Spirited Away

Mystical. Enchanting. A key to another world. There are so many ways to describe this movie. The movie focuses on a young girl who is trapped in a sort of "spirit world". When her mother and father are turned into pigs, young Chihiro has to save her parents before they're cooked and eaten. It may sound silly, but this tale has more to it than farm animals. When Chihiro is frightened, she runs off. When a boy finds her, he tells her that she must get a job at "The Bath House". A sort of retreat for spirits. But to do this, she must speak with Yubaba. The witch who rules The Bathhouse. After Yubaba agrees to give Chihiro some work. She takes her name away from her. And she is then called "Sen". While shes at the bath house, she is put under very hard work. I could say more, but that would be foolish of me. This is a great movie that I think people of all ages should see for themselves. Its an enchanting and heartwarming story that I've watched over and over again and have never gotten sick of it. It has been another inspiring movie from Haiyo Miazaki that is above all his best yet. A 10 out of 10 for this wonderful movie.

Despite an overlong run time, Spirited Away is a visually stunning film filled with some of the most imaginative characters I've ever seen. In addition to the visuals, the music is beautiful, and the story has something for audience members of all ages.

Last year I saw Spirited Away on it's UK release. I've never been a particular fan of anime, and it didn't really occur to me that I was watching a foreign language film dubbed into English (or 'American'). I can't imagine seeing a live action foreign language film dubbed into another language, but hey, this is a kids cartoon, what does it matter? Up to a point it didn't, because I loved the film. I enjoyed it so much I set about digging up the Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki back catalogue, in the process Sprited Away was filed away as one of the lesser Ghibli's - still great, but compared to Laputa, Grave of the Fireflies and a few others, it seemed a little weak.

BUT... I recently re-watched it on DVD with the subtitles and found the difference unbelievable. The film came alive like the other Miyazaki's I've seen. It seemed infinitely more layered, detailed, intelligent and witty than I remembered. Could it be that retaining the intended performances (even if the words are unintelligible) can make that much difference? Maybe the dub was just poorly done? Or was it just because I was now versed in the language of Ghibli? As a little experiment I decided to re-watch some of the film with both the English subtitles and English language dub in order to compare, I ended watching the whole thing out of morbid fascination. It's simply amazing what a difference there is. Entire scenes change. It's not just that subtle emphasis is shifted or the same points are made in a different manner - in the dub, the subject of whole conversations and scenes are changed, and often to some flat and uninteresting hokum. Relationships between characters are changed, their motivations and personalities are changed, the difference is shocking.

I appreciate western, and particularly American audiences can be put off by subtitles. And cinemas are less likely to show the film anyway. It's pointless to be all righteous when, fundamentally, you just want people to see the film. Unless they do, this treasure trove will remain undiscovered, and maybe finding it will encourage people to conquer the 'subtitle demon' (as Miyazaki might call him). But the problem is the quality of these dubs, and the liberties taken with the source material. Of course, without speaking Japanese, who can say it's not the subtitles that are way off? They're probably written by westerners too. But the dub just stinks of Disneyfication. Saturday morning generic nonsense. The challenging, uncompromising and emotionally ambitious nature of the film is severely watered down.

A fair question might be, 'if it's so bad why was it so successful?' The success is evidence of the films staggering quality. Even so, it hardly challenged whatever Jerry Bruckheimer movie was showing at the time. In Japan it's the biggest grossing film in history. 'Go figure,' as Chihiro wouldn't say.

Personally, I've never seen anything as original in an animated film as in this deeply mythical fairytale. What a surreal idea for a movie! It's hard to find an adequate description (because I also don't want to spoil this in the slightest way) but this film has a sense of "otherness" to it - for lack of a better word - like none I've ever seen. And the strange, mythical nature of this film - apart from the amazing artwork - is probably one of the main reasons for its appeal to me.

Maybe the themes of the story don't feel quite as strange to an eastern audience because they fit to a certain degree with some eastern/Asian mythologies - to me, this beautiful piece of wonder was something new. And a profoundly moving experience.

Outstanding animation; funny, weird, scary and touching at the same time, this unique work of art is one I can't recommend enough. 10 out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

I have seen many international films over the years and quite a few of these were Japanese. In addition, unlike many parents, I have seen a lot of anime that my kids have watched so at least I have some familiarity with the medium. Yet, with my background I still felt pretty confused and baffled by the strangeness of this movie. Now this isn't to say I didn't like it, but so many times I just couldn't understand exactly what was happening. Interestingly, when I saw the film again, I understood it much better and appreciated it much more. And this may be exactly how you might want to approach the film unless you already are a die-hard anime fan. See it, but be willing to see it without trying to think out the odd plot too much or even try seeing it several times. I know that each time I did, the film became more and more enjoyable and I began to notice so many cultural references. Now, several years after I first saw it in the theater, I have seen a lot more Japanese anime and films and it's practically second-nature to follow the film. So, for adults and those unfamiliar with the medium, this movie might take a bit of effort to fully enjoy, though with more and more children being familiar with and loving anime, it's very likely your kids will love it and will then be able to explain it to you!! As for the film, the animation is the best I have seen in any Miyazaki film, the story deep and fascinating and it's full of cute and endearing little touches that make the movie magical. See this with an open mind, please.