SPIRITED AWAY (SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSHI) (2001; 125 min)
Walt Disney Presents a Studio Ghibli Film
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
MPAA: PG, for scary moments
Reviewer Rating: 10 out of 10
Though he works exclusively in the medium of animation, Hayao Miyazaki stands out as one of the greatest filmmakers of _any_ medium that Japan has ever known. Every one of his films is a masterpiece of storytelling. When Miyazaki made _Princess Mononoke_, fans were disheartened to hear that it was to be his last film. How fortunate for us that he changed his mind, and made _Sen and Chihiro: Spirited Away_.
_Spirited Away_ is literally the highest-grossing movie ever in Japan (it made $230 million, in a nation with 1/10 America's theater screens), knocking _Titanic_ out of the top slot--which in turn knocked _Princess Mononoke_ ($159 million) out of the top slot a couple of years before. Despite its high Japanese gross, _Mononoke_ made less than $3 million in the American box office; as a result, Disney nearly didn't option _Spirited Away_ for American distribution.
Fortunately, they saw the light. The American run of _Spirited Away_ opens in limited venues in late September, and will expand to other venues (as did _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_) based on how successful it is. Reportedly, both subtitled and dubbed prints of the movie will be available to theaters that want to show either.
Though the movie is not yet out in America, the DVD (featuring English subtitles) has been out in Japan and Hong Kong for a couple of months, and it was by this expedient that I watched the film. I have not yet seen the dub (supervised by Pixar's John Lasseter, and starring Daveigh Chase, "Lilo," as the protagonist); I will update the Epinions version of this review (see note at end) when I do see it. If the dub is as faithful as it looks from the trailer, then this review will still be almost entirely accurate for the purposes of evaluating it.
For those who remember _Princess Mononoke_, whose brilliance was mitigated by its violence, the first question _Spirited Away_ might evoke is, "Is it kid-friendly?" The answer is unabashedly _yes_. _Spirited Away_ is one of that rare breed of movie that is made for children but without pandering or condescending to them--so it can be enjoyed by children of _all_ ages, whether young in body or young at heart. There are some scary moments (that may be too intense for the _very_ young) and a little bit of blood, which is why it is rated PG, but there are no deaths and very little violence. Disney is putting its own name and logo at the beginning of the movie, and Disney would not endanger its own family-friendly reputation.
In _Spirited Away_, Miyazaki revisits the world he first explored in _My Neighbor Totoro_, and later touched upon in _Princess Mononoke_: the realm of Shinto nature-spirits hiding just out of sight behind the ordinary world.
The story begins as a young girl named Chihiro is sulking in the back of her parents' car, unhappy about being taken away from all her friends, as they drive to their new home in the suburbs. Her father takes a wrong turn, and they end up in what seems to be an abandoned amusement park. Chihiro thinks the place is creepy and doesn't want any part of it. Despite her protests, her father and mother decide to explore the decrepit village across a dry riverbed, and Chihiro comes along rather than be left behind alone.
Chihiro's premonitions are not unfounded...for after nightfall, the village is a very different place. Under the lit lamps, shadowy spirits walk the streets. The dry riverbed is a mile-wide flood, plied by a riverboat that carries gods and spirits across the water. Customers of all different shapes and sizes cross the great arched bridge into the palatial bathhouse that surmounts the village. Before she fully understands what has happened, Chihiro's parents have been turned into pigs, and she has been forced to work as a bath attendant for Yubaba, the witch who runs the bathhouse. Chihiro--or "Sen," as she is called after Yubaba steals most of her name--must make her way in that strange world, so she can free her parents and return home.
_Spirited Away_ is an exciting and fascinating movie. Like all of Miyazaki's films, you come to care for and empathize with the protagonist and the other characters--even the witch Yubaba, who is not so much _evil_ as she is greedy and self-centered. You keep watching because you want to find out what happens next, and how the characters learn, grow, and deal with their problems. Contrast an early scene with Chihiro inching down a staircase one terrified step at a time to a later scene which has her running on a decrepit, collapsing pipe, leaping to safety just as it finally gives way. You get so caught up in these developments that before you know it, the movie is over.
The story of _Spirited Away_ is inspired by many sources--most notably Japanese Shinto folklore, which holds that everything in nature has a spirit or god living within it (for the purpose of this story, the Japanese terms for "spirit" and "god" are roughly interchangeable), and Lewis Carroll's _Alice in Wonderland_, which tells the story of a girl's journey through a strange and sometimes frightening fantasy world. In fact, _Spirited Away_ has most often been compared to _Alice_, though taken as a whole, the resemblance is only superficial. The movie also harks back to some of Miyazaki's earlier movies, revisiting the funny-looking nature spirits of _My Neighbor Totoro_, the young girl making her way in a strange world of _Kiki's Delivery Service_, and the vulnerability of gods to man-made corruption of _Princess Mononoke_.
In _Spirited Away_, the main themes are finding one's inner strength, and the value of friendship over coercion--themes found in many of his other works as well. The message is to be true to oneself--that even if you do not _change_ the world, you can still survive it. There are also mild pokes at the consumerism that is especially rampant in modern Japan, and at man's tendency to pollute his environment. Miyazaki often uses his work for gentle preaching of this kind, but the marvel is that it is so subdued--showing by example, rather than by broad exposition--that the method of delivery does not prejudice against the message.
Miyazaki doesn't simply create movies, he creates entire visualized _worlds_. Every scene has the sort of attention to detail that can only be fully appreciated on the big screen...even the dim corners of each scene are populated by _things_--pipes, valves, gauges, a sink with a towel hanging over it on a clotheshanger on the wall of a machine room, or characters running this way and that. One memorably well-composed shot shows Chihiro inching out of a door at the left of the screen, while at the right, numerous strange creatures pass back and forth over the bridge in the distance. Every one of those creatures is unique--there's no recycling or looping of cells because they don't think you'll be paying attention. Miyazaki's films are a feast for the eyes, fun to watch over and over again simply so you can see the little details you missed before.
A word should also be said about the animation. Japanese animation has a different style, comes from a different background than the modern-day Disney to which most Americans are accustomed. American animation often shows expression through the use of exaggerated facial motions and body language, similar to the way a stage performer conveys his expressions so that even the people in the back row can see what's going on. When a Disney character's jaw drops, the whole shape of his face changes. When he throws up his hands in amazement, he seems more like a caricature than an actual person.
However, anime borrows from a _manga_, or graphic novel-style, tradition, in which ways have to be found of showing emotion that work even in a still frame. The artists become so used to thinking in those conventions that those conventions get translated to the screen in their animated works. Japanese animated characters _do_ show emotion, change expression--but they do it in a more minimalist, realistic fashion--in the way their eyes and mouth move, and with more subdued body language.
I am so used to watching Japanese animation that reading the characters is second nature to me--but American critics often seem to complain about these films having "bad animation," confusing _style_ with _quality_. It is a pet peeve of mine, because Miyazaki's films, including _Spirited Away_, are animated on a level of quality that few other than Disney ever reach. Miyazaki has many Disney animators among his fans.
The score to _Spirited Away_ is composed by Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, who has written the music for most of Miyazaki's movies. Hisaishi's score uses a full symphony orchestra, and is by turns haunting, creepy, melancholy, and boisterous, perfectly evoking the mood of the scenes it accompanies. I can't wait to hear it through the larger speakers of a movie theater.
Miyazaki's movies have always been amazing roller-coaster rides that thrill and delight almost anyone who sees them; _Spirited Away_ is no exception. Much more accessible and family-friendly than _Princess Mononoke_, it should be a smashing success if the theater-going audience gives it a chance.
(NOTE: This review is a slightly modified version of the one that may
be found at
This review is copyright 2002 by Christopher E. Meadows. Permission is granted for Internet redistribution via rec.arts.movies.reviews, and for associated retransmission and archival. All other rights reserved.
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