My Review of "Spirited Away"

Spirited Away is a Japanese animation that came out in 2001. It's one of Hayao Miyazaki's famous films. I had seen it when I was younger but I don't think I totally understood the movie back then. This movie can kind of go off the deep end. If you're not ready for it, you might be put off by it, like I was when I was way younger. Today, I think I have enough maturity to figure it all out and see what's everyone's going on about.

The story starts off with a little girl named Chihiro. It follows a similar beginning to the last Miyazaki movie I saw, My Neighbor Totoro. In fact, there are many elements that are mirrored into this movie from that movie. Chihiro is moving to a new place with her parents. She hates the fact that she's moving whereas the parents have enthusiasm for the new place.

On their journey to the new house, they get a little lost. There they stumble upon a mysterious tunnel. They follow the tunnel and reach an even more mysterious location. Somehow there's some sort of meal prepared for them. The parents eat it but Chihiro doesn't. She finds the whole thing rather fishy. Her instincts were right and her parents are taken from her.

Pretty soon she's running off to escape the madness of this foreign location. Luckily she bumps into a boy named Haku. He tries to help her but this magical place is ruled under a witch named Yubaba. In order to save her own life, Chihiro has to become a slave to Yubaba.

From there on, we have a magical world of imagination that bends the rules to try to help Chihiro out of her situation. She basically earns the trust of even more friends to save herself and her parents.

When I first saw this movie, I didn't realize that there was so much social commentary involved with this movie. There's symbolism of capitalism, government and pollution. It runs rampant throughout the movie. Yet there's a sense of innocence that makes these terrible things still feel digestible. I feel as though a more adult audience can appreciate these references and really reflect on their meaning within this movie.

I also liked the arc of Chihiro. She starts out as a scared spoiled girl and grows to become a courageous and hardworking. The people around her are kind of the examples that help her realize what's right from wrong. In a sense I can see how this can still appeal to the younger audience because of her character arc.

Another thing that I thought was quite remarkable was the level of detail throughout the animation. Despite the amazing animation in this movie, there are so many small details sprinkled throughout the movie. You'll see specs of rice on peoples faces. Dirt and reflections are all quite meticulous. They never really forget anything. There was definitely a ton of work involved with this movie and it definitely shows.

Again, like in Totoro there are recurring characters that you will find in this movie from that last one. I think this helps this movie feel even bigger as it feels like it's part of a grander universe. It also feels like it follows the same sort of rules as the other movies as well, so if you're familiar with the other movies you will feel right at home with this one.

Overall, I didn't think I'd be so invested into this movie. I was glued to the screen like a zombie catching small details and just being mesmerized by the animation. All the while trying to reflect on what the filmmakers were trying to say with some of their symbolism and metaphors. I would definitely recommend this movie and I think I do need to rewatch it some day. This movie is going to get an 8 out of 10 for me.