Spirited Away Recommended

Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Production
Studio Ghibli
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
125 mins
Year
2001

Spirited Away

By Aki
23rd May 04

Spirited Away has often been described as similar to Alice in Wonderland, and this is a very accurate description. A ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, along with her parents, accidentally wanders into a magical world full of spirits and demons. There, her parents are turned into pigs, and Chihiro is forced to work in a spirit bathhouse to save herself from the same fate. Along the way she makes some friends, and with their help, she fights to save her parents and return to her own world.

With its setting in a world full of magic and spirit creatures, it comes as no real surprise that a lot of things in this anime make no sense. There are a lot of strange happenings that are left unexplained and strange creatures whose purposes are not revealed. But these 'loose ends' do not really hinder the anime, or make it confusing. Instead, it gives you the same feeling as Chihiro, and helps you relate more to her and what she's going through. Here's a little ten-year-old, suddenly lost in a completely different dimension without her parents. She has no clue what's going on, no idea as to what's going to happen to her, and no idea as to who all these strange inhabitants of this place are. You, as the audience, experience the same thing and are able to gain a connection to the main character. This bond that you form with Chihiro then helps you understand later just how much she has grown in character. She is a completely different person at the end of the movie than she is at the beginning.

Spirited Away has its humorous moments as well as its touching ones, and a not-quite-standard ending that will leave you satisfied but still wondering. Overall, it is very well done and very enjoyable. Sure, I recommend it.

7/10

-- Aki 23rd May 04

Spirited Away Images