SPIRITED AWAY
Japan, 2001, 120 minutes, Colour.
English language voice cast: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, Lauren Holly, Michael Chiklis, John Ratzenberger.
Directed by Hayal Miyazaki.
Spirited Away is an impressive Japanese animation film. The director had been in animation since the early 1970s, with programs on television, moving into feature films. His 1999 feature, Princess Mononoke, was seen internationally. Spirited Away won a great number of awards in Japan but also around the world including the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival and the Oscar nomination for best animated feature, 2003. The director then followed it up with the excellent film, Howl’s Moving Castle.
The film is a contemporary fairy story – but with the other world, the world of Japanese gods and goddesses and spirits. The film focuses on a little girl and her family who are moving to a new house. They take a detour and find a restaurant – it is filled with spirits and the parents are changed into pigs. A little boy, Haku, finds the heroine Chihiro, gets her a job in a nearby building, the bath-house for the thousands of gods and spirits from Japan. She goes through quite a journey, involving spirits and witches, in order to restore order to the world – and recover her parents.
The film is rather long and repetitive for younger children. However, most will find it interesting, fascinating and enjoyable. Adults will find it a stimulating animated film as well.
1. The awards and acclaim of the film? Golden Bear, Oscar? Its appeal to children, to adults? To Japanese audiences, American audiences, international appeal?
2. The quality of the animation, its naturalistic style, adapted for the 21st century, the blend of realism and fantasy? The references to other works of fantasy like the Alice in Wonderland stories and illustrations? The places, the characters, the humans, the fantasy characters? The quiet and idyllic scenes compared with the spectacle? The theme park, the bath house, land, sea, buildings, the train, flight? The interactions? The total experience? The musical score and its mood? The American dubbing, the accents, the use of contemporary American slang?
3. The world of Japanese spirits, religious traditions, cultural traditions, myths, meanings?
4. The present, the family driving, the pleasant parents, the petulant little girl, her fear of changing schools, her wilting flowers, the wrong road, the arguments, the parents stopping, the father wanting to go through the tunnel, her fears? The thought that this was a theme park through the tunnel (as if falling like Alice down the hole to Wonderland)? Her fear, the statues outside, her decision to go, explore? The parents and their interest, curiosity, the layout of old Japan, the theme park, the food, its abundance?
5. The parents, their eating, guzzling, turning into pigs, trapped? The little girl seeing even more pigs, their being prepared for bacon for food in the bath house, her wanting to save them? Her dream and inability to save them? Succeeding at the end?
6. Chohiro and her being lost in the theme park, her meeting Haku, his friendliness, wanting her to get out? Going into the bath house, seeing all the clients and their mythological look wandering in procession? The spider man at the gate and his friendliness, Lin and her bossiness, going to Yubaba? Her appearance, her big head, small body? The contract, her being given the name Sen? Haku and his warning her to remember her name? The contract for work, Lin waking her up in the morning, going to the bath house, the tokens for the soap and the refusal, her being helped by No Face? The hard work? Haku and his friendliness, supporting her?
7. The bath house itself and its architecture, rooms, steps, the exteriors, the old drainage? Yubaba and her greed, the staff, pandering to the visitors? Lin and the hard work? The old man and his arms? The arrival of the monstrous stink visitor, everybody getting out of the way, Sen and her trying to help, getting the water, the scent, cleaning him, his getting away? Her letting No Face in, the frog and his confrontation, being swallowed, No Face using his voice, producing the gold, his loneliness, devouring people, the staff and their further greed for the gold, their fears? Sen and her being busy, No Face wanting her, the return, the transformation and his vomiting out all those he swallowed? His accompanying her on her adventures?
8. Sen and her dream about her parents? Hard work, Haku and her affection, finding him as a dragon, pursued by the paper-cutting paper birds? Her going along the drainpipe, going to the roof, finding the fat baby fearing to go out of the room because of germs, dominated by his mother? His being transformed by his aunt into a mouse? Zeneba and her being Yubaba's twin sister? The clash between the two? Her transforming the baby? Sen and her helping Haku as the dragon, the old man and his care, getting her the train tickets?
9. Sen and her mission, returning the seal to Zeneba, going to the train, the mouse and the bird going with her, No Face? The other passengers in the train? The train going over the sea, its destinations, the railway station? Going out, the lamp with the hand beckoning, Zeneba and her friendliness, getting them to call her Granny? Returning the seal? The irony of Sen crushing the slug and removing the curse? Zeneba explaining to her that she had changed everything because of her love?
10. Haku coming, Zen flying with him on his dragon's wings? Remembering the story of her going to the river, Haku as the River Spirit, saving her from drowning, giving him back his name? Yubaba and the confrontation, the final test, trying to identify her parents? That none of the pigs were her parents? Her passing the test?
11. Haku and his getting her to return to her parents - and never looking back? Being reunited with her parents? Her transformation from a sulky little girl, petulant, trying to cope in the bath house, her progressive hard work, diligence, concern for others, her mission? Her maturity?
12. The success of the film as story, the characters, animation, myths? Love and courage?
