Glen Chapman of Den of Geek wrote 'Hisaishi and the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra combine here to brilliant effect, creating a beautiful, sweeping score that complements the movie perfectly'. 'Ending Song - The Promise of the World – Merry-Go-Round of Life' (エンディング-世界の約束～人生のメリーゴーランド, Endingu - sekainoyakusoku ~ jinsei no merīgōrando)Ī For Your Consideration album featuring 8 tracks from the score, was published by the film's North American distributor Walt Disney Pictures' in the end of 2005, to coincide the forthcoming awards season. 'The Boy Who Swallowed a Star' (星をのんだ少年, Hoshi o nonda shōnen) 'Sophie's Castle' (ソフィーの城, Sofī no shiro) 'The Secret Cave' (秘密の洞窟, Himitsu no dōkutsu) 'Saliman's Spell – Return to the Castle' (サリマンの魔方陣～城への帰還, Sariman no mahōjin ~-jō e no kikan) 'Vanity and Friendship' (虚栄と友情, Kyoei to yūjō) 'Irremovable Spell' (消えない呪い, Kienai noroi) 'Witch of the Waste' (荒地の魔女, Arechi no majo) 'A Walk in the Skies' (空中散歩, Kūchū sanpo) 'The Merry Light Cavalrymen' (陽気な軽騎兵, Yōkina kei kihei) Howl's Moving Castle: Symphony Suite Howl's Moving Castle: Symphony Suite In 2020, the soundtracks of Howl's Moving Castle along with Spirited Away (2001), both were issued on vinyl LP, followed by a second re-issue along with the collection of Studio Ghibli soundtracks in 2023. A CD single of the film's theme, preceded the film's soundtrack. The image album to the film's music was released on January 2004, months ahead of the film's release and the score album was unveiled in conjunction with the film.

His approach to the score was 'a kind of international feel' where he could use sophisticated orchestration to reflect the dense orchestral styles associated in Hollywood films.

But, the leitmotifs written for the film, led him space for experimenting the themes, and is different from that of Hollywood film music where 'the leitmotif appears very clearly and is very easy to remember'. Hisaishi had introduced several leitfmotifs for the first time, as his previous scores for the Miyazaki and Ghibli ventures did not have leitmotifs. The music to Studio Ghibli's 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film Howl's Moving Castle ( Japanese: ハウルの動く城, Hepburn: Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, featured a score composed by Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki's regular collaborator and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic orchestra.

Soundtrack of 2004 film Howl's Moving Castle

Howls moving castle main theme piano