Watching Miyazaki: A Short "Film-Review" Series

Spirited Away

(2001)

“I'm see-through!"

-Chihiro/Sen

Spirited Away.

The title is enough to get you to see this film.

When a family moves to a new town, they get lost on their way and they find themselves exploring an abandoned theme park. To make matters more supernaturally weird, Chihiro, a young girl having trouble accepting the move, witnesses her parents turn into pigs. She befriends a young boy named Haku who helps her find a way to save her parents. She must work for an old witch named Yubaba, by working at The Bathhouse (where spirits come to replenish themselves) to earn the right to see her parents again.

I think this is one of those hidden gems that sort of fades away. (See what I did there?)

What I mean by that is-- well, I don't know-- I like the story and the themes, but I just really found Chihiro annoying. Maybe it's her voice, or the way she acts. And I get it this movie is sort of coming-of-age movie where Chihiro must learn the very valuable lesson of hard work, manners, and the willingness to move on, but-- I don't know, to me it just seems like a lukewarm piece. Chihiro isn't as likeable as previous Miyazaki protagonists, like Nausicaa or the two girls in My Neighbor Totoro; she's too helpless.

There's also a nice sprinkled commentary (in true Miyazaki form) about pollution and love for nature. The bath scene is just beautiful. I expect no less from a Studio Ghibli film. Like seriously, all of the movies they make are so masterfully done, that it is sad that traditional animation is sort of fading away. Take a look at Disney for example, they've abandoned traditional animation, for 3-D animation, or live-action remakes.

And I know that Hayao Miyazaki will always prefer paper and pen to tell his stories.

Aside from that, I think that Spirited Away is a solid film. It's not bad, but I couldn't help but feel like it lacked something. It didn't interest me as much, but maybe because I've already set Princess Monoke on such a high pedastal that not one film that came after it will ever beat it. Nevertheless, Spirited Away is an alright watch. It feels longer more than anything, the pace is kind of slow, not as slow as Kiki's Delivery service (hell, nothing can be slower than that film's pacing) but slow enough that you sometimes find yourself bored and would like for things to getgoing. The film has these short bursts of interesting action once in a while, but I think it could've used more.

It's pretty good, just not one of Miyazaki's strongest.

It won an Oscar, y'know? So it has to be good... right?

Spirited Away (2001) Trailer