Spirited Away (2001)
Genre: Animated, Fantasy
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino
Running time: 125 mins
Tagline:
Chihiro and her family are moving to a new town. Enroute, they discover what appears to be an abandoned theme park. However, it quickly becomes clear that it isn't abandoned at all, and Chihiro's parents are imprisoned by the inhabitants. Stuck in a strange place that she doesn't understand, Chihiro, with the help of a kind stranger, must try to set her parents free.
The film opens as Chihiro and her parents are nearing the end of their drive to their new home, embarking on what her mother describes as a big adventure. As they near their destination, they stumble upon a deserted old theme park which, despite Chihiro's protests, her parents decide to explore. Chihiro leaves her parents and wanders through the park on her own, where she meets a young boy, named Haku. He warns her she must leave immediately before she is spotted by the inhabitants. When she runs back to her parents, she discovers that they have been turned into pigs. She then tries to retrace her steps out of the theme park, only to find that the area she previously walked across is now a great sea of water, and she is trapped.
Many viewers will see this film without fully understanding exactly what it is they are going to watch. As so few Japanese animated films are seen in British cinemas, it could be very disorientating to begin watching a seemingly 'normal' film, which happens to be animated, only for two of the main characters to suddenly be turned into pigs. In this case, the viewer is not really sure whether to take the film at face value, or whether to expect that one of the characters will wake up at any moment, and normal activity will be resume. To clarify, this is a children's animated fantasy film, and as such, the strangest things can be expected to happen.
Chihiro discovers that the theme park is inhabited by spirits, and quickly finds a place to hide. Haku finds her, and assures he that all is not lost, and that she may yet be able to save her parents. He tells her that getting a job is the only way that she will be safe. She heads off to see Kamaji, the four-armed furnace engineer who agrees to help her get a job. Chihiro learns that the theme park is in fact bath house, where Japan's spirits come to cleanse themselves. The bathhouse is owned by the evil sorcerer Yubaba, and it is she who decides to grant Chihiro her request for a job, in exchange for her name. From now on, Chihiro will be known as Sen.
Spirited Away is a beautiful and enchanting story, continually bringing the strange and unexpected as we follow Chihiro through her adventure. The traditional animation is stunning, with wonderfully vibrant colours, and tremendously detailed scenes. Importantly, the English voices are all very well done, leaving many viewers blissfully unaware that the movie was originally in Japanese. The story is continuously unravelling. It is never quite clear what is going to happen, or what manner of creature we will meet next. The many characters are delightfully varied, and are all superbly animated of course. Watch out for the cute little fury soot creatures and the fat baby rat and it's little bird friend.
As Chihiro begins to learn her duties in the bathhouse, she finds Haku is suddenly very distant and unhelpful. Once again she seems hopelessly stuck in this strange place, until he arranges to meet her in the middle of the night. He leads her to the pig pens and shows her parents, but promises he will help to try to get her parents back. Meanwhile, Chihiro must continue working hard in the bathhouse, so that Yubaba has no excuse to get rid of her.
From here we are swept along on her adventure, as she meets all manner of creatures as she performs her duties in the bathhouse, and, when she gets time, tries to help her parents. It is a wonderful journey we share with her, and a wonderful movie. However, as we approach the end of the movie, things do move rather quickly. Having worked in the bathhouse for what seems like a long time, the movie very quickly draws to a close. Also, the latter scenes of the movie, while amusing and enjoyable, are particularly daft at times. While this doesn't really matter, it does require the adult viewer to choose to laugh it off and continue enjoying proceedings.
This is a wonderful movie for children and adults alike. It is captivating, beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable. Even the slightly over the top scenes and the fairly quick wrapping up of events can't stop this from being a precious viewing experience that leaves the viewer feeling they have watched something very unique and special.
Mark: 7/10
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