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Spirited Away
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Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Find all by Walt Disney Video
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Audience Rating: Unrated
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Theatrical Release: October 7, 2008
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Retail Price: $29.99
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From one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema comes the most acclaimed film of 2002. Hayao Miyazaki's latest triumph, filled with astonishing animation and epic adventure, is a dazzling masterpiece for the ages. It's a "wonderfully welcoming work of art that's as funny and entertaining as it is brilliant, beautiful, and deep" (Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal). SPIRITED AWAY is a wondrous fantasy about a young girl, Chihiro, trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. An unforgettable story brimming with creativity, SPIRITED AWAY will take you on a journey beyond your imagination. "To enter the world of Hayao Miyazaki is to experience a kind of lighthearted enchantment that is unique to the world of animation" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). It's a fantastic tale the whole family will want to experience over and over again.
User Submitted Spirited Away Reviews
October 1, 2008
Miyazaki love.
Hayao Miyazaki, obviously, is an amazing director. Joe Hisaishi's music just makes this movie jump to an astronomical level. I usually get sick of movies very quickly, but no matter how many times I watch this movie..it just takes my breath away. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
September 28, 2008
Amazing!
Spirited Away is an amazing movie. It's very touching, and a great family movie. If you like Hayao Miyazaki, you should buy this movie. It's very touching...
September 9, 2008
FOR PARENTS: Beautiful but not for small children
This movie is beautiful and I agree with many of the reviews. But those that say it is for young children probably do not have children. I watched this with my five year old daughter (the first hour) and she got very quiet and left the room. She ended up being very scared and upset in a very real way. She even had nightmares. It was my mistake. I should have watched it first to see. I am not saying that ALL children would be. But I would definitly say it is for more sophisticated children/older. And yes-classic disney was a bit more scary. But the scene where snow white gets lost in the forest is not quite the same as the feeling and imagery of the this film which does not let up as does Snow White when she says "I was being silly to be scared" then starts singing. Just watch it first and see what you think before showing small children.
September 8, 2008
Great movie for adults and kids
This film is one of my favorites. It is a "work of art" as many have said. If I had children, I would want them to see this one (after the age of 5 or 6, I'd say), but it *is* long, and the young ones could fall asleep if you're watching it at night with them. I love the message of friendship, and how kindhearted the characters could be. Other characters were not so kind, but you later learn why they are unkind and are able to see why compassion reigns supreme. I have nothing but love for this film!
September 7, 2008
A fantastical movie!
Spirited Away is an imaginative tale about a little girl named Chihiro who becomes trapped in the spirit world after her parents are turned into pigs for eating the spirit's food. There, she must work in a bath house for the spirits until she can think of a way to escape.
In many ways, this film is excellent. The animation is beautiful, the setting is strange and entertaining, the story is full of twists, and the characters posess alot of depth. What I love most about this movie is the depth of the characters- no one is one dimensionally "evil" or "good". Every character posesses good and bad qualities to varying degrees. Even Chihiro starts off as an unlikeably whiny girl at the beginning, but by the end, has developed courage and self-reliance. I just love the departure from black-and-white moral categories to a more morally ambigous characters, because the real world is morally ambigous.
On another note, the setting of Spirited Away is strange and colorful. I was very entertained by the bizarre array of bath-house guests, the strange twisting layout of the bath-house itself, and the haunting and beatiful scenery viewed from the train. Also, anyone who's seen Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro might recognize the return of the soot gremlins. I had actually seen Spirited Away first, then My Neighbor Totoro a year later, so imagine my surprise when I recently rewatched Spirited Away and saw them. Soot gremlins!
Compared to his other films, this is one of Miyazaki's more energetic and action-packed films. So, if you've seen some of his other films and couldn't stand the slow pacing of the story, then Spirited Away may be just the thing for you. Well anyway, I can't recommend this movie enough! Please watch it at least once!
September 6, 2008
Quirky and bizarre but strangely endearing story. Beautiful animation.
My partner artist loves the work of Miyazaki and bought this film for his collection. But, I have to say, the first time I watched it, I was like, "what is this?" It was so weird! There did not seem to be a plot, just a bunch of weird scenes with strange characters, one after another. And, the girl's parents turning into pigs - graphically interesting but absolutely pointless element of the story. Then, we watched it again, and I saw something different the second time. I saw the progression of the young girl through this strange world with helpers and advocates, and the hidden messages of the story started to come through.
The third time I watched it, I was hooked and now I love it. The artwork is fantastic. We watched it both in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed with English. I preferred the dubbed version as I think it helped to put the story into a better context for understanding.
August 23, 2008
Beautiful and fantastic movie, but the best?
This is a beautiful and fantastic movie and well represents Japanese spiritual world such as the concept of Yaoyorozu-no-kami (eight million kami). But, actually, I am not sure why this is the most popular Ghibli movie in America. I think even for Japanese it is difficult to understand some of scenes. Miyazaki used a lot of abstract and symbolic elements and they made this movie more complicated than his other movies such as My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Princess Mononoke.
But I would say this is still a very interesting movie and some scenes have left a strong impression on my mind. I like the scene where Chihiro eats rice balls with weeping tears.
August 17, 2008
One of Ghibli's best!
When I first got into Miyazaki/Ghibli movies, I started out with Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke. I liked them so much I bought EVERY other movie they released, hoping the rest would be just as good, and they are. After Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away is my fave. What I like about it is of course the story, but also the fact that this is one of Studio Ghibli's most deeply/richly colored movies. Ghibli seems to favor the softer more airy and light colored approach, but this has a really deep almost water color look to it.
July 25, 2008
Praise for Spirited Away
I love Miyazaki films for their detailed and beautiful illustrations and their unique stories. This one is about a strong little girl who has to pass certain obstacles before she can save her parents. This is a good family movie and possesses an admirable moral: by being patient and quick when the circumstance calls for it, you will be able to hold on until you reach your goal. A rich and worthy animated film.
July 11, 2008
I'm Looking for Some Help Here; Can Anime Get Better?
A better question might be; should it get better? "Spirited Away" has been accepted as a masterpiece by the film industry, anime fans and those who blindly believe what they are told. It sure sounds like I'm about to pick a fight, but actually I'm getting a little introspective and asking you to do the same. I could easily write a 10 page essay about anime, this film and the state of the art of animation. I'll try to avoid that here. However, after watching this film with my family, a big pile of question appeared. This is both a testament to this films power and to the fact that many people just don't like or understand this style of film art. I am once again divided on my opinion of a film. The only way to cut through the fog in my brain is to (once again) break my thoughts into pieces.
-WHAT I THINK OF THIS FILM
Artistically speaking, this film is brilliant. My family was divided about this film. My wife had problems with the jerky animation style. My 10 year old daughter loved it. My 6 year old son did not like it. We all thought it was a bit too long (especially near the end). I don't know what you would take out. I think there might be some scenes that could have been removed to little negative affect if we never knew they existed. But knowing they exist precludes the idea of removing them. The one thing we all agreed on was the whole river spirit revelation. We gave out a collective "HUH?" This is pretty typical in anime; if the story doesn't get you there, take a shortcut. That was probably the only unexpected thing I could criticize. The other thing I found myself criticizing was the actual animation. I know what anime is and I know why it is, and I sort of expected it, but this film really got me thinking about the state of anime and why it hasn't moved to another level.
-A QUICK EDUCATION
Disney style animation is what is known as "Full" animation. Simply put; for every 24 frames in a second, there are 24 unique drawings to complete the required motion. By this, you get a very smooth, natural feeling motion. In anime, which uses mostly limited animation, in the 24 frames of one second there might be 12 drawings or less in some cases. Anime will actually use a static image with a moving camera to imply motion. The result is a somewhat choppy or jerky motion. This is all done to save money due to tight budget constraints. Though financially cheap, these techniques have been mastered to a very high level.
-WHAT I THINK OF ANIME
I think that good anime challenges how animation looks (see "Animatrix" for a compilation of great examples). Bad anime is pure trash. Good anime artists really have a knack for capturing the essence of the human form even more so than Disney. Characters seam to develop effortlessly in anime; one little act or a short phrase or a telling reaction immediately establishes character. In "Spirited Away" even minor characters have strong presence. The best anime has characters we can all identify with very quickly. This film produces that in spades. Western animation is not so adept at this. I find the limited animation distracting at times. It is because of this that I don't watch a lot of it. I enjoy artistic as well as technical achievements. Sometime anime is fully animated (almost by accident). It's at these times I realize how much more brilliant anime could be.
-WEST V EAST; THE $275,000,000 GORILLA IN THE CORNER
I've actually read debates that compared Western "Disney" style animation to "anime" (http://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.09/5.09pages/osmondanime2.php3). I would argue this was like debating the merits of chocolate ice cream vs. vanilla ice cream; fairly pointless. However, things have changed enough in recent years that the debate can not be so easily dismissed anymore; not if you are being honest with yourself. "Spirited Away" cost $17MM to produce. Its global box office receipts totaled $275,000,000. Who knows what the DVD sales total is? The same year this film was released, Disney's "Brother Bear" made $250,000,000. Disney has not released budget information, but I'm certain it cost more than $17 million. This begs the question; is it time for anime to take the next step into full animation?
-WOULD MONEY KILL FREEDOM
Like life in general, the more money there is at stake, the more pressure there is to succeed. Some might argue that the really cool stories and audacious subject matter that anime produces would not happen if a big budget were put on the line. I would argue that $17 million is a big risk; in for a penny, in for a pound. That's why I limit the idea of fully animated anime to feature films. It's worth the risk. People revere anime for what Disney does not provide; fearless, unsafe stories and edgy visuals. Is it such a stretch to think we won't pay to see what everyone complains we don't get? I think the market place has spoken.
-EXCUSES OR REASONS?
Given the financial success of the anime feature films in the past decade or so, is the use of limited animation an excuse? Or, is the art form known as anime inherently tied to the use of limited animation and the "moving Manga" traditions? I'm not expert enough about anime to provide the answer, but I think it's a question worth asking. Some in the anime business talk about how they use creative techniques and limited animation to save money, as if this is how it should always be. Personally, I think anime features are ready for full animation. Doubling the budget for "Spirited Away" (basically drawing twice as much art) would still make it a huge financial success. So money can no longer be an excuse. Many people are wowed by this film in its current form. Imagine what it would be like fully animated; mind boggling. It probably would have made even more money.
-WHAT AM I GETTING AT?
"Spirited Away" has an ambitious story, great human characters (even the spirits are human at their core) and incredible artistic vision. Anime has set new standards for what animated films should explore and this film has kept up that trend. However, as animation, anime has stayed a step behind. Though many have come to accept limited animation as an inherent part of anime, I think it's time to raise the bar on these gloriously conceived feature films. I know these artists can take animation to levels only imagined. They have the skill and the vision to set new standards. Yet, we get excuses of low budgets. Maybe for the serials and Saturday morning fare, but not these "masterpiece" feature films. If "Triplets of Belleview" can be made fully animated, why not "Spirited Away"?
If you are an artist, a fan of anime, a student of animation or a fan of fantasy I'd have to recommend this DVD. If you are a traditionalist Disney fan, then you might have a problem with the unique story telling and less than smooth animation style. I recognize and enjoy it for what it is, but I'm not going to let it off the hook for what it could have been either. The real question is; is it still anime if it's fully animated? I say yes. Anime isn't just about the animation techniques, but also the visual and story style.
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