Movie Review #39
Spirited Away (2001)
Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
English interpretation by Cindy Davis Hewitt & Donald H. Hewitt
Rating: 8.25/10.00 or *** 1/2 (out of 4)
Rarely is there a good animated product coming out these days. Except for Pixar, animation degradation is in full swing in today's theaters. However, Disney, in one of the smartest moves the company has ever made, purchased Hayao Miyazaki's works for American presentation in theaters. Hayao Miyazaki gives moviegoers a reason to see animated films as they still can be one of the more moving and more enchanting genres in filmmaking.
Spirited Away is the best animated film made since Beauty and the Beast. I am no expert on animated productions (I've seen fewer than ten of them.), but I know when a great movie is made. Each time I have watched an animated movie (before Spirited Away), I have felt somewhat misplaced. The worlds presented, the characters developed, and the plots displayed seem cheesy, manipulative, and overly moralistic. In a sense, the movies just were not made with my personality traits in mind (not necessarily a bad thing, except for me). Only on rare occasions (Beauty and the Beast comes to mind.) does this matter little. But it seems that most animation only has kids in mind and not necessarily family (or the general audience itself). I have always considered this as a limitation of the genre, something that doesn't need to be.
Let me contine on this diversion a bit. Animation DOES NOT have to be child-oriented. Consider the success of two television animated sitcoms: The Simpsons and South Park. Neither are at all child-oriented, but adults certainly don't mind about the animation. Often the shows are intelligent, somewhat thought-provoking, and frequently funny. To me it seems counterproductive to automatically presume or infer that animated films have to be directed toward children.
The beauty of Spirited Away is that, while the focus is most certainly on children, it has the family and the general audience in mind. Miyazaki presents a world full of colors, spirits, fantasies, and interesting creatures. Children will be in awe, and adults will focus on nothing else. The effect is immediate and undeniable. Once you see the first visuals of Spirited Away, you will not shift your eyes from the screen.
The story is centered around a family, and more personally, on the 10-year-old daughter named Chihiru (voiced by Daveigh Chase), who are driving around trying to find their new home. The family notes a mysterious tunnel, and the father, who is piqued with curiosity, foolishly enters the tunnel. Chihiru, who is the only one who feels threatened by what is on the other side, is eventually dragged along. The other side of the tunnel features a world that at first seems like an amusement park. Upon further inspection, the park appears closed. The parents of Chihiru note that the "concessions" remain open with apparent free food tempting them almost unbearably. The two begin to sit down and eat readily. Meanwhile, Chihiru goes off, serving her own curiosities. On her journey she meets Haku (voiced by Jason Marsden), a very complex individual that serves (one purpose) as her guide. Haku warns Chihiru of Yubaba (voiced by Suzanne Pleshette), an old crone who keeps innumerable captives of her world by stealing their names. Chihiru returns to her parents, who continue to eat the food but are now merely pigs (literally). Chihiru, needless to say, must find a way to convince Yubaba to change her parents back into humans and letting all of them leave the spirit world.
This is no easy task, but Chihiru makes many friends along the way. One curious friend is the spider-like Kamaji (voiced by former M*A*S*H star David Ogden Stiers), an at-first intimidating creature. Miyazaki brilliantly presents his characters in interesting, often ominous ways. Later we find that most of these characters are much friendlier than they first appear. This is an obvious message that Miyazaki is sending, but you don't realize it while watching the movie. Here is where Miyazaki shines: He is subtle with his messages. He doesn't have dialogue that openly states the moral messages; instead he chooses the more admirable and thought-provoking way of displaying them in eerily realistic yet fantastical situations. Kamaji becomes very important later in the movie, as do most other characters that Chihiru meets, including sister-like Lin (voiced by Susan Egan). The result is a complex quest that challenges Chihiru on every level. The movie continuously moves in unexpected twists and turns.
Perhaps the greatest quality of Spirited Away is its look. It dazzles the eyes in its color and complexity. I cannot imagine how many hours Miyazaki spent on the visuals, which were primarily drawn and not computer animated. Miyazaki spends an insane amount of attention on detail; just look at the numbers of dust balls scurrying around, the sparkles the river has, the toys big baby Boh has, etc.
A theme of Miyazaki's is the transformation of characters physically. For example, baby Boh turns into an obese mouse, a river monster Okuterasama is, in actuality, only trashy and smelly because of pollution, and (of course) Chihiru's parents are turned into pigs. Furthermore, Miyazaki's theme of scary-looking-does-not-necessarily-mean-evil is emphasized with the river monster's cleansing, Kamaji's kindly demeanor, and even evil Yubaba herself (who, interestingly, has a most pleasant and gentle twin sister Zeniba). On a bit of a digression, I mysteriously found Yubaba to be adorable. Perhaps it was her enormous head or her old-womanish voice, but Yubaba was the most interesting character and one of the more likable characters, eerily enough.
Although the ending may be a bit long (yet strangely abrupt), there are few other weaknesses in this glorious animated production. Don't let the animation, the fact that it is anime and not purely American animation, or the fact that it comes from Disney scare you (The first two shouldn't anyway.). This is a most glorious world full of amazing visuals, intelligent characters, and subtle messages. Spirited Away evokes the imagination in all of us. What a heartening thought to enter a deceivingly evil world and exit it with unforgettable and countless new friends, new lessons, and new hopes. And what an amazing way to show it.