A
review of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited
Away
Have
you ever seen an animated film produced by the talent at Studio
Ghibli? Great animated movies aren’t limited to those produced by
the artists at Disney or Pixar, and the impressive illustrators at
the Japanese Studio Ghibli can certainly give American studios a run
for their money. If you haven’t seen a Studio Ghibli movie, there
is none that I could more highly recommend than their 2001 classic,
Spirited Away.
Illustrated and directed by the legendary Japanese animator Hayao
Miyazaki, Spirited Away
exemplifies the magic of an old-school animated film that can still
captivate an audience.
So,
what makes this movie worth the hype?
A
brief synopsis
The
film tells the story of a young girl named Chihiro, who is on her way
to move into a new house with her mom and dad in some distant town.
You can tell from the start of the movie that Chihiro isn’t happy
about the move as she sits in the back of her parent’s car,
watching the scenery zoom by. Her dad suddenly takes an unplanned
shortcut that leads the three to an ominous tunnel which opens up to
what looks like an abandoned theme park. The three explore the ruins
of the park until certain events transpire with the onset of
nightfall: Chihiro notices that spirits inhabit the ruins at night,
and when she hurries to warn her parents of this news, she discovers
that they’ve been turned into pigs.
Chihiro
is forced to live in this spirit realm so she can figure out a way to
save her parents. She’s helped in this endeavor by the spirit Haku,
who looks not much older than Chihiro even though he’s lived among
the spirits for ages. Haku gets Chihiro a job in the nearby
bathhouse, a gorgeously drawn structure that serves as the main
setting for the film. The bathhouse is run by Yubaba, the notoriously
tricky and powerful witch who begrudgingly allows Chihiro to work for
her. While at the bathhouse, Chihiro meets mystical creatures and
fantastic entities of all shapes and sizes as she tries to deal with
being a human girl in the foreign setting of the spirit world. She
runs into many trials along her way, but I won’t spoil the ending
for you. You just have to see it for yourself!
Dominating
themes
More
than anything else, Spirited Away
is a movie about perseverance and finding courage when you find
yourself completely out of your comfort zone. Chihiro’s transition
throughout the film from childlike immaturity to a more adult and
responsible look on life is both poignant and stunning. She’s just
a little girl preoccupied with the sudden upheaval of home life as
she knew it, and suddenly everything she knows about the human world
is thrown out too. She has to perform manual labor in a bathhouse run
by bizarre and sometimes ill-meaning spirits in an effort to free her
parents from perpetual captivity, all the while outwitting the
players that try to do her harm.
No
words do justice to the breathtaking animation in the movie. Hayao
Miyazaki makes you forget that you’re even watching an animated
feature, so life-like and magical are his characters, settings, and
ear for dialogue. His depiction of the spiritual world is nothing
short of miraculous.
Overall,
Chihiro’s struggle to grow up in a strange world is a stirring
performance for an animated movie, and not one worth missing. Do
yourself a favor and checkout Spirited Away
as soon as you can. You won’t be sorry that you did.
About
the Author:
This
guest contribution was submitted by Samantha
Gray,
who specializes in writing about
BachelorsDegreeOnline.com.
Questions and comments can be sent to:
samanthagray024@gmail.com.
I didn't ask Samantha to review this particular movie, but she ended up picking a film I adore - I thought Spirited Away was a wonderful movie. My review of Spirited Away.
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