of the same beauty that makes Ghibli films so beloved universally. In the meantime, US fans are busy getting their Ghibli fix as the majority of the Japanese studio’s outstanding back catalog is presently available on HBO Max.

About Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones.

The story is set in a fictional kingdom where both magic and early 20th-century technology are popular, against the background of a war with another kingdom. The film tells the story of a young, content millionaire named Sophie who is turned into an old woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her.